Tuesday 22 September 2026: Collectively, QIC Real Estate’s certified portfolio and IFM Investors’ two certified portfolios comprise 106 buildings, covering more than 2.4 million square metres and supporting almost 900 cleaners. This represents the largest concentration of independently assured cleaning services in Australia’s property sector.
Awarded by the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF), Portfolio Certification recognises organisations leading the way in embedding responsible procurement, labour standards and worker engagement across their portfolios.
The achievement reflects a growing recognition that workforce governance forms an important part of responsible property management, alongside environmental performance, safety and financial stewardship.
Miriam Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Cleaning Accountability Framework, said:
“The achievement of Portfolio Certification by both QIC Real Estate and IFM Investors demonstrates how independent labour assurance can be applied across some of the largest portfolios in Australia’s commercial property sector.
Cleaners are essential to the operation of every commercial office and retail asset. More asset owners are recognising that responsible property management also means understanding the conditions experienced by the people who keep their buildings running.
“QIC and IFM Investors are demonstrating that strong workforce governance and responsible procurement can be embedded at a portfolio level, setting an important benchmark for the industry.”
Commercial cleaning is one of Australia’s largest outsourced workforces, employing over 150,000 workers nationally. Recent research by the Migrant Justice Institute found that 68% of temporary migrant workers surveyed had been underpaid, 40% had not received their superannuation entitlements, and 70% experienced insecure work. This demonstrating why independent labour assurance is an increasingly important component of responsible property management.
The achievement comes as expectations on businesses continue to grow, with governments, investors and regulators placing greater emphasis on due diligence, supply chain transparency and responsible business conduct, including the Australian Government’s recent announcement to strengthen modern slavery laws.
Independent labour assurance provides property owners with greater visibility of workforce practices, helping identify and address risks while demonstrating strong governance and accountability across outsourced cleaning supply chains.
CAF Portfolio Certification assesses the systems, governance and practices that support responsible procurement and fair working conditions across an asset owner’s portfolio. It combines desktop assessment with worker engagement, recognising organisations committed to continuous improvement and transparent oversight.
QIC Real Estate Portfolio
QIC achieved CAF Portfolio Certification and a Gold CAF Portfolio Rating, CAF’s highest available rating, across 21 assets, representing ~1 million sqm of gross lettable area and more than 460 cleaners. QIC’s achievement represents the largest CAF-Certified portfolio of major retail assets by floorspace in Australia.
Chris Forbes, Director, Asset Management, QIC Real Estate said:
“QIC has worked with CAF since 2018 and achieving Portfolio Certification and a Gold CAF Portfolio Rating – CAF’s highest available rating – is an important next step in our longstanding approach to responsible procurement, labour standards and worker protections.
Portfolio Certification provides independent assurance of our governance and oversight at scale, including procurement, contractor management and worker engagement, and supports our broader approach to responsible investment, risk management and social sustainability.
The benefits also extend to our assets. Our service partners tell us that creating high-quality working environments helps attract and retain quality cleaning team members, many of whom become longstanding members of our centre communities. That continuity supports the presentation of our centres and the experience we provide to our tenants and customers – outcomes we know are important to both our assets and investors.”
IFM Investors Portfolios
IFM Investors achieved Portfolio Certification and a Gold CAF Portfolio Rating across two managed real estate portfolios, representing 84 assets, more than 1.38 million square metres of commercial and retail property and approximately 571 cleaners.
Steven Peters, Chief Sustainability Officer, Real Estate at IFM, said:
“This achievement reflects the continued evolution of IFM Investors’ approach to sustainable investment and labour assurance. We were the first in Australia to achieve CAF Portfolio Certification in 2025, and were proud to extend this to our entire portfolio earlier this year, giving us full coverage across office and retail properties where we manage cleaning services.
As one of the early adopters of portfolio-level labour assurance, we have seen the value of taking a consistent, portfolio-wide approach to understanding workforce practices, strengthening governance and supporting continuous improvement across our cleaning supply chain. Expanding certification demonstrates that these principles can be embedded at scale across diverse property portfolios.
We hope this milestone encourages broader adoption of independent labour assurance across the commercial office and retail property sector. Raising standards across the industry benefits not only investors and asset owners, but also the thousands of cleaning workers whose work is essential to the buildings we manage.”
CAF CEO Miriam Thompson said the achievements reflect a growing shift in the property sector, with leading asset owners recognising that responsible property management includes responsibility for the people who keep buildings running every day.
“QIC and IFM Investors are helping to set a new benchmark for Australia’s property industry. Their leadership demonstrates that strong governance, fair procurement and respect for workers are not competing priorities – they are essential foundations of well-managed, high-performing property portfolios.
By taking a portfolio-wide approach to labour assurance, they are helping to create safer, fairer and more sustainable conditions for all their cleaners, while reducing the risk of exploitation and supporting cleaning providers to deliver quality services at a fair price. The impact extends well beyond their own assets, helping to raise standards across the industry and showing what good practice looks like.”
About QIC Real Estate
For 35 years, QIC Real Estate has built a track record as a specialist manager with demonstrated capability in driving investment performance through active management and a performance mindset. Our diversified A$13.5 billion* portfolio comprises some of Australia’s busiest retail destinations, convenient neighbourhood centres, office and mixed-use precincts. We invest in, develop and actively manage places to create enduring value for our clients and the communities they serve.
*As at 30 June 2026
About IFM Investors
IFM Investors is a global asset manager, founded and owned by pension funds, with capabilities in infrastructure equity and debt, private equity, private credit, real estate and listed equities. Our purpose is to invest, protect and grow the long-term retirement savings of working people. With assets under management of approximately $270.7 billion AUD as of 30 April 2026, we serve over 800 institutional investors worldwide, operating from 16 offices across Australia, Europe, North America and Asia.
About CAF
Established in 2012, the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF) is an independent, multi-stakeholder initiative that works across the cleaning supply chain to improve working conditions, strengthen responsible procurement and promote best practice social sustainability across the commercial property sector.
CAF’s Building and Portfolio Certification programs provide independent assurance that labour standards are being effectively governed and continuously improved, helping asset owners identify and address workforce risks while demonstrating leadership in social sustainability.
For more information, visit: www.cleaningaccountability.org.au
About CAF Portfolio Certification
CAF Portfolio Certification is an independent labour assurance program that assesses how effectively an asset owner manages labour standards across its cleaning supply chain.
Asset owners progress through four stages:
• Benchmarking – The portfolio is assessed against the CAF Standard and awarded a bronze, silver or gold CAF Rating.
• Roadmap – CAF develops a tailored improvement pathway.
• Implementation – The asset owner implements improvements across governance, procurement, worker engagement and education.
• Certification – Once all requirements of the CAF Standard are met, the portfolio achieves CAF Portfolio Certification.
Portfolio Certification recognises organisations that have demonstrated a high level of alignment with the CAF Standard and a strong commitment to continuous improvement.
For more information, visit www.cleaningaccountability.org.au/portfolio-certification.
Media contacts:
Miriam Thompson | Cleaning Accountability Framework | Miriam@cleaningaccountability.org.au | 0420 500 480
Karen Jamal | KJ Communications | karen@kjcommunications.com | 0412 179 135