Public Liability Insurance for Cleaners: Cost and Cover

Public liability insurance pays compensation and legal costs if your cleaning work injures someone or damages their property, such as a visitor slipping on a floor you've just mopped. No law makes it compulsory for cleaners, but commercial, strata, school and shopping centre clients usually demand a certificate of currency for $10 million or $20 million. Most cleaners pay $455 to $842 a year, according to upcover's 2026 data.

This is general information, not financial product advice, and it doesn't consider your circumstances. Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) for any policy, and consider getting advice. For how public liability works in general, see our public liability insurance guide; for prices across all occupations, see how much public liability insurance costs; and for setting up the business, how to start a cleaning business.

Cleaners' public liability at a glance

Figures as published by the sources named, checked 18 October 2026.

Do cleaners need public liability insurance?

Not by law. Compare the Market says there's no legal requirement for all cleaners to have insurance, and BizCover says insurance isn't required by law for residential cleaners. There's no cleaning licence for ordinary domestic or office cleaning either, as our cleaning business guide explains.

The requirement comes from the people who hire you. Three rules sit close to it and are worth knowing:

• Victorian government schools must engage cleaning providers with at least $10 million of public liability, get copies of the public liability and WorkCover certificates of currency, and use providers with a labour hire licence where they employ cleaners at schools, according to the Department of Education's cleaning policy (updated 13 March 2026).
• NSW pressure cleaning and building washing. NSW treats "minor maintenance and cleaning" of existing residential buildings as licensed work once a job is worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials including GST, with an endorsement covering pressure washing, graffiti removal and brick cleaning (NSW Government, updated 23 June 2026). If you do that kind of work, describe it to your insurer as well.
• Labour hire licensing. In Victoria, businesses that supply cleaners to work at commercial premises generally need a licence from the Labour Hire Authority. Contracts with these clients often ask for the licence and the insurance certificate together.

A sole trader and the business are the same legal person, so a successful claim against an uninsured sole-trader cleaner can be paid from personal assets. Finder describes a $50,000 damages award where a shopper slipped on a floor that hadn't been marked as wet and the cleaner had no cover.

Who asks for it, and how much cover they want

Requirements as published, checked 18 October 2026. Contract clauses vary, so the insurance clause in your own contract is what counts.

Large clients often ask for more than a dollar figure. Expect requests for products liability on the same certificate (cleaning chemicals you bring onto site are products), the client's name noted as an interested party, and sometimes a principal's indemnity, which extends your policy to protect the client for liability arising from your work. Read any indemnity or "hold harmless" clause before signing: the underwriter's proposal form we reviewed asks you to attach contracts containing hold-harmless clauses or waivers of subrogation, because they change the risk. Our guides to unfair contract terms and business contracts explain what to look for.

What public liability covers in a cleaning job

These examples come from insurers', brokers' and comparison sites' own pages. Whether a real claim is paid depends on the facts and your policy wording.

The three gaps that catch cleaners out

1. Damage to the thing you're cleaning

Cleaners spend the day touching other people's property, and that's where standard public liability is weakest. Finder says standard policies often exclude the property you're working on, and upcover says standard public liability typically excludes damage your cleaning process causes to the surface being cleaned. Two add-ons address this:

• Care, custody and control (CCC) extension. Adds a sub-limit for accidental damage to a client's property in your care, such as contents you move or items you clean. Ask what the sub-limit is and whether it applies per item or per claim. upcover notes that for cleaners the CCC sub-limit may matter more than the headline liability limit.
• Treatment risk endorsement. upcover says this may cover accidental damage while you actively treat a surface such as carpet, stone or upholstery. It matters most for carpet, upholstery, stone and hard-floor specialists.

Neither turns a policy into cover for poor workmanship. Re-doing a job is still your cost.

2. Lost keys, access cards and alarm codes

Holding keys is routine for office, strata and end-of-lease cleaners, and lock replacement for a whole building can be expensive. Finder says many cleaners' policies cover lost keys but often cap the benefit at amounts such as $2,000 or $5,000. Morgan Insurance Brokers says key and lock replacement isn't automatically covered under a standard policy, and Priority Insurance Brokers lists reduced cover for lost keys as a common restriction. The Lion Underwriting proposal form we reviewed offers a $50,000 loss-of-keys option. If you hold master keys or access cards, compare the key limit with what it would cost to re-key the site.

3. Height, sites and methods

• Windows. Finder says many standard policies exclude window cleaning above about two storeys or 10 metres, and Priority says window cleaning may be accepted only without abseiling or external work over 10 metres.
• Sites. Priority lists shopping centres, hospitals, schools, airports and government sites among places some policies exclude. The underwriter proposal form asks separately about schools, shopping centres (and whether you clean during trading hours), medical facilities, sterilisation of theatres or instruments, and medical waste.
• Methods. Pressure washing, chemical stripping, carpet steam cleaning and biohazard work change the risk. Declare each one.

If any of these apply, name them when you ask for a quote and check the exclusions section of the PDS before you buy.

Covers that commonly sit alongside public liability

As published, checked 18 October 2026. For the wider set of policies a sole operator may need, see sole trader insurance. Professional indemnity is rarely needed for cleaning unless you sell advice, such as hygiene audits; see professional indemnity insurance if you do.

Domestic, commercial and specialist cleaning: what changes

upcover figures from its cleaners cost guide (21 August 2026), based on policies it arranged from 2022 to 2026 and described as indicative. upcover says the four cleaning types sit within about $10 a month of each other.

What does public liability cost for a cleaner?

All figures as published, checked 18 October 2026. None of the cleaner-specific sources above says whether its figures include GST and stamp duty, and upcover's monthly instalment figures by cleaning type ($65 to $85) are higher than its annual range divided by 12, so compare quotes on the same basis.

Reading the numbers. $455 a year is about $38 a month, and $842 is about $70. BizCover's $78 is total insurance spend, so it includes tools, personal accident and other policies. Price moves mainly with the type of client (a $20 million shopping-centre contract costs more than $5 million for private homes), turnover, staff and subcontractors, and whether you add tools cover. Stamp duty adds 0% (ACT) to 11% (SA) on top of GST, and eligible NSW small businesses can claim a duty exemption on public liability; the state table and a worked example are in our cost guide.

Price the step up. If a strata or commercial client is likely to ask for $20 million in the next year, ask for quotes at $10 million and $20 million at the same time. Upgrading mid-contract is possible, but tenders often need the certificate before you can apply.

Premiums are generally deductible as a business expense, and GST-registered businesses can claim the GST credit; see small business tax deductions.

Staff, subcontractors and labour hire

Cleaning businesses grow by adding people, and each arrangement changes your insurance:

• Employees are excluded from public liability. Workers compensation is compulsory once you employ anyone, and business.gov.au says it doesn't cover sole traders themselves.
• Subcontractors usually aren't covered by your policy. Finder says standard policies generally don't cover independent subcontractors unless your insurer adds them for an extra premium. Insurers ask what you spend on subcontractors and whether they hold their own liability and workers compensation cover.
• Deemed workers. ReturnToWorkSA lists cleaning work among the classes where self-employed contractors may be deemed workers, so a business contracting cleaners in South Australia may need to register them. Other states have their own tests; see employee vs contractor.
• Labour hire. Supplying cleaners to commercial premises in Victoria generally needs a labour hire licence, and Queensland runs its own scheme.

Collect a certificate of currency from every subcontractor before they start, check the name, limit, dates and occupation, and diarise the expiry. Expired certificates and certificates in a different business name are the problems to look for.

What insurers ask cleaners when quoting

The questions below come from a cleaners' liability proposal form published by Lion Underwriting, an underwriting agency. Other insurers ask similar questions, and your answers decide both price and whether a claim is paid.

1. Business details: legal name, ABN, GST status, address, when you started.
2. What you clean: schools (and whether after hours), shopping centres (during or after trading hours), medical facilities or hospitals, theatre or instrument sterilisation, medical waste, pest control, gardening, window cleaning and its maximum height.
3. Limit of indemnity: $5 million, $10 million or $20 million.
4. Loss of keys cover, and the amount.
5. Turnover, split by state.
6. Contracts with hold-harmless clauses, indemnities or waivers of subrogation (attach them).
7. Employees and wages, by state.
8. Subcontractors and labour hire: spend, numbers, activities, induction and whether they hold their own insurance.
9. Claims in the last five years, including remediation.
10. Risk management procedures.
11. Insurance history: declined or cancelled cover, special conditions, rejected claims, bankruptcy and criminal offences.

Answer every question accurately, including side work such as gutter cleaning or pressure washing. A cheaper quote that leaves out an activity you do is no saving.

Certificate of currency for cleaning contracts

Clients look at the certificate, not the policy. Before you send one, check that:

• the insured name matches the contracting entity (your company, if you've set one up);
• the limit is at least what the contract asks for, and products liability appears if required;
• the period covers the contract term, with a reminder set to send the renewed certificate;
• the client is noted as an interested party if the contract says so;
• any CCC or key cover limit the client asked about is shown.

Victorian schools must collect public liability and WorkCover certificates before engaging a provider, so have both ready. Our public liability guide explains certificates, principal's indemnity and cross liability in more detail.

Pre-purchase checklist for cleaners

1. Clients. List every current and likely client and the limit each contract requires. Take the highest.
2. Activities. The quote names every type of cleaning you do: domestic, commercial, carpet, window (and maximum height), pressure washing, after-builders, medical, end-of-lease.
3. Sites. You've declared shopping centres, hospitals, schools, airports or government sites if you work there.
4. Care, custody and control. You know the sub-limit and that it covers the most valuable item you're likely to handle.
5. Surface damage. You know whether damage to the surface you treat is excluded and whether a treatment risk endorsement is available.
6. Keys. Key cover is included, and its limit would pay to re-key your largest client's site.
7. Products. The schedule says public and products liability.
8. People. Workers compensation is in place if you employ anyone, and you know how subcontractors are treated.
9. Your income and gear. You've considered personal accident and illness and portable equipment cover.
10. Name and paperwork. The policy is in the same legal name as your contracts, and you've saved the PDS, schedule and certificate.

Key takeaways

• No law makes public liability compulsory for cleaners, but most commercial, strata and government clients won't let you start without a certificate of currency.
• Victorian government schools require at least $10 million; upcover says commercial clients and property managers usually want $10 million and shopping centres, hospitals and government $20 million.
• Standard public liability often excludes damage to the surface or item you're cleaning. A care, custody and control extension or treatment risk endorsement can fill part of that gap.
• Lost keys are often excluded or capped (Finder cites caps of $2,000 or $5,000). Ask for key cover if you hold clients' keys or alarm codes.
• upcover's 2026 data puts most cleaners at $455 to $842 a year; Finder's average is $53 a month; BizCover cleaners spend $78 a month on all their insurance.
• Public liability doesn't cover your own injuries, your staff, or your equipment. Workers compensation is compulsory once you employ anyone.

Where to get help

• business.gov.au: business insurance, including workers compensation obligations and links to registers of insurers and brokers.
• Labour Hire Authority (Victoria): whether commercial cleaners need a licence.
• Building Commission NSW: 13 27 00, for whether pressure washing or building cleaning work needs a licence.
• Your state workers compensation regulator, such as ReturnToWorkSA on 13 18 55, for deemed-worker questions.
• Moneysmart (ASIC): moneysmart.gov.au for guidance on buying insurance and reading a PDS.
• National Insurance Brokers Association: niba.com.au to find a broker if you tender for commercial or government work.
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority: afca.org.au if an insurer refuses a claim you think is covered.

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