I am in Melbourne and quite a few people around my area will come to your house and look after your animals for you. They will also pick up mail, put your bins out, water plants as an added bonus and so on.
Could you also perhaps get a boarder to stay at your house, so house/pet sit.
Friends use this when they go OS to look after their dogs and cats. The boarder doesn't pay rent or board, just the usual cost of living and look after your animals. They did it through an agency I think?
One website is called houseminders dot com dot au.