School, TAFE & University Cleaning in Melbourne

Aust Facility Services delivers ISO-certified cleaning across Melbourne's education sector - primary schools, secondary schools, TAFEs, universities, and independent colleges. All staff hold Working with Children Checks, are police-checked, and are trained in education-specific cleaning protocols. We manage campuses of 20,000+ sqm with 7-day operations and 50+ staff.

Why Is Education Cleaning Specialised?

Schools and universities present cleaning challenges unlike any other commercial environment. A typical Melbourne secondary school sees 800–1,200 students moving through shared spaces every day - corridors, canteens, toilets, libraries, gymnasiums, and computer labs - all generating high levels of contamination on surfaces and floors. Universities add 24/7 library and student amenity access, research laboratories with chemical handling requirements, and multi-building campuses requiring coordinated team management.

The Department of Education Victoria mandates specific hygiene standards for publicly-funded schools, while universities operating under TEQSA accreditation have their own facility management requirements. Childcare settings embedded within education facilities must meet the National Quality Standard (NQS) for physical environments.

How We Deliver Education Cleaning

Education cleaning operates on a fundamentally different schedule and risk profile than commercial office cleaning. Our methodology is built around the school timetable, student safeguarding requirements, chemical safety in public spaces, and two distinct cleaning modes: term-time maintenance and holiday-period intensives.

• ✓WWCC-verified staff on every education shift - Working with Children Checks are verified in the Victorian Department of Justice register before any staff member commences on a school or childcare site. This is checked annually, not just at onboarding. Supervisors carry verification documentation for site managers to review.
• ✓Low-noise battery-powered equipment during school hours - backpack vacuums, walk-behind scrubbers, and flat-mop systems are selected specifically for noise output below 70 dB where adjacent classrooms may be in use. No petrol or high-decibel industrial equipment is used during school hours.
• ✓Locked chemical storage with HAZMAT compliance - all cleaning chemicals on education sites are stored in locked, labelled HAZMAT cabinets inaccessible to students. Chemical selection is limited to non-toxic, biodegradable products in areas accessible to students. Our ISO 45001 safety system governs this storage protocol.
• ✓Term-time maintenance vs holiday-period intensive distinction - term-time cleaning focuses on daily maintenance: classroom floors, washrooms, bins, and high-touch disinfection. Holiday periods are used for tasks that cannot be done around students: floor strip and seal, carpet extraction, high-level dusting, window washing, gymnasium floor re-coating.
• ✓Laboratory decontamination protocol - science labs and art rooms with chemical use require a specific cleaning sequence: hazardous material containment check first, then surface decontamination with pH-neutral detergent, then general cleaning. Our SWMS for laboratory cleaning covers fume cupboard surrounds, sink traps, and chemical storage area floors separately from the general room clean.
• ✓Digital attendance verified per building zone - for large campuses, team leaders clock in per building or zone rather than at a single site entry point. This verifies that each area of a multi-building campus receives its scheduled clean - not just that someone was on-site.

Workforce Compliance for Education

Every staff member assigned to school, TAFE, or university contracts holds a current Victorian Working with Children Check (WWCC), a National Police Check, and has completed our site induction program. For early childhood settings embedded in school campuses, we follow the additional hygiene and chemical requirements of the National Quality Standard.

Our supervisory structure for large education contracts includes a dedicated site supervisor who manages rostering, quality inspections, and client communication. For multi-building campuses, team leaders are assigned per building or zone. Digital attendance tracking verifies that staff are present and on-task throughout each shift.

Under our ISO 45001 Safety Management certification, all chemical storage on education sites complies with HAZMAT requirements - chemicals are locked, labelled, and stored in dedicated areas inaccessible to students.

Equipment and Products for Schools

We use low-noise battery-powered equipment where possible - important in settings where classes may be running in adjacent rooms. Walk-behind scrubbers for large corridor areas, backpack vacuums with HEPA filtration for classrooms, and low-moisture mopping systems for food areas. All cleaning products used in school environments are non-toxic, biodegradable where possible, and selected in accordance with our ISO 14001 Environmental Management obligations. We do not use aerosol sprays in occupied classrooms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: April 2026