Cleaning Award, explained for shift work.
Cleaning Services Award 2020 · Reviewed July 2026 by the MyGig compliance team
Contract and commercial cleaning services: offices, venues, and facilities cleaned by cleaning businesses or on-hire cleaning staff.
Penalties and loadings to know
- Casual loading of 25% on the ordinary hourly rate
- Penalties for Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday work
- Shift loadings for early morning and night cleaning
Roles typically covered
Casual hourly rates under the Cleaning Award
| Classification | Casual $/hr |
|---|---|
| Cleaning service employee Level 1 | $33.85 |
| Cleaning service employee Level 2 | $34.96 |
| Cleaning service employee Level 3 | $36.81 |
Adult casual hourly rates including the 25% casual loading, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, covering all 3 casual classifications in MyGig's award engine. Source: MyGig award engine, built from Fair Work Commission pay guides. Penalties, overtime, and allowances apply on top per the award.
Free download:the 2026 Casual Rates Card puts every award’s entry casual rate on one printable sheet.
Get the rates cardBreaks under the Cleaning Award
| Min hours | Max hours | Break (mins) | Type | Paid | To be taken after | To be taken before | What the award says | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | Meal | - | - | - | “If the employee is interrupted during a meal break and directed to work, the employer must pay the employee at the overtime rate mentioned in clause 19.3 - Overtime rates until the employee is allowed to resume the meal break.” | cl 14.3(a) |
| - | - | 20 | Meal (overtime) | Paid | Each 4 hours of overtime | - | “An employee working overtime is entitled to a paid 20 minute meal break after each 4 hours of overtime worked.” | cl 14.3(b) |
| - | - | 8 hours | Between shifts | - | - | - | “An employee must have a minimum break of 8 consecutive hours between finishing work on one shift of ordinary hours (including any overtime worked immediately after it) and starting work on the next shift of ordinary hours (including any overtime worked immediately before it).” | cl 14.4(a) |
Quoted from the award text published by Fair Work, as at 20 August 2026. Clause numbers are the award’s own. The quoted words are the award’s. The structured columns are MyGig’s transcription of the quoted sentence in the same row, and a dash means the sentence does not state that value. Breaks vary with shift length, roster and agreement, so read the clause in full before relying on any row.
Current minimum rates
Entry-level adult casual: $33.85/hr as at 1 July 2026, from MyGig's award engine (the same data that prices every shift). Award rates change with every annual wage review (first full pay period on or after 1 July). For the full classification tables, use the official pay guide, or let MyGig apply them for you: every shift estimate uses current rates, penalties included, clause cited.
Cleaning Award FAQs
Does in-house cleaning staff fall under this award?
The Cleaning Services Award covers cleaning businesses and on-hire cleaners. A cleaner employed directly by, say, a hotel may fall under that industry’s award instead. MyGig classifies each engagement correctly as the employer.
Are night cleans paid more?
Yes: shift loadings apply for early morning and night work, plus weekend and public holiday penalties, per the award. MyGig shows the loaded total on every shift.
Where do I find current cleaning rates?
The official MA000022 pay guide (linked here) carries the current rates; they change each 1 July with the annual wage review.
General information only, not legal advice. The award itself (Cleaning Services Award 2020, MA000022) and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay tools are the authoritative sources: read the award. Back to all award guides or MyGig compliance & EOR.
Stop interpreting awards by hand.
MyGig employs your casual workers as EOR and applies this award automatically: rates, loadings, penalties, and super, with the clause cited.