How Long Does an Office Fitout Take?

Most Melbourne office fitouts take somewhere between 10 and 14 weeks from the day you appoint a company to the day you walk into your finished space. At Aquilla, most of our projects run around 12 weeks, less for simpler jobs, more for larger or complex ones.

What catches most businesses off guard is that construction is only part of that timeline. A lot has to happen before a single wall goes up, and underestimating those early stages is one of the most common reasons projects run late.

What actually happens across those 12 weeks

The first two to four weeks are about understanding your business, not just headcount and desks, but how your team actually moves through their day, what the space needs to do better than your current one, and what everything is going to cost before anything is locked in. Decisions made here affect everything that follows. Changing your mind mid-build costs significantly more than getting it right at the start.

Approvals come next. Before work starts on site you’ll typically need sign-off from your landlord, and in some cases council or building permits depending on scope. The more complex the project, the longer this takes. Getting across what’s required early, and chasing it, is one of the most effective things you can do to keep a project on track.

Construction itself usually runs six to eight weeks. Demolition, partitions, electrical and data, flooring, joinery, ceilings, painting, furniture installation, a lot of it runs in parallel, but it still happens in sequence. A targeted refurbishment can be done in two to three weeks. A full fitout across a large floor plate takes longer. The final week is handover, a full walkthrough, any adjustments, making sure everything works the way it should.

What makes projects take longer

In our experience, the things that add time aren’t usually on site, they’re in the lead-up. Approvals that weren’t identified early enough. Materials with long lead times that nobody accounted for, particularly custom joinery or specified furniture. Changes to the brief once work has started.

Part of our job is helping you see these things coming before they become problems. The earlier we understand your project, the more we can do to keep things moving.

When should you start?

Earlier than you think. If you’re relocating or your lease is coming up, start conversations at least four to six months out. Not because the build takes that long, but because you need time to find the right space, get the design right, and navigate approvals without pressure.

If you’re already working to a tight deadline, tell us early. There are usually ways to compress a timeline where a project allows but options close off quickly when the clock is already running.