On 2 June 2026 the Fair Work Commission handed down its Annual Wage Review, and from 1 July it took effect: minimum award wages across Australia rose 4.75%, applying from the first full pay period on or after that date. The National Minimum Wage now sits at $26.44 an hour, or $1,004.90 a week. For anyone who buys commercial cleaning, this is the one piece of industry news that reliably reaches your invoice, so it is worth understanding what it actually changes.
Cleaning is a wage business. Under the Cleaning Services Award, the entry-level adult base rate moves to just over $27 an hour with this increase, and $33.85 for casuals on a weekday, before penalty rates for early, late and weekend work, superannuation, WorkCover, insurances, equipment and supervision are added on top. Exact rates per classification are published in the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay guide; the point is the direction and the size: the legal cost of an hour of compliant cleaning labour just rose by close to five per cent.
That resets the floor in our 2026 rates guide. The casual Level 1 weekday rate is now $33.85 an hour, and that is the wage alone: add 12% superannuation, WorkCover, insurance, payroll tax, equipment and supervision, and an operator with PAYG staff cannot sustainably charge below about $45 an hour on a weekday. A quote that sits well under that is not a bargain; it is a business quietly deciding which of wages, supervision, insurance or time on site it will shortchange to hit the number.
So what should you expect as a buyer? Around July, compliant cleaning companies issue rate reviews. A letter in the vicinity of the award movement — roughly four to six per cent depending on how much of the contract is labour, penalties and consumables — is a provider passing through a cost they do not control, transparently. It is annoying and it is normal, in the same way your own payroll does not absorb the award increase by magic.
The counterintuitive part: the quote that does NOT move is the one to question. A cleaning price that holds flat through a 4.75% wage increase is being funded by something. Sometimes it is efficiency; far more often it is fewer minutes on your site, a supervisor who stops visiting, insurance that quietly lapses, or workers who are not being paid to the award. None of those show up in the quote. All of them show up in your workplace within a quarter.
Three questions worth asking any provider this month, including us: how did the 1 July award increase affect your rates; is everyone on site engaged under the Cleaning Services Award or an equivalent registered agreement; and can you show the scope we are paying for, in writing, so the price and the standard stay attached to each other.
If you are comparing quotes right now, do it like for like: same written scope, same frequency, same inclusions, and treat the award floor as your reality check. Our cost calculator reflects current market rates if you want a fast sanity check, and the rates guide explains what moves a quote up or down inside the band.
For our own clients: rate reviews arrive with the scope attached, the maths shown, and nothing hidden in the delta. That is what a wage increase should look like from the buying side — visible, explained and boring. If your current provider handles it any other way, a 15-minute call and a walkthrough will get you a transparent, itemised alternative.
Frequently asked questions
How much did cleaning wages increase on 1 July 2026?
The Fair Work Commission’s 2026 Annual Wage Review increased minimum award wages by 4.75%, applying from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The National Minimum Wage is now $26.44 per hour ($1,004.90 per week). Exact Cleaning Services Award rates per classification are in the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay guide.
Will my commercial cleaning contract price go up?
Almost certainly, if your provider pays to the award. Expect a rate review around July of roughly four to six per cent depending on the labour share of your contract. A transparent provider shows the scope and the maths alongside the new price.
Is a cleaning quote that did not increase a red flag?
Usually, yes. A price held flat through a 4.75% award increase is being funded by something — commonly fewer minutes on site, less supervision, or underpayment. Ask what absorbed the increase before treating it as a saving.
When does the increase apply?
From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, so depending on pay cycles the cost lands in providers’ July payrolls and flows into rate reviews around the same time.