Cleaning Award Rates Australia — Pay Guide for Cleaning Staff

We process payroll for over ninety commercial cleaners every fortnight across our Sydney contracts, and getting award rates right is not something we treat casually. The Cleaning Services Award 2020 (MA000022) governs minimum pay for the majority of cleaning workers in Australia, and the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review decision in June 2025 lifted all modern award rates by 3.75 per cent. Our payroll manager at our Penrith office recalculates every rate table within forty-eight hours of each annual decision, because a single miscalculation across ninety staff compounds into a five-figure underpayment risk within one pay cycle. We have compiled this guide from our direct experience managing award compliance across contracts in Penrith, St Marys, Emu Plains, and the broader Nepean region.

MA000022 Classification Levels and Base Rates

MA000022 Classification Levels and Base Rates covers specific protocols that we tailor to each facility based on its layout, traffic, and compliance requirements. We classify every cleaner on our payroll against the four-level structure in the Cleaning Services Award. Level 1 covers general cleaning duties — vacuuming, mopping, dusting, washroom servicing, and waste removal. The base hourly rate for a full-time or part-time Level 1 cleaner is $24.73 as of July 2025. Level 2 applies to cleaners who perform specialised tasks such as carpet shampooing, floor stripping and sealing, or window cleaning at height — our base rate for this classification is $25.89. Level 3 covers working supervisors who coordinate teams and conduct quality audits, at $27.41 per hour. Level 4 is for site managers responsible for contract delivery and client liaison, at $28.96.

We assign classifications based on the actual duties performed, not the job title on the contract. Our Penrith area manager reviews classifications annually against the work being done, because scope creep is real — a Level 1 cleaner who gradually takes on floor machine operation should be reclassified to Level 2 with the corresponding pay increase. Fair Work Commission inspectors assess classification accuracy during audits, and we have seen competitors receive penalty notices for systemic misclassification of Level 2 workers as Level 1. Our classification audit process costs us approximately four hours of administration per quarter but eliminates this risk entirely.

Penalty Rates and Loading Structure

We build penalty rates into every quote we submit because underestimating after-hours costs is the fastest way to make a contract unprofitable. The Cleaning Services Award prescribes the following penalties on top of base rates: Saturday work attracts a fifty per cent loading (time and a half), Sunday work attracts a one hundred per cent loading (double time), and public holidays attract a one hundred and fifty per cent loading (double time and a half). For a Level 1 cleaner, that translates to $37.10 per hour on Saturdays, $49.46 on Sundays, and $61.83 on public holidays.

We also factor in evening and night shift penalties. Work performed between 6:00 pm and midnight attracts a fifteen per cent loading, and work between midnight and 6:00 am attracts a thirty per cent loading. Our Penrith contracts include four sites with overnight cleaning schedules (10:00 pm to 6:00 am), and the night loading adds approximately $3,400 per quarter to the labour cost of those sites compared to equivalent daytime hours. We present these calculations transparently to clients during the tender process so there are no surprises when invoices arrive.

Office Area Cleaning Frequency Guide

Area	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Quarterly
Reception & Lobby	Vacuum, mop, wipe	Glass doors, furniture	Deep carpet clean	Window wash
Workstations	Surface wipe, bins	Monitor & keyboard	Drawer clean-out	Chair shampoo
Kitchen/Breakroom	Bench, sink, floor	Fridge, microwave	Deep degrease	Exhaust fan clean
Bathrooms	Full sanitise + restock	Grout scrub	Descale fixtures	Vent clean
Meeting Rooms	Table wipe, vacuum	AV equipment dust	Upholstery clean	Carpet extraction

Casual vs Permanent Employment Costs

Office Area Cleaning Frequency Guide requires specific protocols that we tailor to each facility based on its layout, traffic, and compliance requirements. We employ a mix of permanent part-time and casual staff across our Penrith portfolio, and the cost difference is not as simple as the twenty-five per cent casual loading suggests. A casual Level 1 cleaner costs $30.91 per hour ($24.73 base plus twenty-five per cent loading), but a permanent part-time Level 1 cleaner at $24.73 per hour also accrues annual leave (four weeks), personal/carer’s leave (ten days), and redundancy entitlements. Our payroll analysis shows that the true on-cost for a permanent part-time cleaner — including leave accruals, superannuation at 11.5 per cent, and workers compensation insurance at approximately 4.2 per cent of wages — brings the effective hourly cost to around $31.60.

Casual vs Permanent Employment Costs includes specific protocols that we tailor to each facility based on its layout, traffic, and compliance requirements. We default to permanent part-time engagements for any role with consistent weekly hours above fifteen, because the retention benefit outweighs the marginal cost difference. Our casual workforce covers surge demand — end-of-lease cleans, post-event turnarounds, and sick leave backfill. Across our Penrith and Blue Mountains contracts, roughly seventy per cent of hours are delivered by permanent staff and thirty per cent by casuals. This ratio gives us cost predictability for budgeting while maintaining the flexibility to scale for peak periods like December-January office deep cleans.

Overtime and Maximum Hours Provisions

Overtime and Maximum Hours Provisions addresses specific protocols that we tailor to each facility based on its layout, traffic, and compliance requirements. We manage overtime carefully because it is the single biggest variable cost in any cleaning contract. Under the Cleaning Services Award, ordinary hours for a full-time employee are thirty-eight per week. Hours worked beyond thirty-eight attract overtime rates: the first two hours at time and a half, and subsequent hours at double time. For a Level 1 cleaner, that means overtime rates of $37.10 for the first two hours and $49.46 thereafter. Our Penrith operations manager monitors weekly hours every Wednesday to identify any staff approaching the thirty-eight-hour threshold so we can redistribute shifts before overtime triggers.

We also track the maximum hours provisions under the National Employment Standards. A full-time employee cannot be required to work more than thirty-eight ordinary hours per week unless the additional hours are reasonable. Factors determining reasonableness include the employee’s role, personal circumstances, notice given, and the usual patterns of work in the cleaning industry. Our HR coordinator in Penrith documents any request for additional hours and records the employee’s written consent, which protects both the business and the worker if a dispute arises.

Allowances and Superannuation On-Costs

Allowances and Superannuation On-Costs targets specific protocols that we tailor to each facility based on its layout, traffic, and compliance requirements. We factor several award allowances into our contract pricing. The Cleaning Services Award provides a broken shift allowance of $3.24 per broken shift, a first aid allowance of $17.53 per week for appointed first aiders, a cold places allowance for work in refrigerated environments below zero degrees, and a toilet cleaning allowance of $2.87 per shift for cleaners whose primary duty involves toilet and amenity block servicing. Our Penrith team claims the toilet cleaning allowance on eight of twelve active sites, and the first aid allowance applies to three designated first aiders across the portfolio.

We calculate total on-costs at approximately 18.2 per cent above the base wage for permanent staff. This comprises superannuation at 11.5 per cent (increasing to twelve per cent from July 2026 under the Treasury Laws Amendment), workers compensation insurance at 4.2 per cent for the cleaning industry classification under icare NSW, and payroll tax at 5.45 per cent for employers above the $1.2 million threshold. For a Level 1 permanent cleaner earning $24.73 per hour, the true employer cost including all on-costs is approximately $29.23 per hour before any penalty rates or allowances apply. We present this full-cost figure to clients who ask why cleaning rates exceed the headline award minimum.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum hourly rate for a cleaner in Australia?

The minimum base rate for a Level 1 cleaner under the Cleaning Services Award 2020 (MA000022) is $24.73 per hour as of July 2025 for full-time and part-time employees. Casual employees receive an additional twenty-five per cent loading, bringing the minimum casual rate to $30.91 per hour. These rates are reviewed annually through the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review.

Do cleaners get penalty rates for weekend work?

Yes. Saturday work attracts a fifty per cent loading (time and a half), and Sunday work attracts a one hundred per cent loading (double time) under the Cleaning Services Award. Public holidays attract a one hundred and fifty per cent loading (double time and a half). For a Level 1 cleaner, this means $37.10 per hour on Saturdays, $49.46 on Sundays, and $61.83 on public holidays.

What superannuation rate applies to cleaning staff?

The current superannuation guarantee rate is 11.5 per cent of ordinary time earnings, effective from July 2025. This will increase to twelve per cent from July 2026 under the Treasury Laws Amendment. Employers must pay superannuation on top of the base wage for all employees who earn $450 or more in a calendar month, though the $450 threshold was removed from July 2022.

How much does workers compensation insurance cost for cleaning businesses?

In New South Wales, workers compensation premiums for the cleaning industry classification typically sit between 3.5 and 5.0 per cent of wages, depending on claims history and business size. Our current rate through icare NSW is 4.2 per cent. Contractors with strong safety records and low claims frequency can negotiate better rates at renewal. We reduced our premium by eight per cent over two years through improved hazard reporting and WHS consultation processes.

What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 cleaning classification?

Level 1 covers general cleaning duties including vacuuming, mopping, dusting, washroom servicing, and waste removal. Level 2 applies to cleaners who perform specialised tasks such as carpet shampooing, floor stripping and sealing, window cleaning at height, or operating ride-on machinery. The pay difference is $1.16 per hour at base rates ($24.73 vs $25.89). We classify based on actual duties performed, not job title.

We have covered classification levels, penalty rates, casual versus permanent costs, overtime provisions, and on-cost calculations here. For a detailed breakdown of the personal protective equipment your cleaning staff are legally required to use, see our guide on PPE requirements for cleaners in Australia.

About Clean Group

Clean Group is a Sydney-based commercial cleaning company with over 25 years of industry experience. Founded by Suji Siv, our team of 50+ trained professionals services offices, warehouses, medical centres, schools, childcare facilities, retail stores, gyms, and strata properties across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

We are active members of ISSA and the Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA). Our operations align with ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), and ISO 45001 (Workplace Health and Safety) standards. We hold membership with the Green Building Council of Australia and use eco-friendly, TGA-registered cleaning products wherever possible.

Every Clean Group cleaner is police-checked, fully insured, and trained in safe work procedures under SafeWork NSW guidelines. We operate 7 days a week, including after-hours and weekend services, to minimise disruption to your business.