What Is the Difference Between Cleaning and Commercial Cleaning?

Complete guide on difference between cleaning and commercial cleaning

The key difference between cleaning and commercial cleaning is the environment, scale, compliance obligations, and professional standards involved. Domestic cleaning is a personal maintenance activity performed in private homes. Commercial cleaning is a regulated professional service delivered under contract in business, institutional, and industrial environments.

The distinction matters for businesses because engaging the wrong type of cleaner for a regulated environment can result in compliance failures, insurance voids, and WorkSafe or Fair Work Ombudsman liability.

At-a-Glance: Domestic vs Commercial Cleaning

Factor	Domestic Cleaning	Commercial Cleaning
Environment	Private residences	Offices, hospitals, retail, industrial sites
Floor Area	Typically under 300 sqm	100 sqm to 10,000+ sqm
Equipment	Consumer-grade; mops, vacuum, cloths	Industrial scrubbers, extractors, pressure washers
Chemicals	Supermarket products (Domestos, Mr Muscle)	APVMA-registered; hospital-grade disinfectants
Qualifications	Not required in most states	CPP30116, WHS certs, SWMS may apply
Legal Framework	Informal; personal arrangement	Cleaning Services Award 2020; Fair Work Act
Contract	Verbal or informal	Formal service agreement with KPIs
Insurance	Optional; not always held	$10M public liability + workers’ comp required
Quality Auditing	Direct verbal feedback	Inspection checklists, ServiceM8, Tanda
Hourly Rate (AUD)	$30 – $50 per hour	$35 – $65+ per hour

Scope and Scale

Domestic cleaning covers the routine maintenance of a private home — vacuuming, dusting, mopping, and bathroom sanitation. The scope is set by the homeowner based on personal preference and lifestyle. A 3-bedroom house typically takes one cleaner 2 to 4 hours per visit.

Commercial cleaning addresses substantially larger floor areas with higher and more varied foot traffic. An office building of 5,000 square metres, a retail shopping centre, or a hospital ward each presents a different hygiene challenge, a different task frequency, and different regulatory obligations. A commercial cleaner working in a food production facility regulated by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) operates to a fundamentally different standard than a domestic cleaner working in a private kitchen.

The complexity of commercial cleaning also extends to the number of stakeholders involved. Facilities managers, tenants, building owners, and compliance officers may all have input into the cleaning specification. Domestic cleaning involves only the homeowner and the cleaner.

A commercial cleaner servicing an aged care facility must align with the Aged Care Quality Standards published by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission — requirements that have no equivalent in domestic cleaning.

Equipment and Chemicals

The equipment used in domestic cleaning is consumer-grade and available from supermarkets and hardware stores. Standard tools include upright or barrel vacuums, mops and buckets, microfibre cloths, and general-purpose cleaning products from brands such as Domestos, Pine O Cleen, and Mr Muscle.

Commercial cleaning requires purpose-built industrial equipment designed for high-output, continuous use across large areas. This includes ride-on scrubber dryers for warehouse and retail floors, truck-mounted or portable carpet extraction machines, single-disc floor polishers and ultra-high-speed (UHS) burnishers, electrostatic disinfectant sprayers, and cold and hot pressure washers rated up to 3,500 PSI.

Chemical selection in commercial cleaning is governed by compliance requirements. Hospital-grade disinfectants must be registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). Food-safe cleaning agents used in commercial kitchens and food processing environments must meet FSANZ standards. Industrial degreasers, solvent-based products, and specialised floor strippers are used under Safety Data Sheet (SDS) protocols and GHS (Globally Harmonised System) labelling requirements under the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017.

Equipment Comparison by Category

Equipment Type	Domestic	Commercial
Vacuum	Upright or barrel; consumer grade	Industrial wet-dry; HEPA-rated backpack units
Floor Cleaning	Mop and bucket	Ride-on scrubber dryers; auto-scrubbers
Surface Pressure	Not typically used	Cold and hot pressure washers up to 3,500 PSI
Carpet Care	Consumer carpet shampooer (if any)	Truck-mounted or portable extraction units
Floor Polishing	Not applicable	Single-disc floor polishers; UHS burnishers
Disinfection	Spray bottle; general-purpose products	Electrostatic sprayers; fogging machines

Training and Certification

Domestic cleaners in Australia are not required to hold any formal qualifications. Most learn on the job, and entry-level positions are accessible without prior experience. Basic personal protective equipment (PPE) use and safe chemical handling are practical expectations but are not governed by a formal standard.

Commercial cleaners working in regulated environments are subject to more structured requirements. The Certificate III in Cleaning Operations (CPP30116) under the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package provides the nationally recognised baseline qualification for commercial cleaners. It covers cleaning procedures, equipment operation, chemical handling, workplace health and safety, and infection control principles.

Beyond CPP30116, specific environments impose additional training. Cleaners working in healthcare facilities are trained in infection prevention and control protocols consistent with guidelines published by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Industrial cleaners may require confined space entry permits, chemical handling certification, and high-risk work licences issued by state regulators such as SafeWork NSW or WorkSafe Victoria.

The Certificate III in Cleaning Operations (CPP30116) is the key qualification separating formally trained commercial cleaners from general domestic operators. It directly affects award classification and billable rate under the Cleaning Services Award 2020.

Employment and Legal Framework

Domestic cleaning arrangements in Australia are typically informal. A homeowner may pay a private cleaner by cash or bank transfer with no formal agreement, no written scope, and no employment documentation. This arrangement carries risk — particularly if the cleaner is injured on the premises or if a dispute arises over payment or performance.

Commercial cleaning businesses operate within a well-defined legal framework. Employment is governed by the Cleaning Services Award 2020 under the Fair Work Act 2009, which mandates minimum hourly rates by classification level, penalty rates for weekend and evening work, casual loading, and leave entitlements. Superannuation contributions at 11.5% are payable quarterly for all eligible employees.

Commercial cleaning contracts are formal legal documents. A well-drafted contract specifies the scope of work in detail, the frequency of services, performance standards, KPIs, liability provisions, indemnity clauses, insurance requirements, and termination conditions. These provisions protect both the cleaning company and the client business in the event of a dispute, injury, or service failure.

Domestic cleaning agreements, where they exist at all, are typically verbal or at most an informal written list. They carry no enforceable KPIs, no indemnity provisions, and no structured mechanism for quality monitoring.

Quality Assurance and Auditing

Commercial cleaning contracts are subject to formal quality management processes. Inspection checklists — covering room-by-room task completion, chemical dilution compliance, equipment condition, and hygiene standards — are completed by supervisors or quality managers during unannounced or scheduled audits.

Digital workforce and job management platforms such as ServiceM8, Tanda, and Deputy are widely used in commercial cleaning to track shift attendance, task completion, and client feedback in real time. Non-compliance with agreed service standards can trigger contractual remedies including financial penalties or contract termination.

Large commercial cleaning contracts — particularly those for government buildings, hospitals, and universities — may also be subject to third-party auditing by organisations such as the Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA) or assessors operating under ISO 9001 quality management certification.

Domestic cleaning has no equivalent structure. The homeowner assesses quality informally and feedback is direct. There are no documented standards, no audit trail, and no contractual mechanism for addressing recurring underperformance beyond terminating the arrangement.

Insurance and Liability

Public liability insurance is a legal and contractual requirement for commercial cleaning businesses in Australia. Most commercial cleaning contracts specify a minimum of $10 million in public liability coverage. Workers’ compensation insurance is required under state legislation for any cleaning company employing staff — for example, under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 in New South Wales and the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 in Victoria.

Domestic cleaners may hold personal accident or public liability insurance, but this is not universally required and is often absent in informal arrangements. If a domestic cleaner is injured in your home and is classified as an employee under the ATO or Fair Work test, the homeowner may bear workers’ compensation liability regardless of whether they believed they were engaging an independent contractor.

In a commercial setting, liability extends beyond physical injury to include property damage, data security breaches from accessing secure areas, and WHS compliance failures — all managed through formal risk documentation and contract provisions.

Commercial cleaning companies operating in sensitive environments — such as data centres, legal offices, and healthcare facilities — are typically required to provide evidence of professional indemnity insurance in addition to public liability and workers’ compensation. Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) document site-specific hazards and controls and form part of the contractual risk management framework.

Cost Comparison: Domestic vs Commercial Cleaning

Domestic cleaning in Australia typically costs $30 to $50 per hour. The rate reflects labour only, with minimal overhead for compliance, insurance, or specialist equipment. This is appropriate for private residences where hygiene standards are personal rather than regulatory.

Commercial cleaning ranges from $35 to $65 per hour for standard services, with specialist services — including healthcare cleaning, industrial cleaning, and post-construction clean-up — commanding significantly higher rates. The cost premium reflects the additional compliance obligations, insurance costs, specialised equipment, trained personnel, and quality management systems that commercial clients require.

Service Type Cost Comparison

Service Type	Typical Rate (AUD/hr)	Key Cost Driver
Domestic maintenance clean	$30 – $50	Labour only; minimal compliance overhead
Commercial office cleaning	$35 – $55	Insurance, Award compliance, equipment
Industrial cleaning	$50 – $80	Hazmat certs, specialist equipment, SWMS
Healthcare / infection control	$55 – $90	APVMA-grade products, TGA compliance
End-of-lease / deep clean	$45 – $70	Labour intensity; one-off scope
Post-construction clean	$60 – $100+	Debris removal, specialist equipment, access

The cost difference between domestic and commercial cleaning is not simply a margin premium — it reflects the genuine additional cost of meeting the regulatory, insurance, and operational requirements that apply to professional commercial cleaning. Attempting to use a domestic cleaner in a regulated commercial environment to reduce cost creates legal, compliance, and reputational risk that significantly outweighs any short-term saving.

Which Type of Cleaning Do You Need?

There are four types of cleaners in Australia. If the premises is a private residence with no regulatory hygiene obligations, a domestic cleaner is appropriate. If the premises is a workplace, healthcare environment, food production facility, aged care centre, school, or commercial office — particularly one subject to compliance auditing, tenancy agreements, or insurance conditions — a commercial cleaning company is the correct choice.

Facilities managers and commercial tenants should also confirm that their building’s cleaning specification aligns with lease obligations. Most commercial leases and property management agreements specify minimum cleaning standards that only a properly insured and Award-compliant commercial cleaning company can reliably satisfy.