How these estimates are calculated
Place, currency and tax. Prices are for Australia, in AUD (A$). They include GST. Australian Consumer Law requires one all-inclusive price. The range is a national average. When you pick your state or territory, the calculator scales the labour share of the range by a local index from 0.85 to 1.11. The calculator does not quote below its minimum price, A$120 at the national average.
Where the range comes from. The market range for this job comes from prices published for Australia by marketplaces where customers hire pros and pro directories. We name these sources by type, not by company. We check the hourly rates against Fair Work award pay rates for cleaning, construction and plumbing. A trade's rate should sit well above what its workers earn, because it also pays for overhead, travel and insurance.
When we checked. We last checked these rates against their sources on 30 September 2026.
Market price and your price. "What pros charge" is the market range for the job you describe. Your own cost figures do not change it. The table under it, "Your costs at this price", uses your figures: time on the job, labour cost, materials, equipment, travel, fees and overhead. Profit is the market price without GST (10%) minus those costs, because GST is collected for the government, not earned.
Where the estimate stops applying. Australian cleaners usually quote a home clean by the number of bedrooms. This calculator prices it by floor area, so compare the range with how you quote.
Pricing a clean is guesswork until you know two things: what Australian cleaners charge for their time, and what
this house costs you in hours. The calculator above starts from Australian hourly rates, works out the hours from the
house, and shows what the price leaves you.
How the calculator works
- The house sets the hours. Floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms and the add-ons you tick decide how long the clean
takes.
- Cleaning type and frequency move the price. Deep and end-of-lease work costs more per hour; weekly and
fortnightly homes stay cleaner, so they take less time and get the discount Australian clients expect.
- Your state. Six states and two territories, each with its own labour-cost index. New South Wales carries the
highest, about 11% above the national average.
- Check what you keep. Open “Your costs and margin” to see hours, supplies, travel and what is left.
What Australian cleaners charge, 2026
| What | Figure, GST included | Basis |
|---|
| Sole trader, per hour | A$35–60 | The lower of the two humps |
| Agency or marketplace, per hour | A$55–90 | The upper hump |
| Typical, per hour | A$60 | The centre between them |
| Minimum booking | 2 hours, about A$120 | Three sources print it outright |
| Standard clean, three-bedroom home | A$140–280 per visit | Two independent sources; 2.3–4.7 hours at A$60 |
| Deep clean, three-bedroom home | A$280–650 | About four hours |
| End-of-lease clean | A$280–700 | Judged by the property manager |
| Deep or end-of-lease, per hour | A$70–160 | |
Every figure includes 10% GST, as the Australian Consumer Law requires. New South Wales sits at the top of these
ranges, Tasmania and South Australia near the bottom.
Worked example
A three-bedroom, two-bathroom home of about 140 m², standard clean, one-time. The calculator puts that at
four person-hours and A$230 including GST, inside a range of A$185–280. That is about A$21 of GST if you
are registered, so A$209 stays with you before costs. Your state moves the whole range: New South Wales sits near
the top of it.
At the calculator’s starting costs — A$34 an hour, A$8 of supplies, A$13 for the drive and 15% overhead — the clean
costs you about A$181. That leaves A$28, a 14% margin.
How floor area becomes a bedroom price
Australian sources price a clean by bedrooms. None of them prices one by floor area, and none says how big a
three-bedroom home is. So we chose three typical homes and set the price per square metre so that each lands inside
the published range for its bedroom count:
| Home | Published range | Calculator, standard clean |
|---|
| 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 80 m² | A$120–240 | A$120–160, typical A$135 |
| 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 140 m² | A$140–280 | A$185–280, typical A$230 |
| 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 200 m² | A$170–320 | A$255–390, typical A$320 |
The floor areas are our assumption, not a published figure. Two limits follow from it. A home larger than these for
its bedroom count prices higher than the market does, because the price grows with area and the market’s price grows
more slowly with bedrooms. And the hours come from the house, not from the price: on the small two-bedroom home the
calculator spends 2.7 hours, and at A$34 an hour the typical A$135 does not cover them. If you clean small homes
faster than that, the calculator understates what they leave you.
Quoting cleans in Australia
- Price the first visit as a deep clean. No new client’s home is in maintenance condition. Quote the first visit
on its own and set the recurring price after you have seen it.
- Say the price once, GST and all. Australian clients are entitled to a single all-inclusive number, and quoting
plus-GST to a householder is bad practice, and it can breach the Australian Consumer Law.
- Charge for the drive. Australian service areas are spread out. Forty minutes each way is two hours of your day
and it does not appear anywhere in the floor area.
The calculator gives you the number. For typical rates and how to build a quote, read our US house cleaning pricing guide. Its rates are in US dollars.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for house cleaning in Australia?
Australian house cleaners charge A$40–90 an hour in 2026, and the band is two-humped rather than noisy: sole traders sit at A$35–60, agencies and marketplace work at A$55–90. A$60 an hour is the centre between them. Published per-visit prices for a standard clean of a three-bedroom home run A$140–280, which buys 2.3 to 4.7 hours at that rate — so price the hours the house actually takes rather than matching the band. Every one of those figures includes GST.
Do these prices include GST?
Yes, and Australia is the one market where that is the rule rather than a choice. Section 48 of the Australian Consumer Law requires you to show a single all-inclusive price to a consumer, so every figure on this page and in the calculator includes 10% GST. Under A$75,000 of turnover you do not have to register for GST. If you do not register, the price you publish is the price you keep. If you register anyway, you charge GST.
Is there a minimum booking?
Two hours. Three separate Australian sources print a two-hour minimum outright, and one gives the reason: travel, parking and setup cost you the same whether the clean takes ninety minutes or four hours. At the A$60 typical rate that is A$120 before you touch a mop.
What do deep and end-of-lease cleans cost?
For a three-bedroom home, A$280–650 for a deep clean and A$280–700 for an end-of-lease clean, GST included. By the hour both run A$70–160. The spread is wide because end-of-lease work is judged by a property manager, not the tenant, and the standard is a pass or a fail.
Am I charging above the award?
Check it, because it is the floor under your own hour. From 1 July 2026 the Cleaning Services Award MA000022 sets Level 1 at A$27.08 an hour for a permanent employee and A$33.85 for a casual, once the 25% casual loading replaces leave. If your own hourly rate lands near that, you are paying yourself an employee's wage and carrying a business on top of it.
Why does the calculator ask for floor area?
Because it prices a clean by floor area, and Australian cleaners quote by bedrooms. We set the price per square metre so that three homes land inside the published bedroom ranges: 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom at 80 m², 3 and 2 at 140 m², 4 and 2 at 200 m². If your homes are bigger or smaller for their bedroom count, the range moves with the floor area, not with the bedrooms. Bedrooms and bathrooms still set the hours, and so your costs.
