For busy parents Jamie Burgess and Nic Dow, who both work and have three young children aged under six, finding child care was a challenge.
So, the couple, who live in Baralaba, a small town in central Queensland, decided to hire an au pair.
"Our work situation changed … all of a sudden we needed someone," Mr Dow said.
They decided to apply for an au pair, male or female, from anywhere in the world.
"We just said we're happy with anyone, just someone who is good with kids," Mr Dow said.
Au pairs wanted
There is a huge demand in Australia for au pairs as parents struggle to find child care, according to local nanny agencies.
But despite the reopening of the nation's border, waiting lists are growing, and many Australian families are being forced to wait months.
The Ukraine war is impacting on European au pairs' travel plans, with some feeling too nervous to travel, nanny agencies say.
That isn't the case for au pair Chris Martin, 25, from Germany.
Within weeks of Ms Burgess and Mr Dow applying for an au pair, Mr Martin joined their family.
For him, the time was right to visit Australia.
"I guess I'm kind of adventurous," he said.
In return for helping to care for the family's three children, he receives accommodation, meals and a modest wage.
Mr Martin said he was enjoying his time in Australia so far and was looking forward to exploring Queensland.
"We're going to Gladstone this weekend and there's also going to be a trip to Airlie Beach," he said.
"I think, so far, it's definitely confirmed my expectations that Australian people are really easy going and easy to talk to, and they're interested in sports quite a lot."
War impacts travel plans
Cultural Au Pair Association of Australia president Jackie Rylance said local agencies had hoped for more interest from European au pairs once Australia's border reopened.
But she said the war in Ukraine had made travellers hesitant to travel.
"We've obviously been without au pairs now for two years; it's been really tough for families."
Placement agency Au Pair Australia said it had a large waiting list of Australian families.
Spokesperson Miryam Aubert said she was hoping to see an increase in au pair arrivals from July when students finished school in Europe.
She said she would like to see the working holiday-maker program extended to include more countries.
"We have a large number of au pairs contacting us trying to apply from South American countries and European countries that we cannot accept due to their nationality.
"Host families have expressed their support by offering to host au pairs from Ukraine, which is unfortunately not possible as Ukraine is not one of the accepted countries for the working holiday visa."
Government 'considering' expanding working holiday visas
More than 11,000 working holiday-makers (WHM) have arrived in Australia in the past four months and nearly 48,000 WHM visas have been granted since the announcement the Australian border would reopen.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said Argentina, Chile, Peru, Spain and Uruguay were already WHM partner countries.
The department said Australia was negotiating new work and holiday (subclass 462) visa arrangements with 16 countries including Brazil, Costa Rica and Paraguay.
