Commercial Cleaning Rates Per Hour in Australia (2026): What the Award Minimums Mean

How much do commercial cleaners charge per hour? There is no official market rate, but there is an official floor. Cleaning companies that employ cleaners must pay at least the minimum rates in the Cleaning Services Award 2020, plus superannuation, and every quote has to cover those costs before anything else. This guide sets out the minimums from 1 July 2026 and what they mean when you compare quotes.

The award covers employers in the contract cleaning services industry throughout Australia, meaning businesses that provide cleaning services under a contract, and their employees (clause 4). If a cleaning company sends its staff to clean your office, childcare centre or warehouse, those staff are covered.

Level 1: $27.08 an hour ($1,028.90 a week full-time)

Level 2: $27.97 an hour ($1,062.90 a week full-time)

Level 3: $29.45 an hour ($1,119.10 a week full-time)

These are the base rates for ordinary hours in clause 15.1. Most of what pushes the real cost up comes next.

Casual loading: casual employees get a 25% loading on top of the minimum hourly rate (clause 11.2). For a Level 1 cleaner that is $33.85 an hour.

Part-time allowance: part-time employees get a 15% allowance on top of the minimum hourly rate for each ordinary hour (clause 10.2), which is $31.14 an hour at Level 1.

Minimum shifts: part-time and casual cleaners must be paid for at least 2 consecutive hours at a site with a cleaning area of up to 2,000 square metres, even if the job takes less time. The minimum is 1 hour only for a sole cleaner at a small stand-alone site of up to 300 square metres (clause 13.5).

Commercial cleaning usually happens before or after business hours, and the award sets higher rates for that (clause 20.2, Table 7). As a percentage of the minimum hourly rate:

Weekday shift starting before 6am or finishing after 6pm: 115% full-time, 130% part-time, 140% casual. For a casual Level 1 cleaner that is $37.91 an hour.

Saturday: 150% full-time, 165% part-time, 175% casual ($47.39 an hour casual, Level 1).

Sunday: 200% full-time, 215% part-time, 225% casual ($60.93 an hour casual, Level 1).

Public holidays: 250% full-time, 265% part-time, 275% casual.

Employers must also pay superannuation guarantee contributions of 12% on top of wages. On a casual Level 1 evening rate of $37.91, that is about $4.55, so the minimum labour cost is about $42.46 an hour before anything else.

A cleaning company's price also has to cover workers compensation and public liability insurance, travel between sites, equipment and consumables, supervision, administration and profit. None of these have official figures, which is why quotes vary, but they all sit on top of the award minimums above.

Ask for the hours, not just the price. A quote is easier to compare when it says how many hours are allowed for each clean and at what times.

Check the maths. If a company that employs cleaners quotes an evening rate close to or below about $42 an hour, it is hard to see how it covers award wages and super, let alone insurance and supplies. Ask how its cleaners are engaged and paid.

Ask who will be cleaning. Owner-operators like us aren't employees, so the award doesn't set our rates, but the same costs of insurance, travel and supplies apply. Whoever you choose, you should know who has access to your premises.

The award minimums are the floor under every commercial cleaning quote in Australia. We quote a fixed price per clean after a walkthrough of your site, so you can see exactly what you're paying for. See how commercial cleaning quotes are priced or request a quote.

Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman, Cleaning Services Award 2020 (MA000022), clauses 4, 10.2, 11.2, 13.5, 15.1 and 20.2, rates from 1 July 2026. Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, charge percentage of 12%.