The Melbourne market map, 2026
Commercial cleaning in Melbourne is not one market. It is three, stacked. The rate a buyer sees depends on which tier they buy from.
| Tier | Typical rate (ex GST) |
|---|---|
| Budget generalist: sole traders, ABN family teams, franchise subcontractors. Minimal documentation, price-led; standard drift within months is common. | $32–$44 |
| Mid-market operator: PAYG-employed crews, documented scope, insurance, supervision at scale. Suits standard offices with routine expectations. | $45–$70 |
| Premium specialist: continuity of cleaner, sector-specific chemistry and equipment, per-visit photo sign-off, compliance documentation, guaranteed rectification. Suits medical, corporate, coworking and member-facing sites. | $75–$110+ |
Oscar White sits in the premium specialist tier. We do not compete on price with budget generalists; the product is different. We compete on the standard held in month twelve. We also do not sell that tier by the hour — see the packages below.
What Oscar White charges
We do not quote by the hour. Nobody buys hours; you are buying an office that is client-ready every morning, so the price is a fixed monthly figure against a written scope. It does not move because a visit ran long. Every quote is still itemised — you see exactly what is in the scope and what is not — and if a competitor will not itemise theirs, that is your first data point.
| Package | Per month (ex GST) |
|---|---|
| Light Office — two nights a week. Full scope, documented checklist built at your walkthrough, photo report after every visit, guaranteed rectification. | $1,400–$1,700 |
| Standard Office — three nights a week. Adds a monthly inspection of your floor against its own scope. The common shape for a professional-services floor with regular client traffic. | $2,000–$2,400 |
| Daily Office — five nights a week. Adds a monthly inspection and a documented monthly review. For practices hosting clients every day. | $3,300–$3,900 |
What actually sits inside our rate
Five things justify a premium specialist charge-out that a mid-market rate cannot carry.
1. Continuity. The same cleaner returns to your site every visit, working to a checklist built at your walkthrough. Nobody re-learns your space, nobody re-explains where the server room is, and the standard does not depend on who the roster sent. That is the single largest difference between a premium program and a cheap one, and it is the first thing to go at $45 an hour.
2. Chemistry and equipment. TGA-listed hospital-grade disinfectants where indicated, neutral detergent where indicated, colour-coded equipment per NSW Health PD2020_022. Every chemical on site has an ARTG number and a current SDS accessible to your staff.
3. Documentation as a deliverable. Every visit signs off. Every quarter you get a documented review. RACGP or NSQHS assessors, where relevant, get a compliance pack, not a shrug.
4. Inspection on a schedule. Your site is inspected against its own scope on a set cadence, not when someone complains. A standard that is only checked after a complaint has already cost you the thing the complaint was about.
5. Guaranteed rectification. If the standard slips, we fix it at our cost, not argued about. That guarantee does not survive a $45/hr charge-out. It survives ours.
Where our rate does not compete
We do not quote against budget generalists at $32–$44/hr. That is a different market. If price is the only variable, that market serves it, but understand what sits inside a quote at that level before signing (see the FAQ below).
We also do not quote against mid-market operators for scopes where mid-market is the right product. A 200 square metre suburban office with a three-visit vacuum-and-empty scope does not need Oscar White. It needs a competent mid-market operator, and there are several in Melbourne.
Our fit is where standard held under audit matters: medical, partner-facing corporate, member-facing coworking and fitness, and any site where the cost of a compliance event or a client-facing embarrassment sits several orders of magnitude above the cleaning contract itself.
The Fair Work Cleaning Services Award, for context
From 1 July 2026 the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review lifted Cleaning Services Award rates by 4.75%. That places the wage floor at:
| Cleaning Services Award, Level 1 (from 1 July 2026) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Casual, weekday | $33.85 / hour |
| Casual, Saturday | $47.39 / hour |
| Casual, Sunday | $60.93 / hour |
That is the wage line only. On top of it, a compliant PAYG employer in Victoria carries superannuation at 12% (ATO), WorkCover, public liability and management liability insurance, Victorian payroll tax above the $1M threshold at 4.85% (SRO Victoria), annual and personal leave, equipment, chemicals, supervision, training and margin.
We reference the award floor for context, not for argument. Our rate sits above the mid-market because the deliverable is different, not because the compliance stack is different: every operator above $45/hr should be carrying the same compliance stack we do.
How to price the right way
- Insist on a walkthrough and a written scope from every bidder.
- Ask each bidder to state their effective cleaner-hour rate, insurance levels, supervision span, and how absences are covered.
- Line up inclusions, not totals: consumables, glass, carpets, kitchen degrease, deep-clean cycles.
- Confirm every bidder holds a Victorian labour hire licence (public register) or can name their specific exemption.
- Ask what happens the day the standard slips. If the answer is not a guarantee, you do not have one.
The right rate is the one attached to a standard you can hold the cleaner to twelve months from now.
If you would rather have a real number than an average, tell us about your space. A 15-minute call and a walkthrough is enough to put a transparent, itemised quote in your hands, or use our cost calculator for a live estimate.
Frequently asked questions
What does Oscar White charge for commercial cleaning in Melbourne?
Office cleaning is sold as a monthly package against a written scope: Light Office (two nights a week) $1,400–$1,700 a month ex GST, Standard Office (three nights) $2,000–$2,400, and Daily Office (five nights) $3,300–$3,900. Bands assume a floor of roughly 250–450 square metres. Larger sites, member-facing spaces, gyms and clinical suites are quoted after a walkthrough.
Why does Oscar White cost more than a mid-market cleaner?
Because the product is different. Premium specialist work carries continuity of cleaner, TGA-listed chemistry, colour-coded equipment, digital per-visit photo sign-off, RACGP or NSQHS-aligned documentation where relevant, and guaranteed rectification. Those are cost lines a $45–$70/hr mid-market rate cannot carry sustainably.
When is Oscar White the right choice, and when is it not?
Right choice: medical clinics, partner-facing corporate offices, member-facing coworking and fitness spaces, and any site where the cost of a compliance event or client-facing embarrassment sits several orders of magnitude above the cleaning contract. Not the right choice: routine suburban office scopes where a competent mid-market operator delivers the standard the client actually needs.
What is the general Melbourne market rate for commercial cleaning?
The broad 2026 market band is $45–$75 per hour excluding GST for professional PAYG operators, with budget generalists (sole traders, family ABN teams, franchise subcontractors) charging $32–$44/hr and premium specialists like Oscar White above that band. Oscar White does not sell by the hour: office cleaning is a fixed monthly package from $1,400/mo ex GST. Choice between tiers depends on scope, sector, and the cost of standard drift.
Is a fixed monthly price better than an hourly rate?
For regular commercial cleaning, yes. A fixed price tied to a documented scope and standard puts the productivity risk on the cleaner, not the client, and makes accountability simple. Every Oscar White contract of any material size is quoted this way. Hourly rates suit ad hoc, overflow or one-off work where scope is genuinely unknown.
What is the minimum wage for commercial cleaners in Australia in 2026?
Under the Cleaning Services Award MA000022, the casual Level 1 weekday minimum from 1 July 2026 is $33.85 per hour. Saturday is $47.39 and Sunday is $60.93. A compliant PAYG charge-out, covering wage, 12% superannuation, WorkCover, insurance, equipment, supervision and margin, sits at approximately $45/hr and above for a mid-market operator, and materially higher for premium specialist work.
How can some Melbourne cleaners charge under $40 per hour?
A few business models make the maths work at that price. Sole-trader owner-operators carry no supervision layer, no payroll tax, no annual-leave loading. Family teams on ABNs skirt super and leave obligations. Franchise subcontractors often accept $35–$42/hr from a master franchisor who bills the end client materially higher. And a proportion of the sub-$40/hr market operates outside the Cleaning Services Award altogether. None of these models can carry a Victorian labour hire licence, $20M public liability, on-road supervision, or payroll tax compliance at scale. If the scope needs those things, a sub-$40/hr quote will not deliver them.
Do I have to hold a Victorian labour hire licence to hire a cleaner?
No: the licence obligation sits with the provider of the labour, not the host. But every provider supplying cleaning workers to a Victorian site must hold one unless a specific exemption applies. Look up any provider on the Labour Hire Authority public register. Oscar White holds a current Victorian labour hire licence.