Frequently asked questions

Nothing is charged when you send a booking request. The sitter reviews it and can accept, decline or cancel. Once the sitter accepts, you enter your card details and pay in full through Stripe's secure checkout. A booking that has not been accepted can never be charged.

The Village booking fee is 9.9% and is added on top of the sitter's hourly rate. The sitter always receives their full hourly rate for every hour booked, so the fee is never taken out of their pay. For example, if a sitter charges $40 per hour for 4 hours, the sitter's amount is $160.00, the Village fee is $17.58, and the total charged is $177.58.

The 9.9% Village booking fee is non refundable, except where the Australian Consumer Law requires otherwise, for example if Village fails to supply its platform service or there is a consumer guarantee failure. Otherwise it is retained to cover secure payments, platform support, verified reviews and messaging.

Yes. Card details are entered directly into Stripe's own secure payment form. Village never sees or stores your card number. All transactions use bank grade encryption.

Yes. Once Stripe confirms your payment, the booking is marked as paid and an itemised receipt is emailed to you. It shows the sitter's hourly rate, hours booked, sitter's amount, Village fee and total charged. You can also view or download your receipt from your dashboard at any time.

Payment is held until the booking is completed. After the booking's end time passes, the sitter can tap Mark completed. If nobody acts, a reminder is sent and the booking auto completes 24 hours after the end time, unless there is an open dispute. As soon as the booking is completed, the sitter's amount (total minus the 9.9% Village fee) is transferred automatically to their Stripe Express account.

The 9.9% Village booking fee is non refundable, except where the Australian Consumer Law requires otherwise. Refunds of the sitter's amount depend on how close to the start time the cancellation happens: more than 24 hours before start, the full sitter amount is refunded; between 2 and 24 hours before start, 50% of the sitter amount is refunded; less than 2 hours before start, no refund is issued.

Either the family or the sitter can raise a dispute on a booking. While a dispute is open, the booking cannot be completed and no payout is released. Village reviews the dispute, may ask both parties for information, decides whether the sitter payout is released, refunded in whole or in part, or held, and records the resolution. Village applies this process consistently, but it is an administrative decision about the funds held for that booking, not a legal determination between the family and the sitter. Nothing in this process limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

Sitters complete Stripe Express onboarding from their dashboard to receive payouts. As soon as a booking is completed, the sitter's amount is transferred automatically. If a transfer fails, it retries automatically on a backoff schedule (roughly 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 45 minutes, then a few hours apart, up to 6 attempts). There is also a manual Retry transfer button on the booking.

Yes. Clifton Memorial Group Pty Ltd trading as Village Babysitters is registered for GST, so the 9.9% Village booking fee is inclusive of GST. The GST inside the fee is one eleventh of the fee and it is itemised on your booking receipt and receipt email. The sitter's fee for care is a separate supply from the sitter to the family: Village does not collect or remit GST on it, and each sitter is responsible for their own tax and GST position under their own ABN, including issuing tax invoices where required.

Card payments are taken by Village through Stripe, so if a family charges back a payment Stripe debits the disputed amount and any dispute fee from Village, even when the sitter has already been paid. The sitter is responsible for the amount they received for that booking. Village will notify the sitter, give them a chance to provide evidence for the response, and may reverse the Stripe transfer, offset the amount against current or future payouts, or recover it as a debt, along with any fee charged on the reversal. If the dispute is later won, the sitter's amount is transferred again. This does not apply where the chargeback is caused by a Village error, and it does not limit anyone's rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

If a transfer is reversed after a chargeback and your Stripe Express account does not hold enough available balance, the account goes into a negative balance. Stripe then recovers that amount out of your next payouts before releasing any further funds to your bank. If it cannot be recovered from future payouts, the outstanding amount is payable to Village on request and payouts may be paused until it is settled. You can see your balance and payout history any time from Open Stripe dashboard on your sitter dashboard.

Village Verified means we have sighted and verified that sitter's identity and every required document before they were approved to join Village. The badge covers seven items: government issued photo ID, a current Working with Children Check, a National Police Clearance, current First Aid, current CPR, an active ABN and public liability insurance. WWCC, First Aid and CPR expiry dates are shown on the sitter's profile so you can see they are current.

Standard Profile means the sitter has chosen not to complete, or does not currently meet, Village's full verification standard. It is not a judgement about the sitter, it simply means we have not verified the complete document set. Families should review a Standard Profile sitter's profile, experience and reviews and make their own assessment before booking.

Photo ID, Working with Children Check (with expiry date), National Police Clearance, First Aid (with expiry date), CPR (with expiry date), an active ABN and public liability insurance. All seven must be on file and current at the same time.

Yes. The badge is tied to document currency. The moment a WWCC, First Aid, CPR or insurance expiry date passes, the badge is removed automatically and the sitter shows as a Standard Profile until they upload the current document from their dashboard. We email and notify sitters 30 days before anything expires.

Yes. Open Filters and sort on Find a babysitter and choose Village Verified under Verification. You can also choose Standard Profile, or leave it on All sitters to see everyone.

The sitter is. Sitters are independent contractors and are solely responsible for complying with Western Australian child safety law that applies to them, including Working with Children Check obligations, any mandatory or reportable conduct reporting duties, and their own incident response and record keeping. Village is a platform and a third party: we do not supervise bookings and we do not provide the care.

If the law requires a report, report it to the relevant authority. Then notify Village at hello@villagebabysitters.com.au within 24 hours. We keep records of accounts, verification documents, bookings, payments, messages and reported incidents, we suspend or remove accounts where a safety concern arises, and we cooperate with WA Police, the Department of Communities and other authorities on lawful request.

Sitters may offer these, but only where they are competent, qualified, licensed and insured to do so, and they must decline a booking that falls outside their competence. Families are responsible for assessing whether a particular sitter is right for their family, asking about relevant experience, and providing instructions, emergency information and consents. Village does not assess competence for higher risk care beyond the documents in the Village Verified badge.

No. Village does not provide insurance and holds no policy covering families, children or sitters for a booking. Village is a third party platform that connects families and sitters. Sitters are required to hold their own current public liability insurance, and families should satisfy themselves as to the cover a sitter holds.

Create your Always FREE family account, enter your suburb, date, start time and how many hours you need (minimum two hours). Browse WA sitters, tap one to see their profile and verification status, then send a booking request. A 9.9% booking fee is added to every booking so you always know exactly what to expect.

Perth babysitter rates typically range from $25 to $45 per hour depending on experience, qualifications and the number of children. Every sitter sets their own rate, displayed clearly on their profile. Village is Always FREE to join, and a 9.9% booking fee applies each time you book and pay through the platform.

All Village bookings have a two hour minimum. Above that, choose any duration you like, including overnight and multi day stays. A 9.9% booking fee is added to every booking, no matter the length.

Look for the Village Verified badge on a sitter's profile. It means we've verified the sitter's identity and required documents, including their Working with Children Check, before they were approved to join Village. Sitters shown as Standard Profile have not completed that full document set, or one of their documents has lapsed. Standard Profile sitters can still be booked, so check the profile and make your own assessment before booking.

Payments are processed securely through Stripe using bank grade encryption. Village never sees or stores your card details, and funds are held until the booking is completed. The 9.9% booking fee is included in the total you see before you pay.

Cancel any booking up to 24 hours before start time and the sitter's amount is refunded in full. The 9.9% booking fee is non refundable, except where the Australian Consumer Law requires otherwise. Late cancellations may incur a small fee to fairly compensate the sitter for held time.

Use the Last minute filter or search a start time within the next few hours. Sitters marked with fast response typically reply in under 15 minutes. The 9.9% booking fee applies to every confirmed booking, including last minute sits.

Both families and sitters review each other after every completed booking. Reviews are two way, verified, and cannot be edited after posting to keep everyone honest. Leaving and receiving reviews is Always FREE.

Village Babysitters WA covers all of Perth metro, Fremantle, Joondalup, Rockingham, Mandurah and every corner of Western Australia. New sitters join weekly, and it is Always FREE to browse profiles across every suburb.

Yes. Many Village sitters accept overnight and multi day bookings. Filter by Overnight to find them. A 9.9% booking fee applies to every booking, including overnight and extended care.

Head to Become a sitter, create your Always FREE profile and upload your government issued photo ID, current WWCC, National Police Clearance, current First Aid and CPR certificates, your active ABN and your public liability insurance details. Our team reviews every application personally within 3 business days.

No. A Certificate III in Early Childhood Education or similar childcare qualification is not required to join Village Babysitters WA. To be approved, a sitter must still hold a current Working with Children Check, current First Aid and CPR certification, an active ABN and public liability insurance before they can be approved.

No. Sitter profiles are Always FREE forever. Families pay a 9.9% booking fee only when they book and pay for care through Village. Sitters never pay to join or accept bookings, and keep 100% of their hourly rate.