Spacez insight · April 2026 · 8 min read

How Much Does a Commercial Fitout Cost in Melbourne?

All prices are indicative 2026 Melbourne market rates for base fitout construction. Furniture, AV, IT, and equipment are additional unless stated.

Quick Reference: 2026 Commercial Fitout Cost Ranges

All prices are indicative 2026 Melbourne market rates for base fitout construction. Furniture, AV, IT, and equipment are additional unless stated.

What Does "Cost Per Square Metre" Actually Include?

When fitout builders quote cost per square metre, it typically includes:

Included:

• Design and documentation (in a design-and-build contract)
• Building permit fees
• All construction trades: demolition (if any), carpentry/framing, plastering, tiling, painting, electrical, plumbing, mechanical (HVAC), fire services
• Custom joinery (reception desk, kitchen, cabinetry)
• Ceiling (suspended grid and tile, or plasterboard)
• Flooring (carpet, vinyl, or tile — specified)
• Lighting (standard commercial LED)
• Window treatments (standard roller blinds)
• Signage allowance (basic internal signage)

Usually excluded (priced separately):

• Loose furniture (workstations, chairs, sofas, tables)
• Audio-visual and video conferencing equipment
• IT infrastructure (switches, Wi-Fi access points, cabling beyond standard)
• Access control systems
• Phone booths (if proprietary — e.g., Framery)
• Major kitchen appliances (beyond standard fitout)
• Specialist medical or dental equipment
• After-hours construction premium (significant in CBD)
• Base building services tie-in costs (significant in premium towers)
• Landlord consent and authority approval fees

Always clarify what is and is not included before comparing quotes.

The 8 Biggest Cost Variables

1. Shell Condition — Warm vs Cold

The single largest cost variable is whether you're fitting out a warm shell or a cold shell.

Warm shell: HVAC, electrical distribution, amenities (toilets), and sometimes ceiling and flooring are already installed by the landlord. You're adding partitions, joinery, finishes, and fit-off. Warm shell fitouts are 30–50% cheaper than cold shell equivalents.

Cold shell (bare slab): You install everything from scratch — electrical distribution from the switchboard, HVAC from base building connections, hydraulics from the risers, ceiling, flooring, and all fitout. Cold shell fitouts are most common in ground-floor retail, industrial buildings, and older commercial buildings.

Example: A 300 sqm office fitout costs approximately $350,000 from warm shell and $480,000 from cold shell.

2. Building Location — CBD vs Suburban vs Industrial

Location affects cost in two ways: specification expectations and construction logistics.

• CBD towers require after-hours construction for noisy works (25–40% labour premium), loading dock logistics, and base building services tie-in costs ($80,000–$200,000+ for medium tenancies). These are real costs not captured in the cost/sqm rate.
• Shopping centres require after-hours construction, centre approval fees, and coordination with centre management — add 15–30% to suburban equivalent costs.
• Industrial precincts have simple logistics, minimal approval overhead, and modest specification expectations — the lowest cost environments for commercial fitout.

3. Specification Level — Economy to Premium

For any given fitout type, specification drives a 2–3× cost range:

Economy spec: Laminate joinery, standard vinyl flooring, grid-and-tile ceiling, basic LED battens, minimal acoustic treatment. Functional but unremarkable.

Mid-market spec: Quality laminate or veneer joinery, carpet tile, concealed LED linear lighting, acoustic ceiling panels, standard glazed partitions. The most common specification for suburban professional services fitouts.

Premium spec: Solid surface or stone features, engineered timber or polished concrete flooring, feature lighting (pendants, coves, track), high-NRC acoustic treatment, frameless glazing systems, bespoke joinery. Standard for CBD A-grade tenants, flagship retail, and design-forward businesses.

4. Joinery Complexity

Custom joinery — reception desks, kitchen cabinetry, display shelving, feature walls — is the biggest cost line in most fitouts after base construction. A simple laminate reception desk costs $8,000–$15,000. A custom stone-faced, illuminated reception desk costs $30,000–$80,000+. For retail fitouts, joinery can be 40–60% of total fitout cost.

5. Acoustic Requirements

Acoustic treatment adds real cost, but under-investing in acoustics is the most common and consequential fitout mistake. The cost difference between standard ceiling tiles and high-NRC acoustic tiles is $15–$25/sqm — on a 300 sqm open plan floor that's $4,500–$7,500 extra. Against the cost of staff dissatisfaction and lost productivity in a noisy office, it's trivial.

STC-rated meeting room walls (to structural slab) with acoustic door seals add $200–$400/lm over standard partition walls. A four-meeting-room fitout might have $8,000–$16,000 in acoustic uplift costs.

6. Sector-Specific Technical Requirements

Some fitout types carry significant additional technical costs that standard cost/sqm rates don't capture:

• Dental fitouts — compressed air and suction infrastructure, radiation shielding for X-ray rooms: add $60,000–$120,000 per surgery over a standard commercial fitout
• Medical/clinical fitouts — infection control surfaces, accessible wet areas, nurse call systems
• Pharmacy fitouts — Schedule 8 safe, pharmaceutical refrigeration, dispensing robot infrastructure
• Hospitality fitouts — commercial kitchen exhaust canopy (significant), grease interceptor ($15,000–$60,000), make-up air
• Aged care fitouts — ceiling hoists, NCC Class 9c compliance, enhanced HVAC

7. Site Conditions and Existing Fitout

A bare new tenancy in a modern building costs less to fit out than an existing fitout that requires strip-out. Demolition and waste removal for an existing fitout of 300 sqm typically costs $20,000–$50,000 before new construction begins. Existing fitouts may also reveal hidden issues — asbestos (in pre-1990 buildings), contaminated materials, or services that need replacement.

If you're taking a previously fitted tenancy, commission a building condition report before signing the lease.

8. Programme Pressure

Rushing a fitout costs money. Expedited joinery fabrication, after-hours acceleration, and programme compression all carry premium costs. A realistic programme (16–24 weeks for a suburban office fitout) costs significantly less than a compressed programme (10–12 weeks). Build realistic timelines from the start.

Real-World Cost Examples — Melbourne 2026

Example 1: Suburban Professional Services Office

Size: 200 sqm, warm shell, 3 meeting rooms, kitchen, reception

Specification: Mid-market (carpet, veneer joinery, acoustic ceiling)

Location: Box Hill

Estimated cost: $280,000–$350,000 all-in

Per sqm: $1,400–$1,750/sqm

Furniture (additional): $40,000–$70,000

Example 2: CBD A-Grade Corporate Office

Size: 500 sqm, warm shell, 6 meeting rooms, 2 phone booths, premium kitchen, brand reception

Specification: Premium (stone feature, engineered timber, WELL-aligned acoustic)

Location: Collins Street, full after-hours construction

Estimated fitout cost: $1,200,000–$1,800,000

Per sqm: $2,400–$3,600/sqm (including after-hours premium and tie-in costs)

Furniture and AV (additional): $150,000–$250,000

Example 3: Café Fitout — Inner Melbourne

Size: 80 sqm, cold shell, commercial kitchen, 30 covers

Specification: Mid-market with design point-of-difference

Location: Brunswick

Estimated cost: $180,000–$280,000

Per sqm: $2,250–$3,500/sqm

Equipment (commercial espresso machine, fridges — additional): $25,000–$50,000

Example 4: Two-Surgery Dental Practice

Size: 150 sqm, warm shell, 2 surgeries, sterilisation, reception

Specification: Clinical mid-market

Location: Suburban Melbourne

Estimated fitout cost: $380,000–$520,000 (including radiation shielding, compressed air/suction)

Per sqm: $2,500–$3,500/sqm

Dental equipment (chairs, units, OPG — additional): $150,000–$250,000

Example 5: Warehouse Office Fitout — Industrial Precinct

Size: 400 sqm mezzanine office + amenities in existing warehouse

Specification: Functional/economy (lunchroom, offices, change rooms)

Location: Dandenong South industrial

Estimated cost: $300,000–$450,000

Per sqm: $750–$1,125/sqm

What's Not in the Fitout Cost — Budget for These Separately

Many first-time tenants are surprised by costs outside the fitout contract:

How to Get an Accurate Quote

The most accurate fitout quote requires:

1. Confirmed tenancy — the address, NLA, and a copy of the lease (or heads of agreement) with the fitout clause and make-good clause
2. Base building information — existing services drawings, HVAC/electrical capacity, building management rules
3. Detailed brief — headcount, space requirements, specification expectations, timeline
4. Site inspection — the builder visits the premises and assesses existing conditions before quoting

Without these, any cost/sqm estimate is a rough guide only. The difference between a well-specified fixed-price quote and a cost/sqm estimate can easily be $200,000 on a medium-sized fitout.

Always get a fixed-price, fully scoped quote before committing. Avoid "approximate" or cost-plus arrangements — they transfer all financial risk to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is fitout cost included in the rent or is it separate?

Fitout cost is separate from rent. However, landlords typically offer incentives — a rent-free period or a cash tenant improvement allowance (TIA) — to help fund the fitout. In Melbourne's A-grade office market, TIAs of $150–$400/sqm are common. For a 300 sqm office, this represents $45,000–$120,000 in landlord contribution.

How do I know if a quote is reasonable?

Get three quotes from builders with recent experience in your fitout type and location. A quote more than 20% below the others should be interrogated — it usually means the builder has missed scope, is planning to recover margin through variations, or is underqualified. A quote more than 20% above may reflect a premium builder's overhead rather than better quality.

Can I reduce the cost by doing some work myself?

For licensed trade works (electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire), no — the work must be done by licensed contractors and included in the building permit. For furniture procurement and installation, IT equipment, and loose accessories, yes — many tenants purchase and install these independently of the fitout contract.

What is the cheapest way to fitout a small office in Melbourne?

For a small office (under 100 sqm): take a warm shell tenancy with an existing basic fitout; add or upgrade joinery, carpet, and lighting rather than starting from scratch; use quality specification-grade commercial furniture rather than custom joinery where possible; and build out incrementally as the business grows. A small office fitout can be done for $60,000–$120,000 at economy spec.

How often should I expect to refurbish my office?

Commercial fitouts typically have a functional life of 7–12 years before significant refurbishment is needed. Cosmetic refreshes (paint, carpet, new furniture) can extend the useful life by 3–5 years. Plan for a refurbishment budget in your business plan if you are signing a long lease.

Spacez delivers commercial fitouts across Melbourne at fixed prices. Contact us for a detailed cost assessment for your specific project.