Medical Centre Cleaning Checklist: Infection Control Basics for Practice Managers

A medical centre needs a written cleaning schedule that is based on risk. It should say which surfaces are cleaned, how often, with what product and method, and who is responsible. Most surfaces need neutral detergent and water. Disinfectant is added where blood, body substances or a known or suspected infection are involved. Cleaning should be recorded so that you can show an accreditation surveyor it actually happened.

This guide explains what the RACGP Standards and national guidance ask for. It gives a checklist you can adapt for your practice and lists the questions to ask before you hand cleaning to a contractor.

What the RACGP Standards ask for

General practices in Australia are accredited under the National General Practice Accreditation (NGPA) Scheme against the RACGP Standards for general practices. The RACGP released the 6th edition in August 2026. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) says accreditation under the NGPA Scheme currently still uses the 5th edition, and that transition arrangements for the 6th edition will be published later. Check with your accrediting agency which edition your next assessment will use.

In the 6th edition, cleaning sits under Criterion CG9 – Infection prevention and control, including reprocessing. It asks practices to:

• keep a written, practice-specific infection prevention and control policy based on current Australian guidelines, and review it every two years
• cover environmental cleaning of clinical and non-clinical areas and the management of blood and body-substance spills in that policy
• name at least one clinical team member as infection prevention and control (IPC) coordinator
• make sure every team member knows who is responsible for essential procedures and is aware of the cleaning schedule
• give isolation areas additional cleaning, especially where multi-resistant organisms may be present.

The RACGP’s Infection prevention and control guidelines (section 9, cleaning, laundry and waste) explain how to meet this. The rest of this checklist draws on that section and on the ACSQHC guide for small health services.

Build the cleaning schedule around risk

The RACGP guidelines say practices must have a cleaning schedule that ensures the practice is cleaned systematically and appropriately. For each item the schedule should name:

1. the surface or item
2. the cleaning agent
3. the method
4. the frequency
5. the person responsible.

The agent, method and frequency depend on the risk of transmission. The RACGP lists three things to weigh for each surface:

• whether it is high-touch or low-touch
• which pathogens are likely, which can change during an outbreak
• how vulnerable the patients and staff using the area are.

The ACSQHC adds that different areas in one facility need different schedules. It also says the schedule should be reviewed whenever infection risk changes, for example during an outbreak or building work.

Scheduled and opportunistic cleaning

The RACGP distinguishes two kinds of cleaning:

• Scheduled cleaning happens at planned intervals, whatever else is going on. It is usually done after hours by cleaning staff or a contractor.
• Opportunistic cleaning happens during the day when something calls for it. The RACGP gives the example of disinfecting a chair or examination table after a patient with influenza. This is normally done by practice staff.

A good schedule makes both visible. It sets out what the cleaner does each night and what clinical and reception staff do between patients.

Medical centre cleaning checklist

Use the tables below as a starting point. They are an example. They are not a national standard. Adjust them to your own risk assessment and your IPC policy. The ACSQHC guide for small health services says frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, light switches and shared clinical equipment should be cleaned at least daily, or more often. It says lower-risk areas such as floors, walls, administration areas and staff rooms are typically cleaned daily or weekly with neutral detergent.

Between patients (practice staff)

Daily (contract cleaner or practice cleaner)

Weekly

Monthly and periodic

Reprocessing of reusable instruments (cleaning, disinfecting and sterilising) is not environmental cleaning. CG9 covers it as a separate part of infection prevention and control. Keep it out of the cleaner’s scope unless your policy says otherwise.

What medical centres use to clean: detergent first, disinfectant where the risk calls for it

The RACGP guidelines say:

• Detergent and water is suitable for most general cleaning. Detergents with a pH of 6–8 are generally appropriate.
• A disinfectant must be used, in addition to or combined with detergent, where contamination risk is higher or transmission-based precautions apply.
• If you are not using a combined product, clean with detergent first, then apply disinfectant. Disinfectant does not work properly on a dirty surface.
• Where norovirus is a concern, use a chlorine-based agent (“bleach”) or improved hydrogen peroxide.
• TGA-approved products in single-use, pre-diluted containers are preferred. Containers must not be topped up, and unused solution must not be poured back into the stock container.
• Surfaces must be allowed to dry completely.

When choosing a disinfectant, the RACGP lists the manufacturer’s kill claim, the wet-contact time, compatibility with your surfaces, safety and PPE, ease of use and value for money. The ACSQHC notes that organisations assessed against the NSQHS Standards must use disinfectants listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). For a plain-English explanation of the terms, see the difference between cleaning and sanitising.

Tools, colour coding and storage

Widely used infection-control practice for cleaning tools includes:

• Only use a clean, dry mop. Wet mops can grow unacceptable levels of bacteria. Keep spare mop heads so a dry one is always available.
• Clean buckets after every use and store them upside-down to dry.
• Reusable mop heads and pads can be laundered. Single-use heads are an option but add waste and cost.

The ACSQHC says cleaning equipment should be labelled and used only for cleaning. Its aged care infection prevention guide also recommends colour-coding reusable equipment to restrict it to specific areas. The same approach works in a practice: separate cloths and mops for toilets, clinical rooms and general areas, so that equipment is not carried from a dirty area to a clean one. Write your colour code into the schedule so that every cleaner, including relief staff, follows it.

Blood and body-substance spills

The RACGP guidelines say blood and other body substances need to be treated as potentially infectious, and that contamination must be managed promptly. Practices must have a spill kit readily available. CG9 requires the spill procedure to be in your IPC policy and known to the team.

The RACGP says detergent alone may be enough for very small spills that only need spot-cleaning. Other spills need disinfectant as well, as part of a two-step process. That covers small spills under 10 cm, large spills of 10 cm or more, any spill on a surface that touches skin, and any spill that involves a potentially serious pathogen.

Decide in advance:

• who responds during clinic hours (usually clinical staff) and after hours (the cleaner, if agreed)
• where the spill kit is kept, what it contains and who restocks it
• the step-by-step procedure, including PPE and waste disposal, taken from the RACGP guidelines and written into your IPC policy
• how the spill is recorded.

Sharps and clinical waste have their own rules. Agree in writing whether your cleaner handles clinical waste bins or only general and recycling waste.

Records and audits

Keep a cleaning record. It shows when each scheduled clean was completed and any extra cleaning after spills. The ACSQHC says environmental cleaning programs should include a way to audit whether cleaning is effective, with audit frequency based on the risk of each area.

In practice that means:

• a sign-off sheet or app record for each scheduled clean
• a log of spills and extra cleans
• periodic walk-through audits by the practice manager or IPC coordinator, with the results discussed with the cleaner
• training records for anyone who cleans.

Records like these are what a surveyor can check when they ask how your practice meets CG9.

How to choose a medical cleaning company

Many practices hand scheduled cleaning to a contractor. The difference between medical and office cleaning shows up in method: dry mops, area-specific cloths, detergent before disinfectant, and records. The ACSQHC suggests looking at three things with contract cleaners: how they are oriented to your organisation, what training their employer has given them, and who supplies the equipment and products. Use these questions when you compare healthcare cleaning companies:

Training and induction

• What infection prevention and control training have the cleaners had? The ACSQHC lists IPC basics, area-specific cleaning, product selection, solution handling and storage, and PPE.
• Will they go through a site induction with your IPC coordinator? Will relief cleaners get the same induction?
• Can they provide training records?

Method and products

• Will they work to your cleaning schedule and colour code, or their own generic one?
• Do they clean with detergent before using disinfectant? Are the disinfectants TGA-approved or ARTG-listed, and suited to your surfaces?
• Who supplies the products and equipment, and how are mop heads and cloths laundered?
• Can they provide safety data sheets for every chemical brought on site?

Scope and responsibilities

• Is the scope written down room by room: what the cleaner does, what practice staff do, and what is excluded (for example, instrument reprocessing or clinical waste)?
• What happens after hours if there is a spill or an urgent clean?
• How will cleaners handle consultation rooms where patient information may be present, and how are keys and alarm codes managed?

Quality and accountability

• How do they record completed cleans, and can you see the records?
• How often do supervisors inspect the site, and will they join your audits?
• What insurance and WHS documents can they provide before the contract starts?

A provider that asks to walk through the practice and see your IPC policy before quoting is more likely to work to your system.

Frequently asked questions

Does the RACGP set cleaning frequencies for general practice?

No. The Standards require a written policy and a cleaning schedule. The RACGP guidelines explain how to set frequencies by risk, weighing how often a surface is touched, the likely pathogens and how vulnerable patients are. The ACSQHC guide for small health services says frequently touched surfaces should be cleaned at least daily, or more often.

How often should examination rooms be cleaned?

There are two layers. Practice staff clean the couch, shared equipment and other surfaces a patient has touched between patients, adding disinfectant after an infectious patient or contamination. The cleaner then does the scheduled clean of the room, usually after hours. Set the exact frequency in your risk-based schedule.

How should medical centre bathrooms be cleaned?

Flush buttons, taps, door handles and grab rails are frequently touched, so the ACSQHC guidance puts them on at least a daily clean, or more often in a busy practice. Use separate, colour-coded cloths and mops for toilets so the equipment isn’t carried into clinical or general areas. Any blood or body-substance contamination is handled under your spill procedure.

Is the 6th edition of the RACGP Standards in force?

The RACGP released it in August 2026. At the time of writing, the ACSQHC says NGPA accreditation still uses the 5th edition and that arrangements for the 6th edition will be provided in due course. Check with your accrediting agency.

Preparing for accreditation or changing cleaners?

If you’re reviewing your cleaning before an accreditation visit, or replacing a cleaner who doesn’t work to your schedule, B&K Services provides medical centre cleaning in Sydney, Wollongong and the Illawarra and Nowra and the Shoalhaven. We start with a free walk-through of your practice. Then we agree in writing which tasks sit with your team and which with ours, along with frequency and timing, before work begins. Scheduled quality checks follow once cleaning is under way. Our teams complete WHS induction, safe chemical handling training and site-specific risk assessments. See how we work, or request a free quote on 1300 136 954.