What commercial cleaning costs in Townsville in 2026
Realistic price ranges for office, retail and strata cleaning in Townsville, how contracts are actually priced, and the quoting tricks that make cheap look cheap.
Almost nobody publishes commercial cleaning prices, which makes it hard to tell whether the quote in front of you is fair. This is our attempt at an honest guide to what things cost in Townsville, what drives the number up or down, and where the cheap quotes hide their money.
Treat these as planning ranges, not quotes. A 200m² open-plan office and a 200m² medical suite are not the same job and shouldn’t be the same price.
The three ways commercial cleaning is priced
Hourly rate. Common for small or irregular jobs. In Townsville, expect roughly $45 – $65 per cleaner per hour for general commercial work. Below about $40, the maths stops working for a compliant operator — more on that below.
Per square metre. Common for larger sites and tenders. Typical general office cleaning runs $0.85 – $2.20 per m² per visit, dropping sharply as the area grows and rising for high-detail spaces.
Fixed monthly contract. Most established arrangements land here. The cleaner scopes the site, estimates the hours, and quotes a flat monthly figure. Best for budgeting; just make sure the scope of work is attached to the contract in writing.
Ballpark ranges by property type
These assume a general commercial clean — bins, vacuum, mop, kitchen, bathrooms, dusting and touchpoints.
| Site | Frequency | Typical range per visit |
|---|---|---|
| Small office, up to 150m² | Weekly | $95 – $170 |
| Small office, up to 150m² | 3× per week | $75 – $130 |
| Medium office, 150 – 400m² | 3× per week | $140 – $260 |
| Medium office, 150 – 400m² | Daily | $120 – $220 |
| Large office, 400 – 1,000m² | Daily | $260 – $520 |
| Retail shopfront | Daily | $85 – $190 |
| Café or restaurant | Daily | $130 – $300 |
| Medical or dental suite | Daily | $180 – $380 |
| Childcare centre | Daily | $200 – $420 |
| Strata common areas, small block | Weekly | $140 – $300 |
| Gym or studio | Daily | $150 – $340 |
Per-visit cost falls as frequency rises. A site cleaned five nights a week never gets badly dirty, so each visit is quicker. Cleaning fortnightly is almost always worse value per visit than weekly, because you pay for the build-up.
What actually drives your price
Floor type. Carpet is fast to vacuum. Hard floors need sweeping and mopping, and polished concrete or vinyl on a maintenance program adds periodic buffing. Tiled bathrooms with grout are slower than they look.
Bathroom count. This is the biggest hidden multiplier in an office quote. Bathrooms are the slowest room per square metre in any commercial building, and they are also the room your staff and clients judge you on. Four bathrooms in a 300m² office can cost more to service than the other 280m².
Kitchen and breakout areas. A staffed kitchen with a dishwasher, coffee machine and shared fridge takes real time.
Headcount, not just area. Forty people in 300m² generate far more work than twelve people in the same space. Good quotes ask about occupancy.
Consumables. Toilet paper, hand towel, soap, bin liners. Some quotes include them, some don’t, and the difference on a 40-person office is easily $120 – $250 a month. Always ask which model you’re being quoted.
Access and hours. After-hours work is standard and usually priced in. Weekend-only access, security escorts, or a site that can only be cleaned in a two-hour window will lift the price.
Compliance. Medical, childcare and food premises carry documented procedures, colour-coded equipment, specific chemicals and audit trails. That’s not padding — it’s the job.
Why the cheapest quote is usually the most expensive
If a quote is 40% below everyone else, the money came from somewhere. Usually one of these:
Underpaid labour. The Cleaning Services Award sets minimum rates, with loadings for evenings, weekends and public holidays — which is when commercial cleaning happens. An operator quoting $32 an hour all-in is not paying award rates after loadings, superannuation, insurance and equipment. If they are underpaying, you may be exposed under accessorial liability provisions for knowingly benefitting from it.
No insurance. Public liability of at least $10 million and workers’ compensation are the baseline. Ask for the certificates of currency, not a verbal assurance. Check the expiry dates.
Scope written to be arguable. “Bathrooms cleaned” means whatever they decide it means. “Bathrooms: pans, urinals, basins, mirrors, dispensers restocked, floors mopped, touchpoints disinfected” is a scope.
Hours quietly cut after month three. Very common. The site looks fine for six weeks, then the visit drops from 90 minutes to 50 and standards drift. This is why the scope of work needs to be a schedule attached to the contract.
Questions worth asking before you sign
- What is the scope of work, room by room, in writing?
- What is the periodic schedule — how often are windows, carpets, high dusting and hard floor maintenance done, and are they included or extra?
- Are consumables included?
- Who are the actual cleaners — employees or subcontractors? How are they trained and supervised? What’s the turnover like?
- Can I see certificates of currency for public liability and workers’ comp?
- What happens if standards slip — is there a rectification clause?
- What’s the notice period, and is there an auto-renewal? Three years with auto-rollover is a red flag; 12 months with 30 days’ notice is reasonable.
- Who is my point of contact, and how do I report an issue?
How to bring the price down honestly
- Increase frequency, reduce scope. Three shorter visits often beat one long one for how the space actually looks day to day.
- Split the work. Have your team handle desk surfaces and dishes; put the cleaner’s hours into bathrooms, kitchens and floors.
- Move periodic work into the contract. Carpet steam cleaning quoted reactively is expensive; scheduled twice a year at contract rates is not.
- Declutter the floor. Chairs on desks and clear floors can cut vacuuming time by a third.
- Be honest at quoting stage. A cleaner who under-scopes because they weren’t told about the third bathroom will either cut corners or come back for a variation. Neither is what you want.
A note on how we quote
We walk every commercial site before we quote it. Twenty minutes looking at your bathrooms, kitchen, floor types and access tells us more than any floor plan, and it means the scope of work we send you reflects the building you actually have. The walkthrough is free, and we would rather spend the time on site than send you a number we have to revise after the first month.
Want a number for your site? Request a callback and we’ll arrange a free walkthrough, then send a fixed monthly price and a written scope of work.
