Industry hub — Café & hospitality

Hospitality fit-outs: the heaviest compliance load — handled

Food premises, exhaust systems, grease management, kitchen standards, liquor licensing. Hospitality is the most regulated fit-out type in Australia — and the most expensive per square metre. Here's the full picture.

Estimate hospitality cost Find hospitality shopfitters

$1,500–7,000+Per m² (kitchen drives cost)

8–12 wksOn site (with kitchen)

10+Typical approvals & registrations

The build

What a café or restaurant build contains

The dining room is the easy part. The kitchen and its services are where cost, time and compliance live.

Commercial kitchen

Layout must follow food safety standards: separation of raw/cook/serve zones, washable surfaces, hand-wash basins, temperature-controlled storage.

Exhaust & ventilation

Kitchen exhaust canopy (AS 1668.2), make-up air, fire suppression in the hood, discharge location. Odour and noise conditions often apply near residents.

Grease & trade waste

Grease trap sized by the water authority; trade waste consent before discharge. Two separate approvals most first-timers miss.

Cold rooms & storage

Temperature-controlled storage, dry goods storage, bin rooms with wash-down. Cold room condensers need airflow and noise planning.

Dining & front of house

Joinery, bar, finishes, lighting, acoustics. Accessible entry, counter and WC requirements apply under access standards.

Registrations & close-out

Food business registration, liquor licence, final inspections — the premises must pass food registration before opening day.

Approvals

The hospitality approval stack

Item	Approval	Who signs off
Food premises design & fit-out	Required	Building approval + food business registration with council/health authority
Commercial kitchen exhaust canopy	Required	Building approval; mechanical ventilation to AS 1668.2
Grease trap installation	Required	Plumbing permit + water authority trade waste consent
Change of use (retail → café)	Required	Development consent, then building approval — the big timeline item
Liquor licence	Required	State liquor authority — runs parallel to the build
Outdoor / footpath dining	Required	Council footpath trading permit
Odour & noise management	Depends	Council conditions near residential — may need dispersion modelling
Cosmetic dining room refresh	Usually exempt	Landlord consent — if kitchen/services untouched

Full 14-item matrix in the approvals guide.

Costs

Hospitality cost benchmarks 2026

Indicative, excluding GST. Kitchen scope is the swing factor — a full commercial kitchen can be 40–60% of the project.

Type	$/m²	What drives it
Café / light food (existing services)	$1,500–2,800	Compact kitchen, existing exhaust, simple cold storage.
Full restaurant	$2,800–4,500	New exhaust canopy, full kitchen, grease trap, bar, dining fit-out.
Premium / hotel-adjacent	$4,500–7,000+	Architectural F&B, display kitchens, premium finishes, complex services.

State multipliers and size factors apply — the calculator handles both.

By state

Food premises rules by state

The Food Standards Code is national; who registers and inspects you differs. NSW first — the biggest café market in the country.

New South Wales

Food business notified to council; NSW Food Authority oversees high-risk premises. Councils conduct the pre-opening inspection. Build over $5,000 needs a licensed contractor (Building Commission NSW).

Victoria

Food Act registration with your local council before trading — proprietor registration + fit-out must match the registered food safety program. BPC handles building registration.

Queensland

Licensing food business under the Food Act with council; QBCC licenses the fit-out (restricted shopfitting class covers much of this work).

Western Australia

Food Act notification/registration with local government (e.g. City of Perth); builder registration with Building and Energy. Public building approval may apply for larger venues.

South Australia

Food business notified/registered with council; SA Health coordinates high-risk. CBS licenses the builder.

Tasmania

Food business registration with council before opening; CBOS licensing for the build work.

ACT

Food business registration with Access Canberra (Health Protection Service inspects); construction occupations licensing applies to the builder.

Northern Territory

Food business registration with council or NT Health; BPB registration for the build.

Find your builder

Hospitality fit-outs are specialist work — browse licensed shopfitters with food premises experience, state by state.

Questions

Hospitality fit-out FAQs

Can I use the previous tenant's kitchen?

Often yes, with a food-grade deep clean and re-certification. But verify the exhaust condition, grease trap capacity and whether the previous food registration still covers your menu type. Changing cooking volume or style can void it.

Why is the exhaust canopy such a big deal?

It needs mechanical ventilation certification (AS 1668.2), fire suppression, correct discharge height/distance from intakes, and often odour treatment near residences. Getting it wrong late = ceiling rebuild. Design it first, not last.

How long until I can open?

For a full restaurant: 8–12 weeks on site plus 2 weeks–4 months of approvals. Food registration inspection must pass before trading — book it before handover week, not after.

Do I need a food safety supervisor?

In NSW and QLD, yes for most hospitality. VIC, SA, WA, TAS, ACT and NT require food safety skills/knowledge (and a food safety program for higher-risk premises). Your fit-out doesn't cover this — it's a staffing requirement, but inspections will check it.

What blows hospitality budgets most?

1) Kitchen services discovered late, 2) exhaust redesigns, 3) grease trap location fights with the water authority, 4) landlord/council conditions on odour. All four are front-loaded problems — resolve them in design week, not build week.