Contracts You Need To Start A Cleaning Business

What contracts do you actually need before you take on cleaning jobs?

The reassuring answer is that you don't need a huge legal folder on day one. But you do need the right documents for the way your cleaning business works, especially if you're sending cleaners into homes, offices, gyms, childcare centres or strata buildings after hours.

Cleaning work can move quickly. A client might ask for a quote today and want you onsite tomorrow. Having your client terms, worker documents and website paperwork ready means you can say yes with more confidence, protect your cash flow and avoid awkward disputes later.

What Cleaning Business Contracts Do You Need Before You Take On Jobs?

You usually need four main documents: a client service agreement, such as a cleaning service agreement, worker agreements, website terms and a privacy document if you collect personal information.

The exact mix depends on whether you're doing domestic cleaning, commercial cleaning, end-of-lease cleans, NDIS cleaning work, aged care work, strata cleaning, carpet cleaning or specialist services. Still, most cleaning businesses should have these foundations sorted early:

• Cleaning Service Agreement: your terms with clients, including the scope of cleaning, price, access, cancellations, payment and liability.
• Commercial Cleaning Agreement: a more detailed version for office, retail, industrial, strata or facility clients.
• Employment Contracts: for cleaners you employ as full-time, part-time or casual staff.
• Cleaning Subcontractor Agreement: for genuine subcontractors who run their own business and help you deliver jobs.
• Website Terms: terms for online bookings, quotes, promotions and acceptable use of your website.
• Privacy Policy: needed in many cases if you collect personal information, and often expected by commercial clients even where the Privacy Act 1988 doesn't strictly apply.

Think of these as practical tools, not paperwork for the sake of it. Your agreements should help you answer everyday questions like, "Who pays if a cleaner is locked out?", "Can the client cancel at 6pm for a 7am job?" and "What happens if a subcontractor damages a client's floor?"

Do I Need A Commercial Cleaning Agreement For Every Client?

Yes, you should have written terms for every client, even if the job feels small or informal.

For one-off domestic jobs, a simple cleaning service agreement or clear booking terms may be enough. For recurring commercial work, including strata cleaning jobs, you'll usually want a more detailed commercial cleaning agreement because the risks are bigger and the relationship runs for longer.

A commercial cleaning agreement should be clear about what you're doing and what you're not doing. This matters because clients can have very different expectations. For example, "office cleaning" might mean vacuuming, bins and bathrooms to you, but it might mean window cleaning, fridge cleaning and restocking supplies to the client.

A Simple Example

Say Olivia runs a cleaning business in Brisbane and signs a 6-month office cleaning job at $1,200 plus GST per month, with invoices payable within 14 days. The client later asks her team to add monthly carpet steam cleaning and weekend rubbish removal, but doesn't want to pay more.

If Olivia's agreement lists the included services and says extra services need written approval and a separate fee, she can point to the contract and quote for the additional work. Without that written scope, she may feel pressured to do unpaid extras just to keep the client happy.

Your commercial cleaning agreement should also deal with access. If your cleaner attends at 6am and the keycard doesn't work, your agreement can say whether a call-out fee applies, whether the missed clean is charged, and who is responsible for arranging access.

Can I Use A Cleaning Contract Template In Australia?

Yes, you can use a template as a starting point, but it shouldn't be treated as a finished contract without checking whether it fits your business.

A generic cleaning contract template in Australia might cover basic items like price and services. The problem is that templates often miss the details that actually cause disputes in cleaning businesses, such as key handling, after-hours access, chemicals, client-supplied equipment, WHS responsibilities and subcontracting.

You also need your terms to work with Australian law. For example, if you use standard form contracts with small business clients, the unfair contract terms regime under the Australian Consumer Law may apply. Since November 2023, unfair contract terms can lead to penalties, not just being declared void.

For many business-to-business standard form contracts, the regime can apply where at least one party has fewer than 100 employees or annual turnover of less than $10 million. That means your cleaning terms shouldn't give you one-sided powers that go further than reasonably needed to protect your business.

Some examples of clauses that may need careful drafting include:

• a right for you to change the price without giving the client a fair right to respond
• a broad right to cancel the job at any time while locking the client in
• very wide exclusions of liability, even where your team caused the problem
• automatic renewal terms that aren't clearly explained
• penalties for cancellation that don't reflect your real loss

Templates can save time, but your agreement should be tailored before you use it with paying clients. That way, the contract matches your services, pricing model, risk level and customer type.

What Should Go In A Cleaning Service Agreement?

A cleaning service agreement should set out the job, the price, the rules for the relationship and what happens if something goes wrong.

Here is a practical outline you can use when planning your agreement. This isn't a finished legal document, and a lawyer should tailor it before you send it to clients, but it will help you see what needs to be covered.

1. Parties: write your legal business name, ABN or ACN, and the client's correct legal name.
2. Services: list exactly what cleaning services are included, plus anything excluded.
3. Site Details: record the address, access times, alarm codes, parking, keys and site contact.
4. Frequency And Term: state whether the job is one-off, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or for a fixed term.
5. Fees And Payment: set out prices, invoice timing, due dates, deposits and how extra work is approved.
6. Client Responsibilities: cover access, safe premises, pets, valuables, hazards and supplies the client must provide.
7. Your Responsibilities: cover service standards, staff conduct, insurance, chemicals and equipment.
8. Cancellations And Rescheduling: explain notice periods, fees and what happens if your cleaner can't access the site.
9. Damage And Complaints: set a clear process for reporting damage, faulty work or missed tasks.
10. Confidentiality And Security: cover keys, alarm codes, client documents and sensitive information seen onsite.
11. Subcontracting: say whether you can use subcontractors and how you'll remain responsible to the client.
12. Ending The Agreement: include notice periods, immediate termination rights and final payment obligations.

For recurring clients, it's also worth adding a review process. For example, you might review prices every 12 months or when the client adds extra areas to the site. If your agreement doesn't say how price changes work, a simple conversation can turn into a disagreement.

Do I Need A Cleaning Subcontractor Agreement Or An Employment Contract?

It depends on whether the cleaner is genuinely running their own business or working in your business as your employee.

This is one of the biggest legal questions for cleaning businesses. Calling someone a subcontractor doesn't automatically make them one. From 26 August 2024, changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 mean the employee versus contractor question looks at the real substance of the working relationship, not only the wording in the contract.

When An Employment Contract Is Usually Needed

You likely need an employment contract if you control the cleaner's hours, uniform, process, equipment, roster and work allocation, and they work as part of your team. Employees also come with obligations such as minimum pay, leave, superannuation, payslips, record-keeping and workers compensation insurance.

Many cleaning employees are covered by the Cleaning Services Award 2020. Rates can change each financial year, so check the Fair Work Ombudsman before setting pay. If you employ casual cleaners, recent changes to casual employment rules also matter. From 26 August 2024, eligible casuals can generally ask to move to permanent employment after 6 months, or after 12 months if you run a small business.

Small business employers also need to be ready for the employee right to disconnect from 26 August 2025. This doesn't mean you can never contact cleaners after hours, but it does mean your systems should be sensible about non-urgent calls and messages outside working time.

When A Subcontractor Agreement May Be Appropriate

A cleaning subcontractor agreement may be appropriate where the cleaner has their own ABN, runs their own cleaning business under a subcontractor service agreement, can accept or reject work, invoices you, manages how the job is done and carries appropriate insurance.

Your subcontractor agreement should cover service standards, insurance, confidentiality, restraint on poaching clients where reasonable, WHS compliance, payment, invoicing, damage, tools and chemicals. It should also make clear whether the subcontractor can send someone else, and whether you need to approve that person first.

If you get this wrong, you could face backpay claims, penalties and superannuation issues. If the arrangement sits in a grey area, get advice before you onboard the worker.

Do I Need Website Terms And A Privacy Policy?

Yes, you should usually have website terms, and you may need a privacy policy depending on what information you collect and how your business operates.

If clients can book online, request quotes, upload photos, pay deposits or accept promotions through your website, your website terms should explain how that process works. They should also cover booking errors, quote expiry dates, cancellations, payment terms, acceptable use and limits on website content.

A privacy policy becomes especially relevant when you collect personal information such as names, phone numbers, addresses, access instructions, alarm codes, photos of rooms, CCTV-related information or details about vulnerable people at a site. Under the Privacy Act 1988, many businesses with annual turnover above $3 million need to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles. Some smaller businesses may also be covered, depending on what they do and the type of information they handle.

Even where the Privacy Act doesn't strictly apply, having a clear privacy policy can help you win trust with commercial clients. Offices, childcare centres, medical clinics, gyms, strata managers and clinical service providers may ask how you handle information, keys and access codes before they engage you.

Your privacy policy should explain:

• what personal information you collect
• why you collect it
• how you store and protect it
• when you share it with staff, subcontractors or software providers
• how clients can contact you about privacy questions

If your cleaners handle keys, alarm codes or client documents, your internal policies should support your contracts. A client-facing promise won't help much if your team doesn't know the process.

Key Takeaways

• You should have written cleaning business contracts before you start taking on client work, even for smaller jobs.
• A cleaning service agreement covers everyday client terms, while a commercial cleaning agreement is better for recurring office, strata or facility work.
• Templates can help you plan, but they often miss practical cleaning risks and should be tailored before use.
• Employees need proper employment contracts, and genuine subcontractors need subcontractor agreements that match how the work is actually done.
• Your website terms and privacy documents matter if you take online bookings, collect client information or manage access details.
• Clear contracts help protect your cash flow, set expectations and give your cleaning business room to grow.

If you'd like help with your cleaning service agreements, subcontractor documents, employment contracts and website terms, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.