Hiring your own cleaner looks like the cheaper option on a spreadsheet. One wage, one person on site, nobody to chase for updates. Office managers, strata committees and business owners across Brisbane CBD and Fortitude Valley run that calculation every year, and the hourly rate is where most of them stop looking. The figure that matters takes in superannuation, leave, insurance, equipment and the weeks nobody turns up. Compare that against what commercial cleaning providers in Brisbane quote and the answer shifts, often by a wide margin. The comparison below works through both sides so you can run the numbers for your own site.
The Full Wage Bill Behind an In-House Cleaner
An employee costs well above their hourly rate once the statutory add-ons land. These items stack on top of the wage itself:
| What you pay | Why it applies |
| Superannuation at 12% | Compulsory on ordinary time earnings |
| Four weeks annual leave | National Employment Standards minimum |
| Ten days personal leave | Sick and carer’s leave entitlement |
| Public holidays | Paid days with no work performed |
| WorkCover Queensland premium | Compulsory employer insurance in this state |
| Payroll tax | Applies once your total wages pass the Queensland threshold |
| Equipment and chemicals | Vacuums, mops, machines, consumables and replacements |
| Storage space | Floor area given over to a cleaning cupboard |
Add recruitment time, induction and the hours a manager spends supervising, and the gap between the advertised rate and the true annual figure widens considerably.
Obligations That Land on You as the Employer
Employing a cleaner makes you responsible for their safety at work, and that responsibility carries weight under Queensland law.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 places a duty of care on you as the person conducting the business. Cleaning chemicals are hazardous substances, which means safety data sheets need to be accessible, storage has to meet requirements and the person using them needs training in how. Wages and conditions fall under the Cleaning Services Award 2020, with its own rates for evenings, weekends and public holidays.
None of this is beyond a small business. It does add up to a compliance job somebody has to own, and that somebody is usually a manager with a full plate already.
The Gap Nobody Plans For
Your cleaner takes four weeks of annual leave every year, gets sick like anyone else, and may resign with a week’s notice.
Each of those creates an empty building. Bins overflow, bathrooms run dry and complaints land on the same desk that now has to find a replacement. Finding a temporary cleaner at short notice in Brisbane usually means paying a premium for somebody who has never seen your floor plan.
That continuity problem is the single most common reason sites move across to a contracted crew.
What a Commercial Cleaning Company in Brisbane Takes On
A commercial cleaning company Brisbane businesses appoint shifts a long list of responsibilities off your desk:
- Staffing and cover. Leave, illness and turnover become the provider’s problem, with a replacement crew arranged by them
- Insurance. Public liability moves to the contractor, and $10 million public liability cover is a sensible benchmark to ask about
- Screening. Police-checked cleaners matter on sites with secure access, education facilities and buildings holding sensitive material
- Equipment and chemicals. Vacuums, mops, machines and glass materials arrive with the crew, so you give up no storage and buy no stock
- Scope and accountability. A room-by-room checklist agreed in advance stops standards drifting after the first few months
- Scheduling around you. Early morning, evening and weekend slots keep cleaners out of your working day
Pricing for commercial cleaning Brisbane sites usually works on floor size and visit frequency, quoted monthly after a walkthrough.
When Keeping It In-House Still Stacks Up
Contracted cleaning suits most commercial sites, though a few situations genuinely favour an employee:
- Large sites needing someone present through the whole day for spills, bins and reactive jobs
- Buildings with security clearance so restrictive that external crews create more work than they save
- Operations where cleaning blends into another role, such as a caretaker who also does light maintenance
- Businesses already running an HR function with capacity for another employee
Sites in Rocklea, Eagle Farm and other industrial pockets sometimes fall into the first group, where shift patterns run long and somebody on the floor makes sense.
Comparing Commercial Cleaners in Brisbane Side by Side
Put the same questions to every provider and the quotes become comparable:
- What public liability cover do you hold?
- Are your cleaners police-checked, and can you evidence it?
- Will the same crew attend my site each visit?
- What does the checklist include, and who agrees it?
- What happens when something is missed, and how fast?
- Is equipment and chemical supply included in the price?
- What notice period applies if I want to change providers?
Any provider comfortable answering all seven in writing tends to be the one still meeting the standard in year two. Most commercial cleaners Brisbane sites keep long term were chosen on those answers, never on price alone.
Final Word
Both routes can work, and your site decides which one fits. Weigh the full wage bill against a monthly quote, then add what it saves you to stop managing leave cover. For most offices, strata buildings and shared spaces across Brisbane, the contracted option wins on both counts.
Reset Cleaning Crew brings police-checked crews, $10 million public liability cover and a room-by-room checklist to sites in Brisbane CBD, Milton, Toowong and Newstead. Book a free 15 minute walkthrough and compare a commercial cleaning quote in Brisbane against your own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
We do not push long lock-in contracts, so ask us about a short initial period. Judge us on the first few visits, then decide if you want to continue. A good fit shows early.
Check your employment obligations first, including notice and any redundancy pay. The Fair Work Ombudsman or an HR adviser can confirm what applies. We start the changeover once your decision is final and your people are looked after.
Yes. Many sites keep daily upkeep in-house and call us for periodic jobs like carpet steam cleaning or floor machine scrubbing. We quote those as one-off jobs, and you approve the scope and price first.
Yes. Tell us your committee meeting dates, and we plan the walkthrough and quote around them. Our written scope covers lobbies, lifts, stairwells and shared facilities, so members can review it before they approve.
We agree who holds each key, fob and alarm code, and where they are stored. Tell us about lifts, alarms and restricted floors early, so the first visit runs smoothly. If anything changes later, such as a new code or a lost fob, let us know straight away and we will update our records.
Yes, as an add-on service. We can check and restock toilet paper, soap, bin liners and paper towels, so bathrooms and kitchens do not run out on busy days. This extra is not part of your regular checklist, so you approve the scope and price before we add it.
Your regular price covers the agreed checklist. Extras like carpet steam cleaning, floor machine scrubbing, internal glass and upholstery are quoted separately, and you approve the scope and price before we start.
Tell us about staff sensitivities at the walkthrough, such as fragrance concerns or allergies. We discuss suitable product options with you and note any agreed preferences in your checklist for the crew.
We send a visit summary after each clean, so you can see exactly what was done without checking the site yourself. If anything is missed, we return within 24 hours at no extra cost. You can count on us to put it right, every time.
We run the first visits to the agreed checklist, check in with you, and adjust the scope early. The same crew learns your rooms, alarms and bins, so standards settle within a few visits.