Is forensic cleaning the same as crime scene cleaning?

The terms are often used to mean the same thing. The NSW Government uses both, and describes the work as ranging from removing minor traces left by police investigations to dealing with blood or other hazardous materials.

Do forensic cleaners need a licence in NSW?

We did not find a licence specific to forensic or crime scene cleaning on the NSW Government, NSW Police Force or NSW EPA pages we checked. The NSW Government says crime scene cleaners must meet the minimum standard of service required of all NSW businesses. Separate rules apply to transporting certain waste.

Can a regular cleaner do this work?

For light fingerprint powder, the NSW Police Force gives cleaning instructions anyone can follow. Where blood or other bodily fluids are involved, the NSW Government advises owners and families not to clean it themselves and recommends a company that specialises in crime scene cleaning.

What happens to contaminated items that are removed?

It depends on what they are. In NSW, clinical and related waste is a special waste with its own rules for storage, transport and disposal. Ask the company how it classifies what it removes, who transports it and where it goes.

What is forensic cleaning, and how is it different from a deep clean?

Forensic cleaning is the cleaning and decontamination of a place after a death, an injury, a crime or a similar event, so that it is safe to use again. The NSW Government describes it as ranging “from removing minor traces left by police investigations to dealing with serious situations involving blood or other hazardous materials.” It differs from a deep clean because the first job is deciding what has been contaminated and what has to be removed, not just making surfaces look clean.

This guide explains what the work covers, how it differs from ordinary cleaning, what NSW rules say about it, and what to ask before you engage anyone.

The situations it covers

People usually need forensic or trauma cleaning after one of these:

an unattended death, especially where a person was not found for some time
a death or injury at home, at work or in a vehicle
a crime where there was violence
a suicide
fingerprint powder or chemical residue left after a police examination
homes where there are needles, bodily fluids or other biological hazards

Related work, such as cleaning a home after severe squalor or hoarding, uses some of the same methods but is a different conversation. It usually involves the person who lives there and their supports.

How it differs from a deep clean

A deep clean is thorough ordinary cleaning: every surface, inside cupboards and appliances, behind furniture. It assumes the materials in the room are sound and only need cleaning.

Forensic cleaning assumes nothing. This table shows the main differences.

	Deep clean	Forensic clean
Starting point	A list of rooms and tasks	An assessment of what is affected, including what is not visible
Protection for workers	Gloves and everyday products	Protective equipment suited to biological hazards
Soft furnishings and flooring	Vacuumed or shampooed	May need to be removed, depending on what has soaked in
Products	General cleaners	Cleaners and disinfectants chosen for the hazard
Waste	General rubbish	May include special waste with its own rules (see below)
Paperwork	Usually none	A written scope beforehand and a record of what was done

The NSW Police Force notes that even the contractors police use for chemical residue are “required to stringently adhere to Work, Health & Safety guidelines.” That gives a sense of the care involved.

Who regulates what in NSW

This is where it helps to be precise.

Licensing. We did not find a licence specific to forensic or crime scene cleaning on the NSW Government, NSW Police Force and NSW EPA pages we checked on 11 November 2026. That is not the same as saying none exists. What the NSW Government does say is that “crime scene cleaners must meet a minimum standard of service that is required of all NSW businesses that provide goods or services to customers,” and that complaints can go to NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20.

Who recommends cleaners. The NSW Government recommends “qualified companies that specialise in crime scene cleaning”, but does not define what qualified means.

Waste. The NSW EPA has clear rules for one category of waste that can come up in this work:

“Clinical and related waste has been pre-classified as a ‘special waste’.” The EPA says the definition in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 includes clinical waste, cytotoxic waste, pharmaceutical, drug or medicine waste, and sharps waste.
Clinical and related wastes (waste code R100) are on the EPA’s list of waste that must be tracked when transported.
The EPA says that anyone who transports “more than 200 kg or litres (or a mixture of kilograms and litres) of trackable waste in any load” must hold a NSW environment protection licence, and needs a consignment authorisation and transport certificate for each load.

Whether a particular item from a home or vehicle counts as clinical waste is a technical question we cannot answer for you. The useful thing is to ask any company how it classifies what it removes, who transports it and where it goes.

These pages describe NSW. Victoria has its own environment protection rules, which this guide does not cover.

What a typical job looks like

Every property is different, but the work usually follows this order:

Confirm the property is released. Nothing starts while police are still working. If you are unsure, ask the officer in charge of the investigation.
Assess and scope. Someone looks at the affected areas and writes down what will be done, what will be removed and what it will cost.
Agree and arrange access. The owner, occupier or their representative agrees the scope. Insurers often want to see this first.
Remove affected materials. Items that cannot be safely cleaned are taken out and contained.
Clean, disinfect and deodorise. Hard surfaces are cleaned and disinfected, and odour is treated where needed.
Dispose of waste. Removed materials are packed, transported and disposed of under the rules that apply to them.
Record the work. A written record lists what was done and removed.

Questions to ask before engaging anyone

Write the answers down, or ask for them in writing:

Do you hold public liability insurance? Can I see a certificate of currency?
What training do your staff have for biological hazards?
How will you classify, transport and dispose of what you remove, and who does the transport?
Will you give me a written scope and itemised quote before you start?
Will I get a written record of the work afterwards?
Who is my contact while the work is under way?
How do you keep the work discreet for neighbours?

If a company cannot answer these clearly, keep looking.

Our forensic and trauma cleaning page explains how we approach this work in Sydney and Melbourne. For questions about who arranges and pays for it, see our guide on who pays for crime scene cleaning. If you would like a written scope and quote, you can request a call back.