When Mark Keating started LF Facilities during COVID, he wasn’t just chasing contracts. He was creating the kind of workplace he never had growing up. A safe one. A proud one. A place where people could be themselves and still be seen as capable.
“I was raised in Coburg by my Maltese mother and Australian stepfather, left school at the end of Year 9. Got bullied, felt invisible. No one talked about queerness back then. You just got called names and learned to fight back.”
What he’s built now is the opposite of that. A commercial cleaning company that leads with heart. More than 15 staff. Clients across Melbourne. On track to hit $1.5 million by the end of next year. But Mark says the real success is the people he’s backing every day.
“We call our team sparklers. Because they don’t just clean. They bring light.”
How it started
Mark didn’t find WISE Employment in an office or a strategy meeting. He found us at a queer bingo night.
“I was at UBQ doing Daddy Bingo and desperately needed team members. Benn from WISE leans over and says, ‘Hire through us.’ I didn’t think much of it. But I eventually gave him a call.”
That call turned into one of WISE’s strongest employer partnerships. Almost half of LF’s current staff have been placed through WISE, many supported through Rainbow WISE. Mark works closely with Industry Employment Partner Mel Ruiz to match roles to the right people, not just the right resumes.
“Jazz was one of the first. Non-binary. Super quiet and didn’t do that well in interviews, to be honest. But we gave them a trial, a uniform that made them feel like them. Now they’re leading one of our biggest sites. They’ve grown so much it’s magic.”
The support goes both ways. WISE has helped cover travel costs, arranged EAP sessions, funded name changes and stepped in for on-site coaching when needed.
“It’s the little things that make people feel safe. That’s when they show you who they really are.”
Standards without shortcuts
Cleaning still carries stigma. Mark sees it all the time. But he’s not buying into it.
“We’re not ‘just’ cleaners. We’re professionals. We turn up, we know what we’re doing, and we care about the space we’re in.”
That’s why he vets his clients as hard as they vet him. If a worksite doesn’t feel safe or inclusive, he walks away.
“I’m not sending a trans person or a neurodivergent person into a place where they’re going to be stared at or dismissed. That’s not care. That’s harm.”
LF Facilities pays award wages, avoids sham contracting, and makes sure every cleaner is treated like a person, not a cost line.
More than a business
Mark, founder of LF Facilities, Mel from WISE Employment, and Eddy smile and pose together on different steps of a staircase.
‘Cleaning with Kindness’ is now a growing movement within the cleaning community. Co-founded by Mark and Fiona Morris—an industry leader—it will soon launch nationally.
The initiative is all about changing the way people think about cleaning: shifting the focus from being ‘just a cleaner’ to a skilled, professional, and valued member of the community. ‘Cleaning with Kindness’ celebrates the contribution cleaners make to our society, creating a sense of pride in the work they do.
The movement includes a range of activities—community events, mentorship programs for new operators, and advocacy for better standards across the industry. It also features a merch line (tees and earrings), with profits funding free community cleans across Australia. These community cleans aim to give back to vulnerable groups and local organisations who need support, such as community centres, housing projects, and schools.
Mark and Fiona hope that Cleaning with Kindness becomes a rallying point for cleaners everywhere: a way to show the world that kindness and professionalism can (and should) go hand-in-hand across all industries.
Mark mentors a diverse range of cleaning business owners—not just queer-led businesses. He is part of Grow My Cleaning Biz, also with Fiona, and serves as a Community Coordinator, mentoring and supporting other operators within the cleaning industry.
What’s next for LF Facilities
Mark’s goal is to grow his team to 30 staff members within 2 years, with 15 more expected by the end of next year.
In five years’ time, Mark wants to be on stage sharing the message: you can run a cleaning business that is kind, inclusive, and profitable. He hopes to leave a legacy that proves it’s possible to lead with heart and succeed.
And every time a WISE customer walks through his door, it becomes even more so.
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