This comes up constantly in Australian forums and almost always after the fact, when someone is quietly annoyed. It is an easy conversation to have beforehand and an awkward one to have afterwards, so have it beforehand.
None of the below is a rule. There is no Australian standard for this. These are the splits most sits settle on, offered as a starting point for a conversation rather than an answer.
The pet's costs
- Pet food: almost always the homeowner. Leave enough for the full stay plus a few days, and say what to do if it runs out.
- Medication: the homeowner. Leave clear written dosing instructions and enough supply.
- Veterinary treatment: the homeowner. This is the one that must be settled in writing, including who can authorise treatment and up to what amount.
- Litter, poo bags, treats and similar consumables: the homeowner. Leave them out where they can be found.
- Grooming or daycare during the sit: the homeowner, if it was arranged in advance.
The veterinary point is the serious one. A sitter who cannot reach you and has no written authority is in a genuinely difficult position with an unwell animal. Settle it before you leave, and our emergency vet consent guide sets out what to write down.
The household costs
- Electricity, gas and water: usually the homeowner. The house would be drawing power regardless, and metering a sitter's share is more trouble than it is worth.
- Internet: usually the homeowner, and worth mentioning in the listing because many sitters need it to work.
- The sitter's own groceries: the sitter. Homeowners commonly leave staples such as tea, coffee, oil and condiments as a courtesy, and that is appreciated rather than expected.
- Petrol for the sitter's own travel: the sitter.
- Petrol for pet-related trips, such as a vet visit or a specific walk location you have asked for: usually the homeowner.
The air conditioning question
This surfaces every Australian summer. If you have a view about heating and cooling use, say so before the sit, kindly and specifically. A sitter left guessing in a Darwin February will either be uncomfortable or will worry the whole time.
The grey areas
Something breaks
Normal wear is the homeowner's. Genuine damage caused by the sitter is a conversation, and it goes far better if you agreed beforehand how you would handle it. Agree who the sitter should call for an urgent repair, whether they have authority to arrange one, and up to what amount.
The garden and the pool
Watering plants and basic upkeep are usually part of the exchange. Mowing a large block weekly, or maintaining a pool, is real labour and should be stated clearly in the listing rather than mentioned on arrival. Sitters do not mind the work when they agreed to it. They mind finding out about it at handover. Our guide on what house-sitting tasks are reasonable goes into this.
Cleaning at the end
The usual expectation is that the sitter leaves the home as they found it: linen washed or stripped as agreed, bins out, surfaces clean, floors done. A professional clean is the homeowner's cost unless it was agreed otherwise upfront.
How to raise it without awkwardness
Put it in the listing and then confirm it in the first message. Something like: "I cover all the pets' costs including food, medication and any vet care. Power, water and internet are on me. You would just cover your own groceries and travel." That single paragraph removes most of the ambiguity and signals that you have done this thoughtfully, which good sitters notice.
Write the final version into whatever you both agree before the sit. Our house-sitting agreement guide has a section for exactly this.
The reason this matters
Most sits that go wrong are not about bad people. They are about two reasonable people who assumed different things and never checked. Ten minutes of writing before the sit prevents nearly all of it.
