Shop Fit-Out Process — Week-by-Week Timeline

Eight stages, one critical path

Every fit-out that blows its programme does so for one of three reasons: the use wasn’t approved, a service didn’t exist, or a variation wasn’t documented. All three are solved before site start.

4–6 weeks

Find and secure the tenancy

Searching typically takes 4–6 weeks in a normal market (market-based planning estimate, not an official figure), longer if you need a grease riser, three-phase power or a specific foot-traffic position.

Before you sign: permitted use, landlord fit-out guide, services capacity, floor loading and make-good obligations. A cheap tenancy with no grease line is not cheap.

2–4 weeks

Brief and concept design

Bring the shopfitter or designer in early. Layout, joinery, services and compliance resolved together — not value-engineered after approval. Runs in parallel with the tail of the tenancy search.

2 weeks – 6 months

Confirm pathway and lodge

Certifier or building surveyor reviews the design and lists what is triggered. Straightforward change of use or fit-out on a non-heritage, non-flood site can go CDC (10–20 business days). A DA is months.

Approvals, not construction, are what blow the programme.

2–3 weeks

Tender and contract

Three itemised quotes, scope exclusions in writing, programme with liquidated damages, licence number on the contract. Do not tender before the pathway is known — the scope moves.

Site start

Approvals issued, possession taken

Building approval, plumbing permit and trade waste consent in hand. Demolition and make-safe first, then services rough-in.

4–16 weeks

Construction

Services and framing, then joinery install, then finishes. Duration is set by type and size, not by wishful thinking — see the table below. Every variation goes back through the certifier.

1–2 weeks

Inspections and defects

Final building inspection, fire services certification, food/liquor inspection, then the punch list.

Handover

Occupation certificate and open

Certificate in hand, fire safety schedule filed, warranty documents and as-built drawings delivered.

How long construction actually takes

Fit-out type	On-site duration	What dominates
Minor / small shop — joinery, paint, lighting, no services	4 weeks	Joinery lead time
Standard retail or salon	8 weeks	Shopfront, joinery, services adjustments
Café / restaurant with commercial kitchen	12 weeks	Exhaust, grease, fire, kitchen install
Large or multi-level flagship	14 weeks	Structure, façade, services upgrade
Realistic envelope for any shop fit-out	4–16 weeks	A competent shopfitter lands inside 16 weeks unless approvals or base-building works intervene

Where programmes actually slip

Grease and trade waste: the water authority’s consent is a separate queue and often slower than building approval.
Fire services: sprinkler relocation or a new hydrant can add weeks and needs licensed contractors.
Joinery lead times: 6–10 weeks for custom joinery is typical (industry experience; varies by supplier and finish — not an official standard); imported fittings add freight.
Landlord approval: centre design review runs in series with council, not in parallel.
Meter and connection upgrades: an electrical supply upgrade is a distributor job with its own timeline.

Rule of thumb: a small shop or refresh is 4 weeks on site, a standard retail or salon fit-out 8 weeks, a café or restaurant with a new kitchen 12 weeks, and a large or multi-level flagship 14 weeks — 4 to 16 weeks covers essentially every shop fit-out. Structural work and a new façade sit at the top of that band, and approvals sit outside it.

The fit-out process, week by week