School Cleaning Contractors: How to Choose One and Manage the Contract

A school cleaning contract succeeds or fails on four things: child-safe screening, a scope written around how the school is actually used, a plan for the holiday deep clean, and a simple way to check the work. This guide covers each one for NSW schools, plus the questions to ask before you sign.

It is written mainly for business managers and facilities staff at independent and Catholic schools, who choose their own cleaners. If you work at a NSW public school, read the next section first, because your cleaning is arranged centrally.

First, check who arranges your school’s cleaning

NSW public schools. The NSW Department of Education manages whole-of-government cleaning arrangements that started on 1 January 2026. Contracted cleaning covers most regions. In the Hunter and Central Coast, cleaners are employed directly by the Department. Schools and other Department sites make up as much as 78 per cent of the sites under these arrangements. Public school principals generally do not run their own cleaning tender. Questions about the program go to the Department (CleaningServices@det.nsw.edu.au).

Non-government schools, colleges and education campuses. You select and manage the contractor, so the rest of this guide applies in full. The same steps also help if your school buys extra cleaning outside a central contract, such as event clean-ups or periodic work.

Working With Children Check rules for school cleaners

In NSW, the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) lists “providing cleaning services to a school” as work that needs a Working With Children Check (WWCC). The OCG says it is the organisation’s responsibility to decide whether a check is required, and a check lasts five years even if the person changes jobs.

For NSW public schools, the Department of Education has set a firmer rule. From 1 September 2026, contractors need a valid paid NSW WWCC before entering a school site. Interstate checks and volunteer checks are not accepted, and no extensions are granted. Cleaners are screened by the Department’s Probity Unit, and like all contractors they must sign in and out using School Visitor Check-In and show government-issued photo ID.

Non-government schools set their own procedures. A sensible contract clause asks the cleaning company to:

• give you each cleaner’s full name, WWCC number and expiry date before their first shift
• confirm the checks are paid (employee) checks, not volunteer checks
• tell you before any new or relief cleaner attends, with the same details
• never send an unscreened person to cover a shift
• notify you straight away if a cleaner’s check status changes

Then verify the checks through your school’s own child protection procedure, and record who is on site and when.

Write a scope around how your school is used

A generic office cleaning scope will not fit a school. Walk the site with the contractor and list each area, how heavily it is used and what goes on there after hours. The frequencies below are a starting point to adjust after that walk-through.

Spell out who supplies paper towel, soap and toilet paper, and who reports damage. Note any spaces used out of hours by out-of-school-hours care, community hirers or weekend sport, because those uses change when cleaning can happen.

For services for younger children on the same campus, the cleaning standards differ. Our childcare cleaning checklist covers that guidance.

Plan the holiday deep clean in Term 1, not in December

School holidays are the only long window for work that cannot happen around students. Book it early, because furniture moves, floor work and maintenance projects all compete for the same weeks.

A periodic or holiday program usually includes:

• hard floor machine scrubbing, and stripping and resealing where the floor needs it
• carpet deep cleaning
• high-level dusting of light fittings, vents and beams
• internal glass and window frames
• deep cleaning of toilets, change rooms and canteen equipment
• desks, chairs and lockers washed down

Agree the order of works with your maintenance trades. Floors should normally be done last, after painters and electricians have finished. Ask the contractor for a written holiday schedule, who will be on site each day, and how keys and alarms will be handled while the school is closed.

Chemicals and safety on a school site

Ask the contractor how chemicals will be stored, labelled and kept away from students. SafeWork NSW says hazardous chemicals must always be properly labelled, even after they have been transferred from the original container. A current safety data sheet (SDS) must be obtained before a hazardous chemical is used.

Your school also has a duty here. Safe Work Australia’s fact sheet on hazardous chemical registers says that where cleaners are contracted, the business in charge of the workplace keeps the register of hazardous chemicals, while the cleaning company must still give its workers information about the chemicals they use. Ask for the SDS for every product the contractor brings on site.

Cleaners’ cupboards should be locked, and trolleys should never be left unattended in corridors while students are present.

How to compare school cleaning quotes

Quotes are only comparable when they price the same scope. Give every contractor the same written scope, frequencies, hours and site walk-through, then ask each one for:

1. The hours they have allowed per night and the number of cleaners. Unusually low hours for a large site are a warning sign.
2. Their approach to WWCC screening and relief staff, in writing.
3. Current certificates of currency for public liability and workers compensation insurance.
4. Their WHS documents: safe work procedures, chemical list with SDSs and site induction process.
5. How supervision and inspections work, and who your day-to-day contact is.
6. Separate pricing for periodic and holiday work, so you can see what the routine price includes.
7. References from other schools or education sites of a similar size.
8. Confirmation that cleaners are paid at least Cleaning Services Award rates, and an active ABN. The Victorian Department of Education, for example, asks its schools to check award compliance, ABN status, insurance, WWCCs and references when they evaluate a cleaning proposal. Our cleaning award pay guide explains how award rates feed into a cleaning quote.

Our general guide on how to choose a commercial cleaning company goes deeper on insurance, contracts and handover.

Managing the contract once it starts

The first term sets the standard. These habits help:

• Agree measurable standards. For example: toilets restocked every clean, issues logged by staff fixed by the next shift, inspection scores above an agreed level.
• Use one issue log. A shared form or communication book stops complaints being passed through several people.
• Inspect together. A joint walk-through each month in the first term, then each term, works better than reacting to complaints.
• Review before each holiday. Confirm the holiday program, the start-of-term clean and any changes to room use for the next term.
• Keep screening current. Recheck WWCC details whenever cleaners change, not just at contract start.

Frequently asked questions

Do school cleaners need a Working With Children Check in NSW?

Yes. The Office of the Children’s Guardian lists providing cleaning services to a school as work that needs a WWCC. For NSW public schools, contractors need a paid NSW WWCC before entering a school site from 1 September 2026, and volunteer or interstate checks are not accepted.

Can a NSW public school hire its own cleaning company?

Routine cleaning at NSW public schools is arranged through the Department of Education’s whole-of-government cleaning program, which began on 1 January 2026. Principals generally don’t run their own cleaning tender, so ask the Department (CleaningServices@det.nsw.edu.au) about anything outside that program.

How often should classrooms and school toilets be cleaned?

Most schools have classrooms and toilets cleaned every school day, and many add a midday check of student toilets. Deeper periodic work is done in the holidays. The right frequency depends on how each area is used, so set it after a site walk-through.

How much do school cleaners get paid?

Contract cleaners are generally covered by the Cleaning Services Award 2020, which sets minimum rates and penalty rates for shifts that start early or finish late. Check the Fair Work Ombudsman’s current pay guide, and be wary of a quote that looks too low to cover award wages for the hours allowed.

Planning a new cleaning contract for your school?

If you’re preparing a tender or changing contractors before next term, B&K Services provides school cleaning in Sydney, Wollongong and Nowra. We walk the campus with your business manager or facilities team first, free of charge, then agree the scope, frequencies, cleaning hours and responsibilities in writing before work begins. After that, a dedicated account manager runs scheduled quality checks with you. Our teams complete WHS induction and safe chemical handling training, and our insurance documents are available for your procurement file. Read how we work, request a free quote or call 1300 136 954.