STORY:
Babysitters Getting Top Dollar in Sydney

Babysitters are asking for $750 for 24hours on New Year's Eve

Babysitters in Sydney Australia are asking for three times the usual rate to baby-sit on New Year's Eve - with some babysitters asking for $750 for 24 hours. According to the Daily Telegraph, child-minding agencies around Sydney usually charge nightly rates of $10 an hour. For a normal New Year's eve, those rates increase to $25 an hour. Now, those agencies intend to charge $75 an hour for the big millennium night.

The report quotes industry insiders as saying the costs reflect the demand for babysitters, which is expected to reach an all-time high for the evening leading into 2000.

At the Dial An Angel network, New Year's Eve inquires started in November and the manager tells the Daily Telegraph that it has 15 confirmed bookings. The agency intends to raise its prices and has been recruiting babysitters to meet demand.

Maria Connolly and Angela Vris have been with the network since early this year as experienced child care providers and both intend to sacrifice their New Year's Eve to baby-sit "I can always go out later or celebrate the next day. This way I can do something I love, get paid for it and keep the children happy and entertained," Angela said told the Daily Telegraph.

Maria told the Daily Telegraph while it is a sacrifice, "you can't knock back the money. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't good".

The My Little Friend Nanny Agency in Ultimo had its first booking for the millennium New Year's Eve two years ago. The agency's director Cathy Clark told the Daily Telegraph, the agency has 587 registered nannies on its books and will be offering incentives such as movie tickets and prizes for those who volunteer to work that evening.

Colleen Kelly, manager of the A.M Home Help Agency in Manly told the Daily Telegraph she started taking bookings in May this year but bookings have been slow because she says parents don't realize there is going to be a shortage of sitters available.

Like Dial An Angel, My Little Friend will charge $75 per hour. A.M. Home Help will charge $55 an hour with a minimum of four hours for one or two children and $270 overnight.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

DATE: 7/08/99

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