Members of the public have expressed concern about the legality of the nude cleaning business. Photo/News.com.au.
Members of the public have expressed concern about the legality of the nude cleaning business. Photo/News.com.au.
A local councillor has unleashed a scathing attack on a nude cleaning company — but the founder insists no laws are being broken.
Last week, Gold Coast councillor Dawn Crichlow slammed the Bare All Cleaning Service on air during an interview on Gold FM.
She described the business, which employs a range of male and female cleaners to carry out household duties for customers either in the nude or while wearing very little, as "absolutely disgraceful".
"That is wrong, that is wrong, that is wrong," she said on the programme.
"Hello, they are not cleaning," Crichlow said after it was revealed clients were charged $90 per hour for a bikini-clad cleaner or A$149 ($162.53) for total nudity.
Crichlow had also made similar criticisms during an interview with the Gold Coast Bulletin, in which she questioned the legality of the company.
"Is this even legal, do the police know?" she asked the publication.
"These people are ruining their lives by setting up a reputation such as a naked cleaner — go and get a real job … It's absolutely disgraceful and the Gold Coast doesn't need that."
But founder Brett Jones, who launched the business around three months ago in Queensland, hit back at Crichlow's claims, telling news.com.au the comments were "completely out of line".
The owner of Bare All Cleaning Service says she is running a legitimate business. Photo/news.com.au.
"She has no idea what the business is about — it's not a sex service," he said.
"She's tried to pigeonhole us by mentioning brothels and massage parlours when actually we're nothing like that — all we do is run a cleaning business with the point of difference that people get paid a whole lot more to wear a whole lot less.
"Councillor Crichlow has made all these comments without actually understanding what the business is and in some ways it has been defamatory and has cast aspersions on what we do — but we're not a sex service; I can't stress that enough."
Jones said there was a strict no-touching rule and that male and female staff simply carried out common household duties such as vacuuming, dusting and washing windows in a "cheeky and fun environment".
"It's designed so chores aren't boring and it gives us a point of difference in the very crowded cleaning environment," he said.
And it seems that point of difference is paying off — this week, the business has expanded into the Sydney and Melbourne markets, and Jones said it would also be rolled out into Perth and Adelaide within the next three months, with staff numbers expected to surge from 50 to 150.
Jones said Crichlow's comments had been "very hurtful" to staff members and insisted the operation was entirely legal.
"We are not breaking any laws and we're not doing anything wrong by anyone — once again, we're not a sex service, so we're not breaking any laws," he said.
Jones said the company had received 96 bookings from customers from Crichlow's electorate alone, which showed she was "out of touch with her constituents".
The company's website explains: "Our cleaners are very professional. They won't get upset and will understand your reaction to a nude female's body. However, you should respect them and their personal space. We do not represent or provide sexual services and our nude and full-clothed cleaning services should not be treated as a sexual experience."
