What is the Cleaning Services Award (MA000022)?

The Cleaning Services Award (MA000022) is the modern award that sets the minimum pay rates, penalties, allowances, and conditions for employees working in commercial and residential cleaning across Australia. It covers cleaners, leading hands, supervisors, and some specialist cleaning roles.

If your business employs cleaners, window cleaners, laundry workers attached to a cleaning operation, or similar roles, this award almost certainly applies to you — unless you have a registered enterprise agreement in place that provides at least equivalent conditions.

Understanding the award is not optional. Getting it wrong exposes your business to underpayment claims, Fair Work audits, and significant back-pay liability.

Who is covered by MA000022?

The award covers employees engaged in:

  • Commercial and contract cleaning
  • Window cleaning
  • Laundry and linen services connected to a cleaning operation
  • Caretaking and building service roles that fall within the award's scope

Employers covered include contract cleaning companies, facilities management businesses, and any employer that operates a cleaning division. Some in-house cleaning roles at hospitals or aged care facilities may fall under a different award, so it is worth checking the classification definitions carefully.

Employment types

The award recognises three main employment categories:

Full-time employees work an average of 38 ordinary hours per week and receive all standard entitlements.

Part-time employees work fewer than 38 hours per week. Their hours must be agreed in writing, and they receive entitlements on a pro-rata basis.

Casual employees receive a casual loading on top of the base rate to compensate for the lack of guaranteed hours and paid leave entitlements. The casual loading under this award is 25%.

Pay rates from 1 July 2026

The Fair Work Commission's 2025–2026 Annual Wage Review delivered a wage increase that took effect from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. The specific dollar rates in the award are updated each financial year, so you should always verify current rates directly from the Fair Work Commission's Pay Calculator or the official award document.

The award uses a classification structure. Common classifications include:

  • Cleaner Grade 1: the entry-level rate for general cleaning duties
  • Cleaner Grade 2: applies to employees with additional skills or responsibilities, such as operating specialised equipment
  • Leading Hand: a higher rate for employees who supervise a small team
  • Supervisor: a further step up for those managing a larger cleaning crew

Payroll software that interprets modern awards automatically can reduce the risk of applying the wrong rate, particularly when classifications change or annual increases take effect. Humanforce's award interpretation engine is designed to keep pay conditions current so your team does not have to manually update rates at the start of each financial year.

Penalty rates and overtime

For this article, standard hours means 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Work performed outside standard hours attracts a penalty or loading above the ordinary rate. The key rates under the Cleaning Services Award are:

Early morning and late shifts (weekdays): work starting before 6:00 am or finishing after 6:00 pm on a weekday attracts a penalty on the hours worked outside standard hours. Cleaners working early morning office shifts or late-night venue cleans are the most common examples.

Saturday: all ordinary hours worked on a Saturday attract a loading compared with the weekday rate. The specific percentage is set in the award and applies from the first hour worked on that day.

Sunday: all ordinary hours worked on a Sunday attract a higher loading than Saturday, reflecting the premium placed on Sunday work under Australian award conditions.

Public holidays: employees required to work on a public holiday are entitled to the public holiday penalty rate under the award, plus their ordinary pay, resulting in a significantly higher effective rate.

Overtime: overtime rates apply when an employee works beyond their ordinary daily or weekly hours. The award sets a higher rate for the first few hours of overtime and a further rate beyond that threshold.

Because cleaning rosters often span early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and public holidays, the cumulative effect of these penalties can make payroll calculation genuinely complex. A single cleaner working a split roster across multiple sites may attract multiple different rates within the same week.

Allowances

The award includes several allowances that must be paid in addition to the base rate:

  • Broken shift allowance: where an employee works a broken shift (two separate periods of work in a day), an allowance applies.
  • Uniform and laundry allowance: where an employer requires a uniform but does not launder it, a laundry allowance is payable.
  • Vehicle allowance: where an employee is required to use their own vehicle, a per-kilometre allowance applies.
  • First aid allowance: for employees who hold a current first aid certificate and are required to use it.

Allowances are updated alongside the wage review each financial year, so it is important to apply the current figures rather than relying on rates from a previous period.

What changed from 1 July 2026?

The main change effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 is the annual wage increase flowing from the 2025–2026 Annual Wage Review. All minimum rates in the award, including base rates and allowances expressed as flat dollar amounts, moved up from that date.

If your business was still processing pay at the pre-July 2026 rates after that first full pay period commenced, you are underpaying affected employees and need to correct this promptly.

A second significant change to Australian payroll from 1 July 2026 is Payday Super. Employers are now required to pay superannuation on each payday rather than quarterly. For cleaning businesses with large casual and part-time workforces, this means super contributions flow much more frequently. If your payroll system is not set up to handle per-pay-cycle super obligations, the liability can accumulate quickly.

Rostering and award compliance in cleaning

One of the biggest compliance risks in the cleaning industry is the gap between roster design and actual pay calculations. A roster that looks straightforward on paper can trigger multiple penalties in practice, particularly when:

  • Shifts start before 6:00 am at commercial sites
  • Employees finish after 6:00 pm at retail or hospitality venues
  • Weekend shifts are common, such as stadium or event cleans
  • Casual employees are used to cover last-minute absences

The safest approach is to have award conditions embedded at the point of rostering, so managers can see the labour cost implications of a shift before it is published, not after the pay run. Humanforce's workforce management tools surface compliance signals during roster creation, helping teams catch potential award breaches before a roster is finalised rather than discovering them at the pay run.

Record-keeping obligations

Employers covered by the award must keep accurate records of:

  • Hours worked each day, including start and finish times
  • Pay received for each period, including any allowances
  • Leave balances and accruals
  • Superannuation contributions

Fair Work inspectors can request these records, and the burden of proof in an underpayment dispute typically sits with the employer. Digital time and attendance records that sync directly to payroll significantly reduce the risk of discrepancies. Humanforce's time and attendance tools capture shift data at the point of clocking and feed it through to payroll, reducing the manual reconciliation step that often introduces errors.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Cleaning Services Award cover in-house cleaners employed directly by a hotel or hospital?

Not necessarily. In-house cleaning staff at hospitals may be covered by a health industry award, and hotel cleaners may fall under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award. The specific coverage clause in MA000022 and the relevant competing award should both be checked against the employee's actual duties and the employer's primary industry.

What is the casual loading under the Cleaning Services Award?

The casual loading is 25%, applied on top of the minimum base rate for the classification. This loading compensates casual employees for not receiving paid leave entitlements or guaranteed hours.

Do penalties apply to all shifts outside 6:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday?

Yes, in general terms. Work performed before 6:00 am or after 6:00 pm on a weekday, or on Saturdays, Sundays, or public holidays, attracts a penalty or loading as specified in the award. The exact percentages vary by day and time, so you should check the current award text or use a compliant payroll system to apply the correct rate.

When did the 2026 wage increase take effect for the Cleaning Services Award?

The increase from the 2025–2026 Annual Wage Review took effect from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Employers must have applied the updated rates from that pay period onwards.

What is Payday Super and does it affect cleaning businesses?

Payday Super is the requirement, effective 1 July 2026, for employers to pay superannuation contributions on each payday rather than quarterly. It applies to all employers, including those in the cleaning sector. Businesses with large casual or part-time workforces need to ensure their payroll system can handle per-cycle super payments to remain compliant.

Can a registered enterprise agreement override the Cleaning Services Award?

Yes, provided the enterprise agreement passes the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) and is approved by the Fair Work Commission. The agreement must leave employees no worse off overall than the award. If a valid enterprise agreement is in place, its conditions apply in place of the award for covered employees.