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.
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.
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:
Then verify the checks through your school’s own child protection procedure, and record who is on site and when.
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.
| Area | Typical routine | Points to specify |
|---|---|---|
| Classrooms | Daily: bins, floors, desks and high-touch points | Whether chairs go up, how to treat student work and displays |
| Student toilets | Daily, sometimes a midday touch-up | Consumables restocking, vandalism and graffiti reporting |
| Staff rooms and offices | Daily | Kitchenette, dishwasher, fridge clean-outs |
| Canteen | Daily, coordinated with canteen staff | Which food preparation tasks stay with the canteen operator |
| Halls and gyms | After each use or several times a week | Sports floor care method, event set-up and pack-down |
| Libraries | Daily vacuuming, periodic shelf dusting | Quiet hours, delicate equipment |
| Science labs and art rooms | Daily general clean | What cleaners must not touch: chemicals, specimens, kilns |
| Entries, corridors, covered areas | Daily | Leaf litter, chewing gum, wet-weather mats |
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
Our general guide on how to choose a commercial cleaning company goes deeper on insurance, contracts and handover.
The first term sets the standard. These habits help:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.