Aussie Cleaning Pros Earning More Than Some College Grads

As reported by the Australian TV show A Current Affair, domestic cleaning professionals down under are earning wages that beat those of many university graduates.

Yet, the article goes on to say that Australia’s largest domestic cleaning agency—Absolute Domestics—is finding it almost impossible to hire the necessary staff.

According to the article, an annual salary for a domestic cleaning professional can be upwards of AUS$90,000. That’s more than the country’s engineering, architecture, health, and law graduates are making per year.

“I was basically earning less than that as a nurse,” Absolute Domestics employee Kim Rogers told A Current Affair. A psychiatric nurse for 48 years, she cited the job’s flexibility as being attractive as well.

But according to the company’s managing director, Joy Vess, despite offering $30 to $45 an hour to its cleaning employees, Absolute Domestics has been unable to hire enough cleaners to fulfill demand since the middle of 2021.

“We’ve got a severe shortage of workers, and we just can’t get enough workers to service the business that we’ve got,” Vess told A Current Affair. “We have to read…thousands of applications a month, and 70% don’t even return our call.”

Vess expressed her belief that government legislation regarding unemployment is to blame.

“The infuriating thing is the government regulation…that says unemployed people have to apply for jobs, and they have to apply for 20 to 30 jobs a month,” she said in the interview. 

Rogers gave her own thoughts on the situation.

“Not a lot of people out there consider cleaning a great profession, but…I feel very happy that I can take that role on,” she said.

“They can vacuum, they can mop, they can clean windows and do ironing. It’s not labor-intensive roles that they’re required to undertake and to earn $90,000 doing it,” said Amber Porter, CEO of RankingCo, a company that provides digital marketing for Absolute Domestics. “I’m confused and baffled why we don’t have all roles filled.”