North-North migration of care workers: “Disposable” au pairs in Australia

Abstract

This paper examines the north-north migration of care workers within the industrialised world. While care migration has traditionally been conceptualised as a phenomenon of women moving from the global south to the global north, a growing number of youths are now providing care and domestic services in other industrialised countries as au pairs. Their ambiguous legal status, the rhetoric of being ‘part of the family’ and limited language proficiency compound their vulnerability. We argue that the current Australian government’s policy can be interpreted as a deliberate strategy to increase the supply of care labour and lower the care costs. This policy signifies a shift from commodification ..