Questions and answers

No. Anyone can search by suburb and read every profile, including rates, availability and reviews. You pay only when you want to message a sitter or post a job.

Directly, at the rate you agree with them, by bank transfer or however suits you both. We never handle that money and take no cut.

Every Gold Star Sitter is a qualified early childhood educator or teacher. That means a Certificate III, Diploma or Bachelor in early childhood, or a teaching degree. We sight the certificate and confirm the name on it matches the profile before the profile goes live. It is checked against the ACECQA list if we do not recognise it.

We do not book for you, but you can find someone fast. Sitters can switch on a flag that says they can do today or tomorrow. Message one of them, or post a job for the next 48 hours and it goes by email straight away to sitters who have said they can do short notice.

Melbourne’s inner east to start, 36 suburbs around Surrey Hills from Kew to Mitcham and Doncaster to Malvern. Each suburb page lists sitters who live within 15 km. More suburbs will follow as sitters join. See all suburbs.

No. No insurance comes with Gold Star Sitters, for you or the sitter. Sitters are independent and you engage them directly, so insurance is between the two of you. Ask the sitter at interview whether they carry their own.

No. Sitters are independent. They set their own rates and hours and you engage and pay them directly. We are an introduction site and not a party to the arrangement.

The qualification, and only that. Every sitter agrees to hold a current Working with Children Check or VIT registration. We do not check it, you do. First aid, police check and references are the sitter’s own statements. Ask to see them when you meet. What we check.

If no sitter replies to any message or job you send within 14 days of joining, we refund your membership in full. Otherwise memberships are not refundable. They do not renew, so there is nothing to cancel.

You can always read your own message threads. Sending messages, starting new threads, posting jobs, seeing applicants and your shortlist need a current membership.

You can review a sitter you have messaged and who has replied. That stops reviews from people who never spoke to the sitter. The sitter can post one reply. We remove reviews that break the review rules below and nothing else.

Fill in the sitter application. It takes about fifteen minutes. We sight your certificate, confirm the name on it matches your profile, and your profile appears on the public pages the morning after we approve it.

One. Your qualification certificate. We sight it once, confirm the name on it matches your profile, record the qualification and the date, then delete the upload. We do not collect your Working with Children Check, police check or anything else.

Not for us. We do not ask for one and we do not invoice for you. Tax, ABN and super are yours to sort out. Tax and insurance.

No. Sitters never pay, now or later. Parents pay for membership and pay you directly for your time.