Cleaning jobs · Pay
How much do cleaners get paid in Australia?
Quick answer: Employed cleaners must be paid at least the Cleaning Services Award minimum: $27.08 to $29.45 an hour for permanent staff and $33.85 to $36.81 for casuals, from 1 July 2026. Contractors are paid a rate per job or per hour and cover their own costs from it; Simply Maid's starting base rate is $45 an hour. Cleaners with their own clients set their own prices.
The three ways cleaners are paid
How much you earn depends less on the hourly figure than on which of three arrangements you work under.
- As an employee of a cleaning company, on at least the award minimum. The employer pays super, leave and insurance and supplies the work.
- As a contractor through a platform or agency, like Simply Maid. You're paid a rate for each job and cover your own kit, travel, tax and insurance.
- With your own clients, running a small business. You set your prices and keep the margin, and you also find the customers and do the admin.
The hourly figure isn't take-home pay in any of them. Compare what each one leaves you after the costs you cover and the hours you can actually fill.
Cleaning Services Award minimum rates
Most cleaning companies that employ cleaners pay under the Cleaning Services Award. These are its adult minimums from 1 July 2026.
Weekend work pays more for employees. A casual level 1 cleaner is paid 175% of the minimum hourly rate on Saturdays ($47.39) and 225% on Sundays ($60.93), and those rates include the casual loading. Check the Fair Work pay guide for allowances, overtime and junior rates.
| Classification | Full-time and part-time, per hour | Casual, per hour | Full-time, per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning services employee level 1 | $27.08 | $33.85 | $1,028.90 |
| Cleaning services employee level 2 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $1,062.90 |
| Cleaning services employee level 3 | $29.45 | $36.81 | $1,119.10 |
Casual rates are the minimum hourly rate plus the award's 25% casual loading, rounded to the cent. Employers can pay more than these minimums. Source: Cleaning Services Award 2020 [MA000022], clause 15.1. Checked 6 October 2026.
Contractor pay: how Simply Maid pays
Simply Maid pays independent contractors a starting base rate of $45 an hour on the cleaning time allocated to each job, in a weekly pay run.
A job allocated three hours pays $135 at the starting rate. Your rate rises with your tier as you build a record of completed, on-time, well-rated cleans, up to $48 an hour. Same-day jobs carry a $20 bonus, and long drives earn a drive bonus. Tiers and earnings explains each one.
As a contractor you don't get paid leave, and you cover your own kit, cleaning products, travel, tax and insurance from what you earn. You also choose your hours and travel range, and you accept the jobs that suit you. Work depends on bookings near you, so hours aren't guaranteed.
Running your own clients
With your own clients you set the price, so you keep more of each hour, but every unfilled hour, cancellation and late payment is yours too.
Customers in Australia usually pay a cleaning business more per hour than a cleaner earns through an employer or platform, because the price has to cover finding the customers, travel between jobs, products, insurance, admin and the hours that don't get booked. Our pricing guide shows what households pay for a clean in each city.
How to start a cleaning business walks through the ABN, GST, insurance and pricing.
Which pays more?
It depends on how many paid hours you can fill and which costs you carry, not on the headline rate.
- Employment gives the most security: guaranteed minimums, super, paid leave and someone else's insurance. The hourly rate is lower.
- Contracting through a platform pays a higher hourly rate and lets you choose your hours. In return you carry your own costs, and the work depends on bookings near you.
- Your own clients can pay the most per hour once you're busy. Getting busy is the hard part, and the risk is all yours.
Many cleaners combine them, for example regular platform work alongside a few private clients.
What moves your pay up
Reliability and regular customers do more for a cleaner's pay than anything else.
- Regular customers. A weekly or fortnightly home fills your week predictably.
- Your record. On Simply Maid, tier rates reward completed, on-time, well-rated cleans.
- Availability that matches demand. Weekday daytime hours and a wider travel range reach more jobs.
- Same-day work. Taking short-notice jobs earns the same-day bonus.
Questions people ask
How much does a cleaner get paid per hour in Australia?
Employed cleaners get at least $27.08 an hour ($33.85 casual) under the Cleaning Services Award from 1 July 2026. Contractors are paid more per hour and cover their own costs; Simply Maid's starting base rate is $45 an hour.
Do cleaners get paid weekly?
Some do. Simply Maid pays contractors weekly, by bank transfer. Employers set their own pay cycles, usually weekly or fortnightly.
What is the highest paid cleaning job?
Specialist work such as high-rise window cleaning, biohazard and crime-scene cleaning, and remote mine-site cleaning usually pays more, because of the training, risk or travel involved. Simply Maid offers house cleaning only.
Do cleaners get paid more on weekends?
Employees do: the award's weekend rates for a casual level 1 cleaner are $47.39 an hour on Saturdays and $60.93 on Sundays. For contractors it depends on the rate the platform or customer pays.
Is cleaning cash in hand?
It shouldn't be. Cash-in-hand work leaves you without records, insurance or protection. Simply Maid pays by bank transfer in a weekly pay run.
When you're ready
Apply for cleaning jobs
Start with your mobile and email. Approval is automatic once your checks are complete.
Start with your mobile and email. Your progress saves as you go.
Sources
Award rates are quoted from the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman on the date shown. Simply Maid pay figures are read live from the rates Simply Maid pays.
- Cleaning Services Award 2020 [MA000022], Fair Work Commission. Read 6 October 2026. Clause 15.1 minimum rates from 1 July 2026; clause 11.2 casual loading (25%); clause 20.2 Table 7 casual Saturday and Sunday rates.
- Cleaning Award summary, Fair Work Ombudsman. Read 6 October 2026. Who the award covers.
- Tiers and earnings, Simply Maid cleaner help. Read 6 October 2026. How the tier rates and bonuses work.
- Payment schedule, Simply Maid cleaner help. Read 6 October 2026. When the weekly pay run is paid.
Official rates and rules quoted from the government source on the date shown. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.