Strata Caretaking
Strata & Body Corporate Caretaking and Cleaning in Melbourne: What Committees Should Expect
For Melbourne owners corporations and body corporates, the caretaker and cleaner are the people who keep common property safe, presentable and functioning day to day. A good caretaking arrangement is almost invisible — residents simply find the building clean and working. A poor one generates committee complaints, deferred maintenance and avoidable safety risks. This guide sets out what a proactive strata caretaker and cleaning service should actually deliver, the OH&S duties committees carry for common property, and how to review a caretaking contract so it works for your building rather than against it.
Caretaking vs cleaning: where the roles overlap
In Melbourne strata, "caretaking" and "cleaning" are often bundled into one contract but they are different jobs. Cleaning is the scheduled servicing of common areas — foyers, lifts, corridors, stairwells, bin rooms, car parks and external entries. Caretaking is the broader stewardship of the common property: inspections, minor maintenance, contractor coordination, defect reporting, and being the on-site point of contact for residents and trades.
Bundling both with one capable provider removes the finger-pointing that happens when the cleaner blames the caretaker and vice versa. The trade-off is that you need a provider who can genuinely do both — not a cleaning company that has added "caretaking" to its brochure.
What a proactive strata caretaker actually does
A proactive caretaker works to a routine rather than waiting for complaints. They walk the common property on a set schedule, log defects, raise work orders, chase trades, and report back to the committee or owners corporation manager. They are the eyes on site between committee meetings.
- Scheduled common-property inspections with a written defect log.
- Coordination of trades — cleaners, gardeners, plumbers, lift and fire contractors.
- Minor preventative maintenance and small repairs within an agreed limit.
- Bin-room management, waste collection oversight and recycling compliance.
- Resident enquiries and after-hours incident response.
- Monthly reporting to the committee or OC manager with photos and actions.
Common-area cleaning scope for Melbourne strata
A strata cleaning scope should be written, building-specific, and tied to frequency. The standard scope for a mid-rise Melbourne apartment building usually covers the items below; larger complexes add lift pits, plant rooms and multi-level car parks.
- Foyers, entries and lift interiors — daily, including glass and stainless smudge removal.
- Corridors and stairwells — vacuum, mop, dust and spot-clean handrails.
- Bathrooms in common areas and amenities — daily sanitising.
- Bin rooms — wash-down and deodorise on collection cycle.
- Car parks — sweeping, line-marking checks and oil-spot treatment.
- External entries, paths and drainage grates — litter sweep and leaf clear.
OH&S duties committees carry for common property
An owners corporation is effectively the controller of common property, which means it carries real work health and safety obligations for the areas residents and trades move through. A proactive caretaker is how a committee discharges those obligations day to day — but the duty stays with the OC.
Practical steps include keeping a chemical register and SDS for any products used on common property, maintaining SWMS for higher-risk tasks such as gutter cleaning or car-park pressure washing, ensuring contractors are insured and inducted, and keeping records of inspections and maintenance. These documents are also what a WorkSafe inspector or insurer will ask for after an incident.
Reviewing a caretaking and cleaning contract
When a caretaking contract comes up for renewal, the review should look at outcomes, not just price. Has the building stayed clean and defect-free between meetings? Are defects logged and closed? Are trades coordinated without committee involvement? Are OH&S records current? If the answer is no, a cheaper quote will not fix it — a clearer scope and a more capable provider will.
Look for a provider who offers a written scope, documented inspections, monthly reporting, and a genuine caretaking capability alongside the cleaning. The cheapest tender almost always wins by cutting hours or skipping the caretaking side entirely.
Seasonal tasks that protect the building
Strata buildings have a seasonal rhythm that a proactive caretaker builds into the maintenance plan. Gutter clearing before winter, garden cut-backs and mulch ahead of summer fire season, car-park line marking in dry weather, and external window cleaning on a set cycle all protect the asset and avoid bigger bills later.
- Autumn: gutter and downpipe clearing before winter rain.
- Winter: drainage grate checks and leak reporting.
- Spring: garden rejuvenation, mulch and pruning.
- Summer: fire-season vegetation management and bin-room compliance.
- Year-round: external window cleaning on a 6–12 week cycle.