How long does a practice fitout take?
Construction is the short half. Here is where the rest of the time actually goes.
The short answer
Everybody asks how long the build takes. It is the wrong question, or at least the less useful half of it.
Key points
- Construction on a 150–250 m² clinic is weeks, not months.
- Design, documentation and approvals in front of it are usually the longer half.
- Council timeframes vary more than any other part of the program.
- Any opening date quoted without reference to your approvals pathway is a guess.
Everybody asks how long the build takes. It is the wrong question, or at least the less useful half of it.
What construction actually takes
On a typical suburban clinic of 150 to 250 square metres, on a warm shell, with the design documented and approvals in hand, construction is measured in weeks. Demolition, services rough-in, partitions, ceilings, joinery, finishes, fit-off, commissioning.
That part is reasonably predictable. Builders are good at estimating it because they do it constantly.
What comes before it
Site and lease assessment. Test fit. Equipment schedule. Developed design. Documentation. Consultants: mechanical, hydraulic, acoustic, access, radiation shielding where relevant. Then council, then a certifier, then landlord approval of the fitout under the lease.
Add it up and it’s routinely longer than the construction it precedes.
The variable that dominates
Council.
Approval timeframes vary more between councils than construction varies between builders, and they vary by pathway too. A complying development certificate in New South Wales, an impact assessable material change of use in Queensland and a planning permit for a Melbourne strip shop with a parking reduction are three very different waits.
How each state's pathway works.
The two things that most often add time
Equipment chosen late. Services get set out around the equipment schedule. If the schedule changes after documentation, the drawings change, and depending on timing so does the approval. This is the most expensive delay in clinical fitout and it is entirely avoidable.
Long-lead items nobody flagged. An electrical supply upgrade, a switchboard, a specific mechanical unit. These can outlast the whole construction program, and they are only a problem if you find them late.
Staging around an open practice
Working around a practice that stays trading takes longer than a continuous program. More mobilisations, out-of-hours work, temporary partitions between zones.
It’s also often cheaper than closing, once you count the revenue you would lose. Price it both ways early instead of assuming either answer.
What to ask a builder
Not "how long will it take". Ask what their program assumes about your approvals pathway, what the long-lead items are, and when the equipment schedule has to be locked.
A builder who has thought about those three has thought about your opening date. One who quotes a number without them has quoted the easy part.
The full sequence is on the process page.
Sources and further reading
Where development applications and complying development certificates are lodged and tracked in New South Wales.
The National Construction Code: building classification, fire separation, egress, sanitary provisions and access.
Building activity and construction cost data, useful for sanity-checking where trade pricing is heading.
Questions
How long does a medical fitout take?
Construction on a typical 150 to 250 square metre clinic is a matter of weeks. Design, documentation and approvals in front of it are usually the longer half of the program and vary far more, mostly because council timeframes vary.
What causes fitout delays?
Approvals first, by a distance. Then equipment selected after documentation is complete, which forces drawings and sometimes approvals to change, and long-lead items such as an electrical supply upgrade that nobody flagged early.
Can we keep trading during a refurbishment?
Usually, by staging the work so a functioning set of rooms, reception and an accessible toilet is always available. It takes longer and costs more than a continuous program, and it’s often still cheaper than closing.
Send us the floor plan
A site assessment tells you what the tenancy can take and what it will cost to get there, ideally before you have signed for it.