Housekeeping jobs in Australia are one of the steadiest ways into hotel work. Hotels, motels, resorts and serviced apartments across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and regional resorts are actively advertising housekeeping roles right now, and major hotel groups — Accor, IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Rydges and Minor Hotels — all have live housekeeping vacancies in October and November 2026. This 2026 update replaces the old post with fresh, verified facts: the current Hospitality Award pay rates, the roles hotels are actually hiring for, the work-rights rule every applicant must know, and the official application routes.
The most important fact in this guide comes first: every major hotel group’s own careers pages state that applicants must already hold Australian work rights, and that no visa sponsorship is offered for housekeeping roles. This post does not promise sponsorship, and no reader should pay anyone who claims they can arrange it. If you already hold work rights in Australia — as a citizen, permanent resident, or on a visa that permits work — housekeeping is a genuine entry point into the hotel industry, with training, penalty rates for weekends and public holidays, and hotel discount programmes.
Available Housekeeping Jobs:
Hotels advertise housekeeping under several job titles. The roles below are all live on the major hotel groups’ own careers pages in October and November 2026, across city hotels and regional resorts.
- Room Attendant — cleaning and servicing allocated guest rooms to the hotel’s standard, making beds, cleaning bathrooms and replenishing linen and amenities
- Housekeeping Attendant — general housekeeping duties across guest rooms and public areas, including laundry and linen work
- Housekeeper / Cleaner — cleaning rooms, apartments and common areas, often in serviced apartments and resorts
- Public Area Cleaner — cleaning and maintaining lobbies, corridors and other public areas of the hotel
- Houseperson — delivering and removing linen and towels, disposing of rubbish and restocking cleaning supplies
- Housekeeping Supervisor — supervising, training and coordinating the housekeeping team, checking rooms and managing the daily roster
Salary and Benefits:
Pay for hotel housekeeping is set by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009). The rates below apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. The award classifies staff by their duties, not by job title: general cleaning and laundry or linen duties fall under Guest Service Grade 1 (Level 1), while servicing and cleaning accommodation areas — the work of a Room Attendant — falls under Guest Service Grade 2 (Level 2), and a Housekeeping Supervisor falls under Guest Service Supervisor (Level 5).
– Level 1 (general cleaning, laundry and linen): $26.44 per hour as a full-time or part-time employee ($1,004.90 per week), or $33.05 per hour casual, including the 25% casual loading.
– Level 2 (Room Attendant — servicing and cleaning accommodation areas): $27.08 per hour as a full-time or part-time employee ($1,029.10 per week), or $33.85 per hour casual.
– Level 5 (Housekeeping Supervisor): $31.30 per hour as a full-time or part-time employee ($1,189.40 per week), or $39.13 per hour casual.
– Penalty rates, Level 2: Saturday $33.85, Sunday $40.62 and public holidays $60.93 per hour for full-time and part-time staff; casual rates are higher again. Evening loadings of $2.95 per hour apply from 7pm to midnight, and $4.42 per hour from midnight to 7am, Monday to Friday.
– These figures are confirmed by the Fair Work Ombudsman’s official pay guide, and by a real employer advertisement: Accor’s own live advertisement for a Room Attendant quotes exactly the Level 2 rates of $27.08 Monday to Friday, $33.85 on Saturday, $40.62 on Sunday and $60.93 on public holidays.
Benefits mentioned in the hotel groups’ advertisements include paid annual leave for part-time and full-time roles, penalty rates on weekends and public holidays, hotel discount programmes for staff, on-the-job training and career progression within the hotel group. Do not rely on pay figures copied from individual job advertisements, as some live advertisements still quote the old pre-July 2026 rates — the Fair Work pay guide is the authority.
Job Requirements:
- Valid Australian work rights — applicants must already hold them; the major hotel groups state they do not offer sponsorship for housekeeping roles
- Previous hotel housekeeping or Room Attendant experience is preferred by most hotels, but several groups say it is not essential — entry-level applicants are accepted, and experience is an advantage everywhere
- Physically fit and comfortable working independently, able to lift and carry linen and other items, and to work on your feet for a full shift
- Flexibility to work a rotating seven-day roster, including weekends, public holidays, early mornings and late evenings, with some night shifts
- Good English, an eye for detail, and a careful approach to cleaning chemicals, safety and hygiene
- A National Police clearance, and a Working with Vulnerable People clearance where the hotel asks for it, is usually required when an offer is made, and some hotels ask for your own transport to and from the hotel
How To Apply:
– Step 1: Confirm that you already hold Australian work rights. If you do not, do not apply to these hotel roles — the employers state plainly that they cannot sponsor housekeeping applicants.
– Step 2: Apply directly on the hotel groups’ own careers portals, where the live roles are listed: Accor at careers.accor.com (Room Attendant and Housekeeping Attendant roles, including Novotel Surfers Paradise and Pullman Adelaide), IHG at careers.ihg.com (Housekeeping Attendant roles including Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets and InterContinental Perth), Minor Hotels (Oaks, Avani and Anantara) through their SmartRecruiters portal, and EVT / Rydges through the group’s careers portal (Housekeeping Attendant roles including Rydges Resort Hunter Valley and Rydges Adelaide). Hilton and Marriott advertise Housekeeping Attendant roles through their own careers pages too.
– Step 3: Search the official government job board, Workforce Australia (workforceaustralia.gov.au), which lists housekeeping vacancies across the country.
– Step 4: Prepare a short CV showing any hotel, cleaning or customer-service experience, your work rights, your availability for a rotating roster, and referees. Apply to each hotel directly — there is no middleman and no fee to apply.
– Step 5: If you are shortlisted, the hotel will contact you for an interview and, if an offer is made, will ask for your police clearance and proof of work rights before you start.
Important Documents to Bring:
- A valid passport
- Proof of your Australian work rights
- An updated CV listing any hotel, cleaning or customer-service experience
- Contact details of referees from previous employers
- A National Police clearance, if the hotel asks for one when making an offer
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1. How much do housekeepers earn in Australia in 2026?
Under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, from 1 July 2026 a Level 1 worker earns $26.44 per hour ($33.05 casual), a Level 2 worker — which includes a Room Attendant who cleans guest rooms — earns $27.08 per hour ($33.85 casual), and a Housekeeping Supervisor at Level 5 earns $31.30 per hour ($39.13 casual). Weekend and public holiday penalty rates apply on top of these figures.
Q2. Do hotels in Australia sponsor housekeepers for a visa?
No. Every major hotel group’s own careers pages state that applicants must already hold Australian work rights and that sponsorship is not offered for housekeeping roles. Do not pay anyone who claims they can arrange sponsorship for a housekeeping job.
Q3. Do I need experience to work as a Room Attendant?
Previous hotel housekeeping experience is preferred by most hotels, but several groups say it is not essential, so entry-level applicants are accepted. Experience is an advantage everywhere, and no formal qualification is required for these roles.
Q4. Where are housekeeping jobs advertised in Australia?
On the hotel groups’ own careers portals — Accor, IHG, Minor Hotels, EVT / Rydges, Hilton and Marriott — and on the official government job board, Workforce Australia (workforceaustralia.gov.au). Commercial job boards also carry the advertisements, but the employer’s own careers page is the authoritative place to apply.
Q5. What hours do housekeepers work?
Housekeeping usually runs on a rotating seven-day roster, including weekends, public holidays, early mornings and late evenings, with some night shifts. Penalty rates apply for Saturday, Sunday and public holiday work under the Hospitality Award.
Housekeeping is honest, steady hotel work with real award pay and a clear path into the wider hotel industry. Apply only through the employers’ own careers pages or Workforce Australia, check the award rates before you accept any offer, and never pay anyone for a job or a visa,
