The six documents your auditor will ask for.
A compliant cleaning contractor can produce six documents within a day: public liability, WorkCover, SWMS, an SDS register, chemical training records and staff screening evidence. If any takes more than 24 hours to appear, that is the finding waiting to happen on your next audit — and the liability sits with you, not them.
Written scope and a fixed monthly price within 48 hours — useful even if you're only benchmarking.
Get a free quoteThe six documents, and what good looks like
Most contractors will send you a certificate of currency and consider the matter closed. These are the six you should actually hold, refreshed as they expire.
How to verify them rather than just file them
Collecting documents is not compliance. Checking them is. Four verifications take about ten minutes and catch nearly every problem.
The entity-name check is the one most often skipped and the one that most often fails. A contractor quoting as one trading name while insured under another means the cover may not respond to a claim on your site.
Red flags worth walking away from
None of these are automatically disqualifying, but each one should prompt a direct question — and the quality of the answer tells you what kind of contractor you're dealing with.
Why this is your problem, not just theirs
Under Queensland WHS law a business has a primary duty of care that extends to workers it directs or influences, including contractors on its premises. Engaging a contractor does not transfer that duty — it shares it. If an uninsured cleaner is injured in your building, or an untrained one decants an incompatible chemical, your organisation is in the conversation.
That is the real reason to collect the six documents: not to satisfy an auditor, but because the exposure lands on you either way.
Six documents: public liability, WorkCover, site-specific SWMS, SDS register, training records, staff screening.
Check the insured entity name matches the contracting entity — the most commonly skipped and most commonly failed check.
Ask whether relief and weekend staff carry the same screening. Many contractors' coverage stops at their permanent crew.
Your WHS duty of care extends to contractors on your premises. Engaging one shares the duty, it doesn't transfer it.
What insurance should a commercial cleaner have in Queensland?
At minimum $10 to $20 million public liability plus WorkCover Queensland cover for all employed staff. Check the certificate of currency is in date and that the insured entity name matches the entity signing your contract — a mismatch usually means subcontracted labour.
What is a SWMS and does a cleaner need one?
A Safe Work Method Statement documents how a high-risk task is performed safely. Cleaners need one for any work at height, confined space entry, or work near live traffic or plant. A generic SWMS that doesn't name your site isn't compliant.
Do commercial cleaners need police checks in Australia?
There's no blanket legal requirement, but any contractor working unsupervised in your premises after hours should hold a current National Police Check. Queensland Blue Cards are legally required for anyone working on school, childcare and early-learning sites.
How often should compliance documents be refreshed?
Certificates of currency annually at renewal, SWMS whenever the task or site changes, SDS whenever a product changes, and training records as staff join or products change. A good contractor sends updates unprompted rather than waiting to be chased.