I am still going through the hiring of a new helper myself and this is my 1st experience so let me share what I found out.
1. Philippines helper that has finished the full 2 year contract you can hire without using agency.
2. If the Philippines helper was terminated by the employer or she terminated the contract then you must use agency
3. Indonesian must use agency regardless
I was recommend a helper who had terminated her contract after nearly 4 years with the same employer due to extra hardship from her employer, she though as she terminated the contract she could get new employer herself, the Philippines consulate rejected her and said she must use agency, she found me a good agency with reasonable price $1880 as I only needed them to help with the paper work and running around. The medical examination was $500 which was cheap as well, cheaper than any other agency I found. http://www.helper-in.com/web/html/contactus.jsp
If you do find a Philippines helper that is finished contract then its quite easy.
1. Once you have finished the interview and you both agree of the employment then ask the helper to go to immigration and get the forms. A green domestic helper agreement contract form and the two HK immigration form.
2. Fill out the green contract form, its 4 duplicate pages, you need to sign and also have a witness sign. All 4 pages must be filled out exactly.
3. The HK immigration form, there is one for employer and one for helper, you need to fill out the employer one.
4. You need to pay for the document processing fee at the Phillipines Consulate which is less than $700, it takes one week for the document to be chopped.
5. Once the Philippines consulate document is chopped then the helper needs to take the immigration forms and the contract to apply for domestic helper, this will take 4-6weeks.
6. During the waiting period the helper usually will have no more time left in her passport so she will need to leave, most of them head to Macau and wait there.