How Long Does an Office Fitout Take?

A Practical Guide from Project Director, Mark Shepheard at Graham Nicholas

When organisations ask, “How long will our office fitout take?” the honest answer is: it depends, but it should never be uncertain.

At Graham Nicholas, we’ve delivered workplace projects for nearly three decades across legal, corporate, media, broadcasting and professional services environments. The most successful fitouts are underpinned by sufficient time for design, documentation, tendering and construction. As a guide, planning should ideally commence 12–18 months prior to lease expiry.

Below is an overview of a typical fit out programme and how to help avoid costly delays.

The Typical Office Fitout Timeline

For a mid to large commercial office (800–5,000 sqm), a realistic end-to-end programme is:

Phase & Typical Duration

• Workplace Strategy & Briefing - 2–4 weeks

• Concept Design - 2–4 weeks

• Design Development & Documentation - 4–8 weeks

• Authority Approvals & Building Permits - 4-8 weeks (concurrent)

• Tender and Tender Review - 3–4 weeks

• Procurement & Early Works - 2–4 weeks

• Construction & Fitout - 8-16 weeks

• Testing, Defects & Occupation - 1–2 weeks

Total: 5 to 8 months from first workshop to move in for most projects.

Smaller tenancies may be completed faster. Large headquarters, staged moves or high compliance environments can extend this.

What Actually Determines the Programme?

1. Scope & Complexity

An updated or minor refurbishment is very different to a full design-and-build. Specialist joinery, AV, acoustic treatments, security, make-good of the existing and base building coordination all add time.

2. Base Building Constraints

Heritage buildings, new developments still under construction, limited access, existing fitout, or shared services often extend timeframes.

3. Stakeholder Engagement

Delays in decision-making, scope and layout change requests, or late design sign-off are the number one cause of delays.

4. Authority Approvals

Fire engineering, building certification, landlord approvals and local authority compliance heritage can take weeks, sometimes months, and management of this process is critical.

5. Procurement & Supply Chain

Joinery, furniture, specialist finishes, lighting and technology can add lead time, particularly when imported or custom-manufactured. Local manufacturing significantly lowers this risk.

The Difference an Integrated Delivery Model Makes

Where many projects fail is at the handover between design, tender pricing and construction.

At Graham Nicholas, we integrate:

• Strategy

• Design

• Cost planning, budgets and tender

• Project management

• Construction

This allows us to compress programmes safely by overlapping phases, and minimising risks early, and providing cost and buildability input during design, not after.

We have delivered many large and small offices for long-term clients while their buildings were still under construction, without compromising quality, budgets or move-in dates.

How to Avoid Timeline Blowouts

• Develop and lock the brief early

• Engage all stakeholders at the start

• Involve the building specifications and budget planning during the design phase

• Identify project risks and mitigation strategies early

• Approve design and layout before documentation

• Pre-plan and engage authority and landlord approvals

• Identify long-lead items early to keep within the timeline targets

Final Thought

Your workplace should support your people, culture and growth — not disrupt them. A well-managed fitout is not rushed, but it is predictable, coordinated and controlled.

If you are approaching a lease renewal, relocation, or workplace transformation, we would be pleased to guide you through a clear, low-risk programme.

Let’s Talk

Contact Graham Nicholas to discuss your workplace timeline, risks and opportunities.

We’ll help you move forward with confidence.