Bond / End-of-Lease Cleaning SWMS

End-of-lease bond cleaning involves intensive deep cleaning of vacated residential or commercial premises to meet landlord and real estate handover standards. Tasks include kitchen degreasing, oven and rangehood detail, bathroom descaling, internal and external window cleaning, carpet steam extraction, and detailed work at height using A-frame ladders or step platforms. The work exposes cleaners to concentrated alkaline and acidic chemicals (oven cleaners, hydrochloric-based descalers, ammonia glass cleaners), wet floor slip hazards, sustained awkward postures, and falls from height. Under WHS Regulation 2025, the PCBU must identify these hazards, consult workers, and document control measures in a Safe Work Method Statement before work commences. A SWMS is mandatory where the work involves hazardous chemical handling, work at height above two metres, or repetitive manual handling generating musculoskeletal risk — all routinely present in bond cleans. This SWMS provides the documented risk control framework required to demonstrate due diligence and protect cleaners from preventable harm.

Hazards identified

7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination — Refuse to clean self-cleaning oven cycles already run by tenant; eliminate need for caustic degreaser where surface contamination is light and warm water suffices.
2. 2Elimination — Remove freestanding furniture and obstacles before mopping and carpet steaming to eliminate trip-and-slip exposure during wet work phases.
3. 3Substitution — Substitute caustic oven cleaner with citrus-based or bicarbonate paste degreaser (pH 9-10) wherever soiling level permits, reducing chemical burn severity.
4. 4Substitution — Replace ammonia-based glass cleaner with isopropyl alcohol or vinegar solutions to eliminate chloramine gas generation risk in shared bathrooms.
5. 5Engineering — Use carpet extractors with onboard heaters and sealed solution tanks; deploy portable HEPA exhaust fans in bathrooms during acid descaling per AS 1668.2.
6. 6Engineering — Provide platform step ladders with handrail and 450mm work platform rated to AS/NZS 1892.1 for all work above 1.8m, replacing A-frame ladders.
7. 7Administrative — Brief all cleaners at pre-start using this SWMS, confirm SDS review for every chemical on the trolley, and prohibit chemical decanting or mixing.
8. 8Administrative — Schedule rotation between scrubbing, vacuuming, and detail tasks every 45 minutes to limit cumulative musculoskeletal load per Hazardous Manual Tasks CoP.
9. 9PPE — Issue chemical splash goggles to AS/NZS 1337.1, nitrile gauntlet gloves (0.4mm), P2 respirator for descaling, and slip-resistant footwear rated SRC.
10. 10PPE — Provide chemical-resistant apron and long sleeves during oven and shower descaling; ensure eyewash bottle accessible within 10 seconds of work zone.

Applicable Codes of Practice

Worked example

On a Tuesday morning, a two-person cleaning crew arrives at a vacated three-bedroom townhouse for a same-day bond clean. The lead cleaner opens this SWMS on her tablet at the front door and walks her offsider through the pre-start brief on the kitchen bench. They identify the day's hazards against the document: heavy oven soiling requiring caustic degreaser, a second-storey window over a tiled landing, limescale build-up in two showers, and stairs to carry the carpet extractor. From the controls section they confirm the platform step ladder will replace the A-frame for the high window, citrus degreaser will be tried first on the oven before escalating to caustic, and the acid descaler is segregated on the lower trolley shelf away from the bleach spray. Both sign the SWMS sign-on register on the tablet, donning splash goggles, nitrile gauntlets, and a P2 respirator before bathroom work. Mid-morning the offsider notices the bathroom extraction fan is broken; she pauses descaling, references the engineering controls clause requiring mechanical ventilation, and sets up the portable HEPA fan from the van before resuming. At lunch the lead cleaner annotates the SWMS with the ventilation deviation and control adjustment, photographs it, and emails the updated record to the office — closing the documentation loop required under WHS Reg 2025.

Related legislation

• WHS Act 2011 (model)
• WHS Regulation 2025
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals CoP

Frequently asked questions