How a fitout actually runs

Before anything is signed. Can the tenancy physically take your practice? Floor loading, ceiling height, services capacity, an accessible path of travel, room for the plant? Is it a warm shell or a cold shell? Does the use change trigger a development application?

This is the cheapest stage to walk away at, and the most expensive one to skip.

A concept plan showing whether the rooms you need fit the space you are considering, with an order-of-magnitude cost against it. Enough to negotiate a lease with, and enough to compare two tenancies honestly.

Chairs, imaging, autoclaves, plant. Every one carries power, water, drainage, suction, shielding, floor loading and servicing clearances, and every one of those has to be known before services are set out.

Documenting a clinical fitout before the equipment is chosen is the most expensive sequencing error in this sector, and it is very common.

Developed design, then the drawings and specifications a builder can price and a certifier can assess. Consultants come in here as required: mechanical, hydraulic, acoustic, access, radiation shielding.

Development application where the use is changing, then a construction certificate or the equivalent in your state, plus landlord approval of the fitout under the lease. Council timeframes vary more than any other part of the program.

This is the stage that moves opening dates. Any date quoted without reference to it’s a guess.

Demolition, services rough-in, partitions, ceilings, joinery, finishes, fit-off and commissioning. Weeks rather than months for a typical suburban clinic, staged if the practice is staying open.

Occupation certificate, equipment installation and commissioning, operation and maintenance manuals, and a defects period during which the things that only show up in use get fixed.