Announced this week, the two-year trial will provide funds nationally for about 4000 nannies, targeting parents who work irregular hours, those who live in rural areas and those with special needs children.

Melinda Robertson, who runs South Coast Nannies with sister and business partner Richelle, said the move was a welcome step towards recognising nannies as a legitimate alternative to traditional childcare.

‘‘Many shift workers, such as ambulance officers, police and defence personnel would certainly benefit from having a nanny to address that unmet need for quality, flexible care for children,’’ she said. ‘‘Everyone’s family needs are individual so this will be a good step forward.’’

Under the program, nannies will have to be employed through approved service providers chosen through an open tender process, opening in July. While many have praised the plan, others have queried whether the subsidy will go far enough, considering the likely higher cost of hiring through an agency with insurance, administration, superannuation and other expenses to consider. 

Shift worker and mum Jo Noble said she was initially thrilled to hear about the plan, but on further reflection had concerns the subsidy would only help those on higher incomes. 

The trial is also dependent upon the Senate passing other savings measures.

Although nannies would need to be 18 years old, have a current Working with Children Check and first aid qualification, they would not be required to hold a minimum early childhood qualification. 

Ms Robinson, who is on the committee of the Australian Nanny Association, said this was her only point of criticism with the pilot.

‘‘We would like to see ongoing training for nannies to be recognised, because most of them are qualified childcare workers themselves,’’ she said.

‘‘But this is only a pilot program just to see what works and what doesn’t work.’’

This week’s announcement comes after the Productivity Commission report into childcare learning recommended nannies be an eligible service for government assistance to families.

The subsidy would be paid to approved service providers on an hourly basis and would be adjusted according to family income, which must be under $250,000. The pilot is scheduled to begin in January 2016.

Jo Noble knows only too well the difficulties of juggling child care with the irregular hours of shift work.

Having worked in the NSW Police radio room for 11 years, mainly working the night shift, the Albion Park mum, at times, had to find alternative overnight care when two of her sons were little.

The solution for her family was to hire a nanny. 

Working night shift was perfect for her family when Ms Noble first took on the role, as her husband could care for their two boys while she worked.

But when the couple split, it fell on Ms Noble to arrange care and, although her parents and sister helped as much as they could, she felt it was an unfair burden for them to take on long term.

Working day shift would still not have solved the problem, with no child care centres able to cater for a 7am to 7pm shift. 

She looked into hiring a nanny and found a young woman who was perfect for the job.

‘‘I was happy to pay for the convenience of knowing [the children] were comfortable, well taken care of and sleeping in their own beds each night rather than being dropped at relatives’ and sleeping on sofa beds,’’ she said. 

‘‘I remember at the time thinking it was unfair that I couldn’t access the child care benefit to help cover the cost just because my work hours fell outside the norm.’’ 

Ms Noble said there were many questions about how the program would operate and whether it would be cost-effective for shift-working parents.

Such as how it would work for long shifts, such as her own 12-hour nights, whether carers would need to take breaks or be paid an overnight loading, and whether the same nanny would provide care each night, were all questions that would likely arise leading into the pilot program, Ms Noble said.

Childcare inquiry recommendations:

A means-tested subsidy rate between 85per cent for family incomes at or below $60,000 and 20per cent for family incomes at or above $250,000

 Combine childcare rebate, childcare benefit, and jobs education and training childcare fee assistance into a single subsidy known as early care and learning subsidy

 Simplified working holiday visas to make it easier for families to employ au pairs for a full 12 months rather than the current six months

 Extra financial support to childcare centres in rural, regional and remote areas to stay open if child numbers temporarily fall

 Link payment of family tax benefit part A to attendance in preschool programs

 100per cent subsidy for children deemed at risk

 Source: Productivity Commission