Office Fitout Melbourne
Forj Creative delivers commercial office fitouts across Melbourne, from 200-square-metre professional services offices to full floor headquarters. We handle the full scope — space planning, concept design, documentation, approvals, furniture specification, and construction coordination — with one team from brief to handover.
Our office fitout services
Full fitout of a new or shell tenancy. Space planning, concept, documentation, construction coordination, furniture, handover. Typically 3–6 months from brief to move-in.
New office fitouts
Partial or full refurbishment of an existing occupied or vacant office. Usually staged to minimise business disruption.
Office renovations and refits
Designing and fitting out a new tenancy in parallel with exiting the old one. Timing coordination is critical — we manage both ends.
Relocation fitouts
Returning an exited tenancy to lease-specified condition. Lower-complexity work but often time-critical.
Make-good and end-of-lease
Our office fitout process
1. Brief (1–2 weeks)
A paid discovery session covering business goals, headcount projections, ways of working, site constraints, and budget range. Delivers a scoping document and a fixed-fee design quote.
2. Concept design (2–4 weeks)
Space plan options, material palette, mood direction, key elevations. Usually two or three concept routes; client selects one to develop.
3. Documentation (4–8 weeks)
Full construction drawings, specifications, schedules, joinery details, electrical and data layout, lighting plan. This is what a builder prices from and constructs from.
4. Approvals and tendering (2–4 weeks)
Building permit submission through a registered building surveyor if required. Landlord approval for works on the tenancy. Tender package issued to a shortlist of Melbourne commercial builders.
5. Construction (8–16 weeks)
Site coordination, contract administration, trades management, design queries resolved live. Forj remains engaged through construction.
6. Handover (1–2 weeks)
Final defects walk-through, furniture install, styling, move-in coordination.
Total: typically 4–7 months from brief to occupancy for a 500–1,500sqm office.
Types of office fitouts we deliver
Category A (base building) fitout
Basic fitout of a shell tenancy to a usable standard — ceilings, floors, HVAC distribution, basic finishes. Usually delivered by the landlord before tenant fitout.
Category B (tenant) fitout
The tenant's specific fitout — layout, meeting rooms, offices, breakout areas, branded environments, kitchen, finishes. This is what most businesses mean when they say "office fitout".
Integrated fitout
Design and construction of a full tenancy where base building and tenant fitout are delivered together, typically in a new tenancy or a fully stripped-out existing one.
Refurbishment fitout
Upgrade of an existing fitout while the business continues to operate. Staged construction, usually out-of-hours.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an office fitout cost in Melbourne?
For 2026, a basic office fitout costs around $1,200–$1,800 per square metre, a mid-range fitout costs $1,800–$2,800 per sqm, and a premium fitout costs $2,800–$4,500+ per sqm. For a 500sqm office, that's a total construction cost range of $600,000 to $2.25M+ depending on tier. Design fees typically add 8%–15% on top. Furniture adds $800–$2,500 per person.
How long does an office fitout take?
For a typical 500–1,000sqm office: 4 to 7 months from brief to move-in. Concept and documentation is usually 10–14 weeks. Construction is 8–16 weeks. Smaller refits can move faster; full floor builds can take 6–9 months.
Do I need landlord approval for an office fitout?
Yes, almost always. Most commercial leases require landlord consent for any tenant works. The approval process typically takes 2–4 weeks once the design is documented. We prepare the approval submission as part of our service.
Do I need a building permit for an office fitout?
For most fitouts involving new walls, fire services changes, or structural work — yes. A building permit is issued by a private building surveyor against your documented drawings. For minor cosmetic works (paint, carpet, furniture only), a permit usually isn't required. We identify this during the brief stage.
What's the difference between a Category A and Category B fitout?
Category A is the base building fitout delivered by the landlord — walls, ceilings, floors, HVAC distribution, lights, basic finishes. Category B is the tenant's fitout — layout, meeting rooms, joinery, branded environments, kitchen. Most tenant leases include Category A as part of the tenancy; Category B is the tenant's responsibility.
Do you work directly with builders or do we need to engage one?
We can manage the tender process and coordinate the builder through construction, but the head contract is between you and the builder. This separation protects your interests — if we were also the builder, we'd have an incentive to cut design to protect build margin.
Can you work in occupied offices, or do we need to vacate?
Both. We regularly deliver staged refurbishments where the business continues to operate. Construction is scheduled out-of-hours or phased by zone.
What happens to our existing furniture?
We audit it at briefing stage. Some gets reused, some gets sold or donated, some gets replaced. Budget for furniture in the brief — don't assume you'll use what you have.
Do you handle IT and AV?
We coordinate with your preferred IT and AV providers during documentation and construction. We don't install network equipment or AV hardware ourselves, but we ensure cabling, power, and joinery provisions are correct.
Can you do a quick tender or does it have to go through your full process?
We can work from existing documentation if you have it and just need us to tender and manage construction. But most clients who try to skip design end up with problems at construction. Our view: the design stage is where money is saved, not where it's spent.
