Consumers and the broader public expect health facilities to be kept clean and well maintained. Staff members at health facilities have the right to a workplace in which they are able to deliver healthcare services safely and effectively.

The cleaning standards for Victorian health facilities aim to improve the quality of healthcare provision by ensuring that all risks involving cleaning are identified and managed in an appropriate manner.

Addendum: Change to the Cleaning Standards  auditing and reporting requirements from 1 July 2017

From 1 July 2017, environmental cleanliness of Victorian health facilities will be evaluated through accreditation to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and patient-reported cleanliness through the Victorian Healthcare Experience Survey.

The Department of Health and Human Services will discontinue the cleaning standards key performance indicator to eliminate duplicate reporting by health facilities from 1 July 2017. Health facilities in Victoria will no longer be required to report cleaning audit results to the department.

It is important that health facilities continue to schedule and undertake audits of environmental cleanliness and it is expected that this will be done in line with the Cleaning standards for Victorian health facilities. 

From 1 July 2017, health services will be able to adopt alternative auditing methods when auditing environmental cleanliness. Alternative methods may be used in conjunction with, or in the place of visual inspections, which are currently the prescribed method. Whatever auditing method a health facility uses, the frequency of cleaning audits and the acceptable quality level measures outlined in the Cleaning standards for Victorian health facilities, should be maintained.

What you need to know

1. Environmental cleanliness will be measured through accreditation to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and patient-reported cleanliness through the Victorian healthcare experience survey.
2. The cleaning standards key performance indicator will be discontinued as a performance measure for Victorian health facilities.
3. Health facilities may adopt alternative auditing methods, in addition to, or in the place of visual inspections.
4. Health facilities will no longer be required to report cleaning audit results to the Department of Health and Human Services.
5. Health facilities will be able to utilise internal or external auditors, for auditing of environmental cleanliness.

Please see Auditing environmental cleanliness: An update on the auditing and reporting of cleaning standards in Victorian health facilities for more information.