General cleaning basics: free online awareness course for New Zealand workers
Clean before you disinfect, read labels and safety data sheets, never mix products, handle wet floors and lone work, and know what to leave alone and report.
About 37 min
5 short modules
15 questions
85% to pass
About this course
You have a bottle with a label you have not read, a floor people keep walking on, and a bin with something in it you do not want to touch. This course is about those everyday decisions: cleaning or disinfecting, reading a label and a safety data sheet, mixing and dilution, gloves, wet floors, equipment checks, working alone, and what to leave alone.
Every site has its own products, colour codes and procedures, so you follow the site's rules. This course does not replace training on your workplace's own chemicals and equipment, and it does not teach infection control. If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate.
Study and the assessment are free, with no account needed. WorkSafe's free Hazardous Substances Toolbox has plain worker pages on labels, storage and staying well, linked on this page, and they may be all you need. If you pass and want our certificate for your own records, you can pay for it then.
What you will learn
Explain the difference between cleaning and sanitising or disinfecting, and when each matters
Find key information on a product label and in a safety data sheet
Apply the rules on mixing, dilution and decanting, and use gloves and other gear as instructed
Manage wet floors, check equipment before use and plan for working alone
Identify what to leave alone, such as sharps, body fluids and unknown chemicals, and report it
Who this course is for
New cleaners, housekeepers and facilities staff, including people in their first week on a site
Hospitality staff who clean kitchens, bars, toilets or guest rooms as part of the job
Contract cleaners who move between sites with different rules
How the course works
1. Clean first, then sanitise or disinfectWhat each step does, when each one matters, and why cloths and colours follow the site's rules.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
2. Reading a label and a safety data sheetWhat signal words, statements and symbols tell you, and where to look in a safety data sheet.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
3. Mixing, dilution, decanting and protecting yourselfWhy products stay apart, how to dilute and decant, and how to look after your skin.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
4. Wet floors, equipment and working aloneKeeping people off wet floors, moving around a site, checking cords and plugs, and staying in contact.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
5. What to leave alone and reportSharps, body fluids and unknown chemicals: stop, keep others away, report. Then feeling unwell, serious events and speaking up.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
Sit the assessment15 questions drawn at random. You need 85% to pass, and there is no time limit. If you do not pass, you will see which topics to review, then try again with a new set of questions.Free, and so are retries
If you pass, the certificate is your choiceYou pay once, then get the PDF straight away and a copy by email. Your place is saved on this device the whole way, with no sign-up.NZ$24.90, optional
Sample. Yours shows your name, the course, the date and an ID anyone can check.
What this certificate does and does not show
It is not a qualification. A pass does not show that you can clean a particular site safely, or that a business has met its duties.
It does not replace training on your site's own chemicals, equipment and procedures. Your workplace needs to give you that, with supervised practice, even if you have cleaned somewhere else.
It does not teach clinical work or infection control. If you clean in a hospital, rest home, clinic or similar setting, follow that setting's own training and rules.
It does not teach you to handle sharps, blood or other body fluids, or to clean up unknown chemicals. The only steps taught here are stop, keep others away and report.
It is not first aid training or medical advice. In an emergency, call 111.
If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate. This awareness course does not replace workplace-specific training or induction.
It describes the law in force in November 2026. The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 changes some duties from 1 April 2027, so check WorkSafe's website for updates after that date.
Will my employer or a cleaning company accept this certificate?
We cannot say, because each business decides for itself. It is not a qualification, and it does not replace training on a site's own products and equipment. Ask before you pay the NZ$24.90 for the optional certificate.
Who pays for cleaning safety training and protective gear?
Section 27 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 says a business must not charge its workers for anything done or provided for health and safety, and WorkSafe says the business has to pay for PPE. If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate. If you are asked to pay for gear or training the business must provide, raise it with your manager or a health and safety representative, or call WorkSafe on 0800 030 040.
Are there free options from WorkSafe or the EPA?
Yes. WorkSafe's Hazardous Substances Toolbox has worker pages on labels, storage and your health, and WorkSafe has a quick guide to safety data sheets. The EPA has a page on household chemicals, written for home use. These are guidance rather than courses, and they are linked on this page. We did not find a free New Zealand government course on general cleaning when this was written.
Does this course teach me to clean up blood, vomit or needles?
No. It teaches you to stop, keep others away and report. If your job includes dealing with these, ask your workplace about its procedure and training.
Why is my site's colour chart different from the last one I used?
Colours and procedures vary by workplace. Follow the chart at the site you are on, and ask your supervisor if you cannot find one.
Is this enough for cleaning in a hospital or rest home?
No. It does not teach clinical work or infection control. Those settings have their own training and rules, so follow those.
Official sources behind this course
The lessons are original summaries of these sources. For your own situation, the source is what counts.
Version 1.1.1, last checked 2026-11-03. Approved for publication by our editor on 2026-11-09. Not reviewed by an external professional. How we check our content.
Clean hands, gloves and masks, coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick, and speaking up. Plain-English infection prevention basics for NZ care and cleaning work.
Your rights and duties under New Zealand's Health and Safety at Work Act: reporting hazards, stopping unsafe work, HSRs, PPE, and the changes from 1 April 2027.
Spot what makes a manual task risky, report it early and know what better controls look like. Drawn from WorkSafe guidance. Not lifting technique or moving people.
31 min
4 modules
Free to study
Certificate NZ$24.90if you pass
View course
Passed 2 or more courses? Buy their certificates together and pay 20% less.
