Commercial Fitout Cost Calculator
Estimate what an office or commercial fitout will cost in Australia, based on floor area, fitout standard and whether you are starting from a bare shell or refurbishing an existing tenancy.
Net lettable area of the tenancy you are fitting out.
Fitouts are quoted per square metre, but the fixed costs (kitchen, comms room, amenities, project management, certification) do not shrink with the tenancy. Small tenancies under about 150 m² always land at a higher per square metre rate than the published benchmarks.
Ask the landlord what incentive is on the table before you commission a design. In softer markets an incentive of 25 to 40 percent of gross rent over the term is common, and a chunk of that can be taken as a contribution to fitout capital rather than rent free months.
💰 Ways to save
- Negotiate the fitout contribution before you negotiate the rent. Landlords protect headline rent because it sets the building's valuation, but they are far more flexible on capital contribution and rent free periods. On a five year lease, converting part of your incentive into a cash contribution towards the fitout can cover 30 to 60 percent of your build cost, and unlike a rent free period it lands as capital when you actually need it.
- Inherit as much of the previous tenant's fitout as you can live with. A tenancy that already has a compliant ceiling grid, working lighting, air conditioning distribution and a serviceable kitchen can be refurbished for roughly $700 to $1,100 per square metre against $1,600 plus for an integrated fitout. Walking three or four second generation tenancies before you commit to a shell is the single highest leverage hour you will spend on the project.
- Design once and freeze it before you tender. Variations during construction are priced without competitive tension and typically carry a 15 to 30 percent premium over the same item priced in the original tender. Spend the extra two weeks resolving the layout, joinery details and power and data positions on paper, because a change to a power point on a drawing costs nothing and the same change after the walls are lined costs several hundred dollars.
- Split the tender into a builder's works package and a separate loose furniture package. Fitout contractors commonly apply a 10 to 20 percent margin on furniture they supply, and furniture is the one part of the project you can buy directly from a dealer with no compliance risk. On a 250 m² office that separation alone often saves $8,000 to $15,000.
or from $2,274/week over 5 years , indicative finance
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## What a commercial fitout costs per square metre in 2026
Pricing reviewed: June 2026.
Pricing reviewed June 2026. Indicative Australian costs, not a quote.
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Understanding commercial fitout costs in Australia
What a commercial fitout costs per square metre in 2026
Australian office and commercial fitouts are quoted per square metre of net lettable area, and the 2026 bands are reasonably stable across the eastern capitals. A basic fitout, meaning open plan workstations, carpet tiles, painted plasterboard, a small kitchenette and a reuse of the existing ceiling and lighting, runs about $900 to $1,300 per square metre. A mid range integrated fitout with a mix of open plan and enclosed offices, two or three meeting rooms, a proper kitchen and breakout, new lighting and data cabling sits at roughly $1,500 to $2,200 per square metre. Premium fitouts with feature ceilings, bespoke joinery, acoustic treatment, integrated AV in every meeting room and high end finishes start around $2,800 and reach $4,500 per square metre in a Sydney or Melbourne CBD tower. Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide typically sit 5 to 12 percent under Sydney for the same specification.
Why small tenancies cost more per square metre
The per square metre benchmarks assume a floor plate of roughly 300 to 800 square metres. Below that, the arithmetic works against you, because a large part of a fitout is fixed regardless of size. A comms room, a kitchen, a set of amenities, a reception, a fire and essential services certification, a building surveyor, a project manager and a site establishment all cost close to the same on a 90 square metre suite as on a 400 square metre floor. A 100 square metre tenancy commonly lands at $2,200 to $2,800 per square metre for a specification that would be quoted at $1,600 on a bigger floor. If you are budgeting a small suite, take the benchmark rate and add 30 to 50 percent rather than treating the published number as gospel.
Shell versus refurbishment, and what the landlord actually gives you
The single biggest swing factor is what condition the tenancy is handed over in. A cold shell is bare structure, and you buy everything above and below you, including the ceiling grid, lighting, sprinkler drops, air conditioning distribution, floor levelling and finishes. An integrated or warm shell fitout means the base building brings services to the tenancy boundary and you distribute from there. A second generation tenancy already has a previous tenant's fitout in it, and if the layout is workable a refurbishment can be delivered for 55 to 70 percent of a new integrated fitout. Read the schedule of landlord's works in the lease line by line. The difference between air conditioning distributed to the tenancy and air conditioning available at the tenancy boundary is often $80 to $180 per square metre, and it is written in a single sentence that is easy to skim.
Base building services are the hidden budget killer
Most fitout blowouts are not caused by finishes, they are caused by services. Older stock in particular runs out of electrical capacity, air conditioning capacity or both. If your headcount density is higher than the building was designed for, which is common now that meeting rooms and collaboration areas eat floor area, you may need a supplementary air conditioning unit for the comms room and the meeting rooms, a switchboard upgrade, or additional exhaust. Any of those requires a mechanical or electrical consultant, landlord approval and often after hours access to the plant room. Before you sign the lease, get a services capacity report from an engineer and put the cost of any required upgrade into the negotiation. A landlord who wants the deal will frequently absorb it, but only if you raise it before the agreement for lease is executed.
Make good, the clause nobody reads at signing
Make good is the obligation to return the tenancy to a defined condition at the end of the lease, and it is a real liability that sits on your balance sheet. Clauses range from a light patch and paint through to a complete strip out back to bare shell, including removal of cabling above the ceiling, reinstatement of the ceiling grid and repainting the tenancy in the landlord's specified colour. A full strip out on a 250 square metre office typically costs $50,000 to $90,000. When you are budgeting a new fitout, price the make good on the tenancy you are leaving at the same time, because those costs land in the same quarter. It is also negotiable at signing. Capping make good at a defined dollar figure, or reducing it to a paint and clean obligation, is one of the easiest concessions to win when a landlord is competing for a tenant.
Approvals and lead times
Most commercial fitouts are approved through a private certifier rather than a full development application, provided you are not changing the use, altering the facade or increasing occupant numbers beyond the fire safety design. That path takes roughly two to five weeks. Change of use, a commercial kitchen, altered egress or higher occupancy pushes you into a council development application, realistically eight to sixteen weeks. For the build itself, allow six to eight weeks of design, three to four weeks to tender and award, then eight to fourteen weeks on site for a 250 to 400 square metre fitout. Long lead items hurt most, and in 2026 the usual offenders are switchboards, custom glazing, imported light fittings and air conditioning plant.
Building a budget that survives contact with a tender
A defensible fitout budget has four layers. Construction cost is the per square metre rate applied to your area and standard. Professional fees for a designer, project manager, building surveyor and engineers add 8 to 14 percent. Loose items that never appear in the builder's contract, meaning furniture, IT hardware, security and access control, signage and the move itself, add another 15 to 25 percent. Finally, hold a contingency of 10 percent on a refurbishment and 15 percent on a shell fitout, because latent conditions are found rather than predicted.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a commercial fitout cost per square metre in Australia in 2026?
A basic fitout runs about $900 to $1,300 per square metre, a mid range integrated fitout $1,500 to $2,200, and a premium CBD fitout $2,800 to $4,500. Tenancies under about 150 square metres sit well above these bands, often $2,200 to $2,800 per square metre, because the kitchen, comms room, amenities and certification costs do not scale down with the floor area.
Will the landlord pay for my fitout?
Often they will contribute. In most 2026 Australian markets an incentive worth 25 to 40 percent of gross rent over the lease term is achievable on a five year deal, and it can be structured as rent free months, a cash contribution to fitout capital, or landlord delivered works. A cash contribution is usually the most valuable version because it arrives when you are paying builders. Negotiate the contribution before you settle the headline rent, since landlords defend rent harder than they defend incentive.
What is the difference between a cold shell, a warm shell and an integrated fitout?
A cold shell is bare structure with no ceilings, no lighting, no air conditioning distribution and no floor finishes, and you pay for all of it. A warm or integrated shell means the base building delivers services to the tenancy boundary and you distribute from there. A second generation tenancy already carries a previous tenant's fitout, and refurbishing one typically costs 55 to 70 percent of an equivalent new integrated fitout. The single sentence in the lease describing landlord's works can be worth $80 to $180 per square metre.
How much should I allow for make good?
A light make good of patching, painting and cleaning on a 250 square metre office runs roughly $15,000 to $25,000. A full strip out back to base building, including removing cabling above the ceiling and reinstating the ceiling grid, typically costs $50,000 to $90,000. Read the clause at signing rather than at expiry, and try to cap the obligation at a fixed dollar figure or reduce it to paint and clean while you still have negotiating leverage.
Do I need council approval for an office fitout?
Usually not a full development application. If you are not changing the use, altering the facade or increasing occupant numbers beyond the fire safety design, most states allow the work to proceed as exempt or complying development certified by a private building surveyor, taking two to five weeks. Change of use, a new commercial kitchen, altered egress or higher occupancy pushes you into a council DA, which realistically takes eight to sixteen weeks.
How long does a commercial fitout take from start to finish?
For a 250 to 400 square metre office, allow six to eight weeks for design and documentation, three to four weeks to tender and award, and eight to fourteen weeks on site. Total elapsed time is typically four to six months. Long lead items drive most delays, and in 2026 the recurring problems are switchboards, custom glazing, imported light fittings and any mechanical plant, so order those the day the contract is signed.
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