Two cleaning quotes are only comparable when they answer the same request. A lower hourly figure can still produce a higher total if the visit is longer, essential tasks are excluded or extra charges are separate. Start with one written indoor task list, then compare the whole offer.
Prepare one version of the address, rooms, tasks, priorities, preferred frequency and access conditions. Send that same version to each provider. If one quote is based on a two-bedroom unit and another assumes a larger home or a different task list, the totals do not answer the same question.
Use one cleaning task list for all enquiries.
Record whether the offer is hourly, per visit or another unit. For an hourly quote, record the estimated hours as well as the rate. For a per-visit quote, ask what duration and task boundary the provider assumed. Do not divide a fixed visit price by an invented number of hours.
A useful comparison has four separate figures: the base unit, expected quantity, expected visit total and maximum possible total if every disclosed extra applies. Keep estimates labelled as estimates.
“General cleaning” can mean different things. Check each quote against the same room-by-room list and mark every task as included, excluded, assessment-only or unanswered. A quote that names vacuuming and mopping but says nothing about agreed bathroom surfaces is not equivalent to one that includes all three.
Keep gardening, exterior cleaning, property maintenance, repairs, personal care, transport, meal preparation, organising, decluttering, moving items, clinical work, mould remediation, biohazard work and pest treatment outside this indoor household-cleaning comparison.
Ask each provider to state, in writing, whether the following can change the total:
Silence is not a zero. Record “not stated” until the provider confirms the position.
The NDIA explains that its pricing information provides guidance on appropriate maximum prices and that a participant and provider can negotiate an appropriate and reasonable price. A published maximum is not a mandatory rate, a recommendation to spend that amount, a statement of Smurfettes pricing or proof that funding covers the service.
Use the live NDIA pricing page when checking a dated quote. See the prices and price limits guide for the difference between a schedule figure and an address-specific offer.
Price does not show whether the provider has understood the arrangement. Compare how each quote handles:
Do not assume a business can service the address or preferred time until it confirms both in writing.
A plan may be self-managed, plan-managed, NDIA-managed or use a mix across budgets. The applicable pathway affects provider choice, invoice recipient and payment process. Ask each provider to confirm where it will send the invoice and what information it needs. The cleaning page cannot decide whether the proposed purchase is in line with the participant’s plan.
The NDIA’s management-options guide is the primary source. If anything is unclear, the participant can check with their plan manager, support coordinator or my NDIS contact before accepting a quote.
Choose the factors that matter before reading the prices. For example, mark scope match, total cost clarity, suitable timing, access arrangements, communication, change terms and invoice quality as essential, useful or low priority. Give a quote no credit for a claim that has not been evidenced.
The NDIS cleaning scope worksheet can hold the common room-and-task baseline without turning personal information into a public record.
Ask for a corrected written quote instead of relying on a verbal explanation that changes the commercial terms.
Save the versions received, the questions asked and the final accepted scope. The later service agreement and invoice should be reconcilable to that decision. If a quote changes, compare the replacement version again rather than overwriting the original.
The NDIA’s guidance on finding and choosing a provider and service agreements was reviewed for this page on 4 September 2026 and should be rechecked when a decision is made.
Send the exact address, shared task list, preferred timing, access notes and invoice pathway to info@smurfettescleaningservice.net. Smurfettes can assess that specific request and reply in writing. An enquiry does not reserve a cleaner, prove address availability or approve use of NDIS funding.
Next step: review one response with the NDIS cleaning quote guide, then check any proposed ongoing terms with the service agreement guide.
