At a glance: Becoming a babysitter in NZ is more accessible than many people assume — there's no formal qualification required to start, though certain skills (like a current First Aid certificate) help you get more bookings. This guide covers what's actually required, how vetting works on The Village Co, typical pay, and how to land your first booking.
If you've thought about babysitting as a way to earn flexible income — whether you're a student, between jobs, working part-time elsewhere, or just want work that fits around your life rather than the other way around — you've probably also wondered what's actually involved in getting started. This guide covers it properly.
Short answer: no formal qualification is legally required to babysit in New Zealand. You don't need a certificate to start.
That said, a few things genuinely help, both for your own confidence and for getting booked:
None of these are dealbreakers if you don't have them yet — but if you're wondering where to invest a bit of time or money to stand out, First Aid is usually the highest-value option.
Every sitter on The Village Co goes through a vetting process before joining the platform — this isn't optional, and it isn't something families pay extra for. It's built into how the platform works.
The process includes:
This matters for two reasons. First, obviously, it's part of how families trust the platform enough to book a stranger to care for their kids. But second — and this is the bit sitters sometimes don't expect — it also means you're joining a platform where every other sitter has been through the same process, and where the families you're matched with have chosen a platform that takes this seriously. It's a two-way trust signal, not just a hurdle to clear.
On The Village Co, sitters set their own hourly rate — typically somewhere in the $20 to $30 per hour range, depending on experience, qualifications (like First Aid), and what's typical in your area.
A few things worth knowing about pay:
We've written a full breakdown of pay in a separate article if you want the detailed numbers and how to think about setting your own rate.
Here's the realistic shape of getting started:
The timeline varies depending on how quickly references respond and how busy things are, but most sitters move through this process within a couple of weeks.
Once you're approved, you're in the pool of sitters we match families with — but it's worth being honest that your first booking might not happen instantly. Profile completeness (especially a good photo), your stated availability, and the areas you're willing to work in all affect how quickly you start getting matched. We've written a separate guide on the things that genuinely help speed this up if you find yourself waiting longer than expected.
That's really up to you. Some sitters use The Village Co for the occasional booking alongside other work or study — a Friday night here, a school holiday week there. Others build up regular, recurring bookings with the same families, which the platform supports directly (families can book the same sitter on an ongoing pattern).
Either way, you're in control of your own availability — you're not assigned shifts, you choose what you're available for and which bookings to accept.
If this sounds like something that fits your life — whether that's a few extra hours of income, work that's genuinely flexible, or simply something you're good at and enjoy — you can apply directly through The Village Co.
Do I need a First Aid certificate to babysit in NZ?
It's not legally required, but it's one of the most valuable things you can have as a babysitter — many families specifically look for sitters with a current First Aid and paediatric CPR certificate, and it's relatively quick to obtain through providers like St John or Red Cross.
How does The Village Co vet babysitters?
Every sitter goes through a NZ Police check, ID verification, reference checks, and a personal interview with our team before joining the platform — this applies to every sitter, with no exceptions.
How much do babysitters earn on The Village Co?
Sitters set their own hourly rate, typically $20 to $30 per hour depending on experience and qualifications. There's no placement fee or commission — the rate you set is the rate you receive, with payment processed automatically via Stripe.