Clean Start Guidelines to Responsible Contracting
"Congratulations to everyone in the cleaning industry - Clean Start is good for us cleaners, and it's good for owners - now we will see stability of staff, better health and safety on the job, happy tenants and most importantly happy cleaners who feel respsected for the work we do. And, for the first time in my working life as a cleaner, I feel I’m being treated like an adult." - Chris Wagland
These Clean Start Guidelines to Responsible Contracting are a tool for property owners and other industry stakeholders to move towards a sustainable cleaning industry.
Background
Clean Start is about cleaning companies, property owners, building managers, governments and cleaners working together to recognise the issues and risks in cleaning and build support for improving the industry. Industry stakeholders have recognised the need for change and responded by embracing new Clean Start industry standards.
What's next?
Now governments and property owners are working with LHMU to take the next steps required to reform the industry by developing guidelines for tendering and by contracting cleaning services responsibly. These Clean Start reforms are being undertaken because of an awareness by owners of commercial buildings - including major property trusts across Australia - that providing quality property services is the key to retaining both the value of properties and long term tenants. Cleaning represents a small cost to owners when compared with rental revenue but has a major impact on tenant satisfaction and building presentation.
Check this page for further updates and announcements in the coming months.
Resources for Tendering
Responsible building owners are including three key elements in their tendering process.
- Responsible Contract Cleaning Companies: Ensuring that contractors performing cleaning work are responsible and reputable. The LHMU have identified a list of responsible contract cleaning companies
- Clean Start Reforms: Clean Start reforms are being implemented within cleaning contracts
- Positive Procurement Principles are being adopted so that the appropriate checks and balances are in place to ensure the proper work practices are being adhered to.
More information
Industry stakeholders can also access the following:
- Towards a sustainable industry: a background to the Federal Government's support for Clean Start and the work the LHMU is involved in to turn the Federal Government's Procurement Principles into a Guide (including the special requirements for cleaning services)
- Responsible cleaning contractors list - the LHMU guide to contractors who have signed on to reform the cleaning industry
- Learn more about the issues - fact sheets which outline some of the key issues in the cleaning industry and the reasons property owners and industry stakeholders have taken steps to resolve the cleaning industry crisis
- Green Building reforms - Background information about Green Cleaning and the LHMU's engagement with this
-
Fact sheets
- Cleaning for health
- Green buildings
- Occupational health and safety in commercial properties
- Pandemics in the office and retail environment
- Cleaners' tasks and injury rates: A danger for them and you
- Public liability
- Subcontracting and illegal practices
- Tenant satisfaction and retention strategies
- Work structure: The risks of poor work structure and the opportunities to change
-
Government
The Labor government's contribution to the campaign was the creation of a new Procurement Consultation Committee. This committee is to advise the Federal Government on procurement of the approximately $24 billion it spends on property and services every year.
-
Responsible Cleaning Contractors Guide
The Clean Start campaign has reached the stage where a critical mass of cleaning contractors in NSW, SA, ACT and Victoria have signed the Clean Start collective agreement, and a majority of cleaning contractors have signed nationally.
