Nanny Checks

Nanny Checks

REPORTER: Adene Cassidy

BROADCAST DATE: August 26, 2003

With no systems in place, anyone can be a nanny.

Children are a parent's most precious gift. It's hard to image how parents feel when they see footage of their baby being tormented and violently beaten by the one person paid and trusted to care for their child, the family nanny.

Sadly, nanny horror stories are nothing new. Australian nanny Louise Sullivan made world headlines when she was found guilty of the manslaughter of a baby girl just three years old. Then there was the nanny in Western Australia who burnt a toddler in a boiling bath. It's stories like these which are now forcing parents to spy on nannies.

Agencies like Big Sister and Warren Mallard's Lyonswood Investigations are being employed by parents to set up hidden cameras in family homes, to spy on their babysitters.

"98 per cent of people that come to us, overall, have their worst fears realised, and that's because of their own intuition," Warren says.

"We've had matters of theft from the house, the drinking of alcohol, drunken state and so forth. Those sorts of issues all paint a very bad picture for you as a parent," he said.

"You're hoping that the person who is going to be taking care of your children is fit and proper."

Lyn Bos, mother of two, runs Milestonz, an international nanny agency she started simply because she wanted to screen her own nannies. Too often, she says, parents are sent nannies who can't be trusted to look after children.

"I had nannies sent to me that were inappropriate. They were underage, they had forged their documents and they had criminal records," she said.

"We were also sent a nanny who had 11 counts of theft on her police record. When I interviewed the nanny I asked her if the agency knew about that and she said no, they didn't even ask for my police record."

With increasing childcare costs and long waiting lists, frustrated parents are turning towards one-on-one care, hiring agencies to find the perfect nanny. But demand is forcing many agencies to cut corners. A limited police background check is only compulsory in NSW and Queensland. With no systems in place, anybody can be a nanny.

We decided to put several agencies to the test, sending university student Kristy Lorroway to see how she was screened and how quickly she could get a job.

"It's pretty easy to get a job as a nanny, even if you tell them you don't have nay experience."

"I went into one agency in the afternoon and within probably an hour they called me back and offered me a job, three days a week, and they wouldn't have had time to check my references, call DOCS or do anything like that."

Of the 10 agencies we visited, six conducted a thorough screening. Alarmingly, four of the agencies offered Kristy positions without the proper checks, in jobs caring for children aged one to four.

Susie Maher is a career nanny who warns parents not to rely solely on agency checks.

"I find it quite frightening as a nanny to not have the references properly checked. Some of the agencies I've been through don't do checks. They place you in a position without having checked references. Hopefully the parents themselves will double check."

She believes 99% of nannies are competent and capable, and it's not only parents and children who are being exploited but also nannies.

"I've worked for families [where] I haven't been paid correctly. I know nannies that get very severely underpaid, you know, earning something like $5 an hour to do everything."

With the industry in disarray, nanny of 21 years Michelle Gurkin has set up a union to represent professional nannies. She's now calling for tighter regulations.

"There is no regulation of the industry."

"We need all the nannies and all the agencies to work to a standard like they have in childcare centres. We need a minimum standard - a minimum standard of age, a minimum standard of experience, a minimum standard of qualifications and to make sure that everybody, every agency does thorough police checks."

Warren Mallard's advice to parents is simple.

"There's nothing more important than your children ... prevention is better than cure."

Contacts:

P.A.N Professional Association of Nannies. Tel: (03) 9899 5060

Milestonz Nanny Agency is a national agency. Contact Lynn Bos
Tel: 1800 806 007, website: www.mznannies.com

Warren Mallard, Lyonswood Investigations
Tel: (02) 9819 6833, website: www.investigators.net.au