What does commercial cleaning include?

A standard Sydney commercial cleaning contract in 2026 covers the items below as core scope. Anything outside this list is usually an add-on, even when the cleaner casually agrees it "comes with the package". Get specific in the contract — the difference between an included service and an "agreed but unscoped" service is usually the first dispute that comes up.

Standard scope — included in most contracts

Floors

• Vacuum all carpeted areas each visit.
• Mop all hard floors each visit.
• Spot-treat visible stains and spills.
• Edge detail vacuum weekly.

Washrooms

• Toilets, basins, mirrors, taps each visit.
• Sanitary disposal on schedule.
• Re-stock toilet paper, soap, paper towel, hand sanitiser.
• Mop with sanitising solution each visit.

Kitchen / breakroom

• Wipe benches, sink, taps each visit.
• Appliance exteriors wiped (microwave, fridge handle, kettle).
• Empty bin, replace liner.
• Fridge interior top shelf weekly; full clean monthly.

Workspace touchpoints

• Door handles, light switches, lift buttons each visit.
• Photocopier touch panels, shared printers.
• Reception desk, glass partitions for fingerprints.

Waste

• All internal bins emptied each visit, liners replaced.
• Separation of paper / co-mingled recycling per building rules.
• Cleaner is responsible for moving waste to building's waste-collection point, not for collection itself.

Things people assume are included — but usually aren't

• External window cleaning. Internal yes; external — quarterly add-on, separately quoted.
• Carpet steam cleaning. Standard contract covers spot treatment. Full steam clean is quarterly or annual add-on.
• High-pressure clean of entryways. Add-on. Sydney offices often run this quarterly.
• Strip and reseal of hard floors. Annual add-on. Significant cost; budget for it.
• End-of-trip facility deep clean. Showers and lockers in larger sites — verify whether they're "wipe-down each visit" or "deep clean weekly". Usually quoted separately.
• Specialist disinfection. TGA-grade products in medical or food-prep zones — usually separately scoped.
• Pest treatment. Not in scope. Always a separate contractor.
• Bin bag supply. Sometimes included, sometimes charged at cost. Get it documented.
• Toilet paper, hand soap, paper towel supply. Often supplied by the cleaner at cost plus margin — but verify; some contracts assume client supplies.
• Confidential waste shredding. Not a cleaner's job. Use a dedicated shredding service.
• Pet stain or biohazard cleanup. Outside standard scope. Cleaner will charge per-incident for these.

Vertical-specific inclusions

Some industries have inclusions outside the standard scope:

• Medical centres: TGA-grade disinfection, biohazard handling, terminal cleaning between cases.
• Gyms: equipment sanitisation per visit, change room deep clean daily.
• Childcare: WWCC-cleared staff, child-safe TGA-approved chemicals, toy sanitation cycle.
• Strata: lift internals daily, bin room twice-weekly, common-area glass daily.
• Warehouses: floor scrubber pass weekly, racking dust quarterly, dock degrease monthly.

What to ask before signing

Five questions that catch out 90% of contract surprises:

1. "Show me the scope of work as a numbered list — what's in, what's out."
2. "Which consumables do you supply, and at what unit cost?"
3. "What's the price for the add-ons we'll probably want — quarterly windows, annual carpet steam, end-of-lease deep clean?"
4. "What's the termination clause for both sides?"
5. "What's the response time if we report a missed visit or a quality issue?"

Related: the working checklist we use, Sydney pricing benchmarks, and how to negotiate the contract.