Employing a Nanny in New Zealand

What You Need to Know About Employing a Nanny in NZ

Last updated 19th May 2025

Employing a nanny in New Zealand is a rewarding step for many families but it also comes with legal and payroll responsibilities that are important to get right.

Nannies can’t be paid with cash in hand, nor are they independent contractors, but instead need to be treated as an employee. 

For households unfamiliar with employing staff, this can be a confusing and stressful process, and potentially very expensive if the correct procedures are not followed.

To make things clearer, we have outlined the steps you should follow if you want to know how to hire a nanny.

Sign an employment contract

A good step to any employment relationship is to begin with an employment contract. When employing a nanny, a solid contract sets you up for success.

Things to consider when drawing up this contract are:

• What is the rate of pay (Make sure you're meeting the minimum of $23.50)
• What are the agreed hours
• Is my nanny casual, part-time, fixed term, or full time
• Other benefits included in the employment package
• Sick pay hours
• Notice period

Check out our recently updated guide around employment contracts for nannies if you need more help.

Collect Your Nanny's Payroll Info

There are a number of documents that you need to obtain from each employee before they start.

Before your nanny begins, make sure you have the following information:

• Proof of their right to work in NZ
• Completed tax code declaration (IR330)
• Completed Kiwisaver forms (KS2 or KS10)
• Bank account details
• Any other relevant information

If you are unsure which documents need to be completed email us. If you want to make the whole process simple 

Employer Setup

As soon as both parties have signed the employment agreement, you will need to think around payroll requirements.

There are two options here:

• register as an employer with the IRD and manage everything yourself or;
• Sign up with Pay The Nanny and have everything handled for you.

If you’re managing it all yourself you can register with the IRD and there are two ways to register:

• Online through your MyIR
• Download and complete the Employer Registration Form (IR334)

Dealing with the IRD can be complicated and time consuming. Another option is to use a payroll provider like Pay The Nanny, which handles all aspect of the IRD, meaning you’re never required to even register as an employer, or deal with the IRD at all.

Set up a payroll system

Although your payroll can be managed manually, we recommend that you use a payroll software. These help reduce manual errors and make filing and paying your monthly taxes much simpler.

There are a number of excellent cloud-based software to choose from:

• Payhero
• I-payroll
• Smart Payroll

Most payroll providers are fairly similar, but we find that Payhero has the best pricing structure and usability.

Paying your nanny taxes

Late or incorrect payment of your nanny will swiftly land you in hot water with the IRD and lead to costly penalties. 

The nanny taxes you will be responsible for paying are:

• Income Tax (PAYE)
• Kiwisaver contributions if they are registered with Kiwisaver
• Child support payments if they owe child support
• Student loan payments if they have a student loan

These need to be filed each time your process a payroll and are paid on the 20th of each month for the previous month. We recommend that you use a PAYE intermediary or a payroll provider like ourselves to avoid missing deadlines or incorrect payments.

Manage leave entitlements

As employees, nannies are entitled to holiday pay, public holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave and parental leave. 

It is essential that you make the correct leave entitlement calculations.

The holiday pays act can be extremely complicated and it's always changing. If you're using a service like Pay The Nanny, they'll be able to help guide you with any tricky questions along the way.

About Pay The Nanny

Here at Pay The Nanny, our mission is to make it as easy as possible for households to effectively manage their payroll responsibilities for their nannies.

Pay The Nanny provides friendly, accurate and flexible nanny payroll services to nanny employers. We take care of everything to do with PAYE, ACC, holiday pay, sick pay, maternity leave and Kiwisaver.

For more information, check out our website at www.paythenanny.nz and give us a like on our Facebook page.