Shop Fit-Out Costs, Timelines & Approvals

Start here

First — which state is the shop in?

Approvals, certificates and cost levels are set by state, not nationally. Pick yours and the rest of this site narrows to that rulebook.

NSW

New South Wales

278 companies · approvals & costs

VIC

Victoria

256 companies · approvals & costs

QLD

Northern Territory

31 companies · approvals & costs

1,023 companies listed across 8 jurisdictions · 815 approval pages · 2026 cost benchmarks

Estimate fit-out cost What needs approval?

Step 2 — by sector

Now — what kind of tenancy is it?

Each sector carries its own cost band and its own approval triggers. These are the same seven sectors the calculator prices, so the number you get and the rules you read always match.

Hospitality & Food

Cafés, restaurants, bars, takeaway

Cost, approvals & companies →

Retail & Fashion

Shops, showrooms, pop-ups

Cost, approvals & companies →

Office & Workplace

Tenancy fit-outs, studios, co-working

Cost, approvals & companies →

Healthcare & Medical

Clinics, dental, allied health, pharmacy

Cost, approvals & companies →

Education & Training

Training rooms, tutoring, childcare

Cost, approvals & companies →

Gym, Leisure & Entertainment

Gyms, studios, play centres

Cost, approvals & companies →

Warehouse / Industrial Office

Industrial units, trade showrooms

Cost, approvals & companies →

Shop fit-out under construction — joinery and services

Anatomy

What a fit-out actually contains

A fit-out is six systems layered into one tenancy. Budget blows out when one of them is discovered late — usually services or fire.

Demolition & make-good

Strip-out, asbestos check, waste removal, hoarding permits.

Shopfront & façade

Glazing, entry doors, awning, signage zone. Approval-sensitive.

Joinery & fixtures

Counters, shelving, displays, kitchen and back-of-house.

Services

Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire, data, grease and trade waste.

Finishes

Floors, walls, ceilings, tiling, paint, feature lighting.

Compliance

Access, egress, fire safety schedule, certificates before opening.

Approvals

Approval or exempt? The short version

Full matrix with 14 work items and 8 states lives in the approvals guide. Here’s the pattern most people need first.

Work item	Approval	Who signs off	What to know
Repaint, new floor coverings, loose furniture	Usually exempt	Only landlord consent	Cosmetic finish changes are not building work in any state. Check lease obligations and centre guidelines.
New joinery — counters, shelving, displays	Usually exempt	Often none; landlord consent	Fixed joinery that doesn’t alter egress, structure or fire systems is generally exempt. Keep exit paths clear.
Non-structural partition wall	Depends	Permit varies by state	Exempt in most states if it doesn’t affect egress, fire compartments or services. Always check with a surveyor.
Structural alteration or new mezzanine	Approval required	Building approval required	Needs structural engineering, building approval and often a fire upgrade. Never proceed without approval.
New or altered shopfront / façade	Approval required	Building + planning approval	Façade changes usually trigger planning consent (heritage, character, signage) plus building approval for glazing and egress.
Change of use (office → café, retail → gym)	Approval required	Development approval required	This is the big one. Every state requires development consent for a material change of use, then a building approval.
New commercial cooking / exhaust canopy	Approval required	Building approval + council conditions	Mechanical ventilation, fire suppression, grease-laden discharge and odour/noise conditions all apply.
Grease trap or plumbing alterations	Approval required	Plumbing permit + trade waste consent	Two separate approvals: the plumbing permit and the water authority’s trade waste consent.
Sprinkler, hydrant or fire panel changes	Approval required	Building approval + fire contractor	Fire services alterations require approval and licensed fire protection contractors; the fire safety schedule is updated.
Illuminated or projecting signage	Approval required	Council consent (may be exempt)	Small fascia signs are often exempt; illuminated, projecting or heritage signs need consent and sometimes building approval.
Outdoor dining / footpath trading	Approval required	Council permit	Separate footpath trading permit with furniture, insurance and clearance conditions.
Liquor licence / BYO authorisation	Approval required	State liquor authority	Runs parallel to building approval; the premises is inspected against licence conditions.
Food business registration	Approval required	Council or health authority	Required before opening for any business handling food — inspection of the completed fit-out.
Skip bin, hoarding or crane on street	Approval required	Council permit	Street occupation permits are separate and time-limited.

Guidance only — confirm with your building surveyor or certifier.

Programme

The sequence that keeps your opening date

Before you sign

Tenancy checks

Permitted use, landlord fit-out guide, services capacity, make-good obligations. Budget 2–3 weeks — plenty of leases are signed before anyone checks what council allows.

Design + approvals

Drawings, then sign-off

Design, documentation and approval run together. Most no-change-of-use commercial fit-outs get a CDC in about 20 days once the application is complete.

Be careful with the 10-day fast-track headline: it applies only to the NSW Housing Pattern Book low-rise housing pathway, not to shop fit-outs. A DA or council-track job needs 6 weeks or more, so start this before ordering anything.

Fit-out build

4–16 weeks by shop size

Small kiosk or simple retail ~4 weeks. Standard shop or salon ~8 weeks. Café or restaurant with full kitchen ~12 weeks. Large premises ~14 weeks+. Services before finishes, inspections at hold points.

Handover

Certificates, then open

Occupation certificate, fire safety schedule, food and liquor inspections — usually 3–7 days once the build is done.

Read the full week-by-week guideRead the full week-by-week guide

States

Eight jurisdictions, eight rulebooks

Licence thresholds, approval pathways, food and liquor registrations and fire regimes differ from state to state. Pick yours.

New South Wales

Building Commission NSW · no general commercial licence

Open NSW guide →

Victoria

Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) · registered since 1 Jul 2025

Open VIC guide →

Queensland

Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) · trade licensing

Open QLD guide →

Western Australia

Building and Energy (DEMIRS) · trade registration

Open WA guide →

South Australia

Consumer and Business Services (CBS) · development approval

Open SA guide →

Tasmania

Consumer Affairs Tasmania (licensing) · council permits

Open TAS guide →

Australian Capital Territory

Access Canberra · building approval

Open ACT guide →

Northern Territory

Building Practitioners Board (BPB) · practitioner registration

Open NT guide →

Questions

What owners ask first

Do I need approval to fit out a shop?

Only if you change the use, the structure, the fire systems or the egress. Cosmetic work and joinery usually need nothing more than landlord consent. See the approvals guide.

How much does a shop fit-out cost in Australia?

Benchmarks for 2026 run from about $600/m² for a basic office refresh to about $6,500/m² for a premium hospitality build. Retail typically lands $1,000–4,200/m² depending on specification. Run your numbers in the calculator.

How long does a fit-out take?

4–6 weeks on site for a refresh, 8–12 weeks for a hospitality fit-out with new kitchen services, 14+ weeks for structural or façade work. Approvals add 2 weeks to 6 months depending on the state and whether the use changes.

Do I need a licensed shopfitter?

Yes — but the NSW $5,000 threshold you see quoted is a residential rule. Commercial shop fitting in NSW does not require a general building contractor licence (NSW is the only state without one); what is compulsory everywhere is a licensed trade for the specialist work — electrical, plumbing, fire protection and air-conditioning. QLD has a specific restricted shopfitting class; VIC, SA, WA, TAS, ACT and NT all require registered or licensed contractors.

Can I open before the occupation certificate?

No. It’s a compliance breach and can void your insurance. Fire authorities can also close premises without a valid fire safety statement.

What’s the most common mistake?

Ordering joinery before confirming the approval pathway. If the use changes after joinery is cut, the design almost always changes with it.

Fit-outs we have delivered

A snapshot of commercial fit-outs across retail, hospitality, healthcare and workplaces.

Hospitality & Food fit-out reference — Banana Blossom Bondi — Hospitality & Food — Banana Blossom

Retail & Fashion fit-out reference — Apm Monaco — Retail & Fashion — Apm Monaco

Entertainment & Leisure fit-out reference — Iiko Mazesoba — Entertainment & Leisure — Iiko Mazesoba

Healthcare & Clinics fit-out reference — C2020 Optometrist — Healthcare & Clinics — C2020 Optometrist

Office & Commercial fit-out reference — CKSD Lawyers — Office & Commercial — Cksd Lawyers

Education fit-out reference — First Education Migration — Education — Education

Salon fit-out reference — Riah Hair Salon (our completed project) — Hair Salon — Riah Hair Salon (completed project)

Timelines

How long will it take?

The two questions every owner asks: what will it cost and how long will it take. Costs live in the calculator — durations are below. Treat every figure as a planning range, not a promise.

01

Design & documentation

2–4 weeks for a straightforward retail or salon refresh; 4–8 weeks for hospitality with a commercial kitchen. Fast-track: pick a shopfitter who designs in-house and lock the brief in one meeting.

02

Approvals & landlord consent

Cosmetic work: none beyond landlord sign-off (days). Change of use / structural / kitchen exhaust: 2 weeks to 6 months depending on state and council. Start this clock before anything else — see the approvals guide.

03

On-site build

Small shop / refresh: 4 weeks. Standard retail or salon: 8 weeks. Café or restaurant with kitchen: 12 weeks. Large or multi-level flagship: 14 weeks.

Four to sixteen weeks covers every shop fit-out — add a buffer if the tenancy needs base-building services upgrades by the landlord.

04

Certification & handover

2–4 weeks. Final inspection, occupation certificate, fire safety statement. You cannot legally occupy the tenancy before the occupation certificate is issued — budget this, do not discover it in week one of trading.

Typical total: lease signed → doors open

Simple refresh (cosmetic only): 6–10 weeks · Fast-track possible with approvals already in place

Standard retail or salon: 10–16 weeks

Café / restaurant with new kitchen: 16–26 weeks

Anything structural, heritage or façade: 6–12 months — approvals dominate, not construction.

Plan around the calendar

The December shutdown is real — plan for it

Every year, from roughly mid-December to mid-January, the entire Australian building industry stops. Not slows — stops. If your project touches that window, add 4–6 weeks regardless of scope.

🏛 Councils & certifiers go quiet

Approvals, inspections and occupation certificates sit untouched. A certifier booking in November may not return until late January.

📦 Warehouses & suppliers close

Joinery, lighting, fixtures — nothing ships. Long-lead items ordered in November often arrive in February.

🔨 Trades book out by October

Good shopfitters are fully committed before Christmas — everyone wants doors open for the festive trade. If you want a January or February opening, you need to be quoting in September–October.

💡 The flip side: it is the busiest trading season

Retail and hospitality make a huge share of annual revenue in December — which is exactly why every fit-out is rushing the same deadline, and why costs and availability tighten.

Open before the rush or plan cleanly for the new year.

Boss tip: if your timeline lands near December, either pull the build forward to finish by early December, or push the start to mid-January and use the break for design, approvals and ordering.

Do not let a build run across the shutdown — sites sit idle and you still pay rent.