Office Relocation Checklist for Australian Businesses

The lease ends in eight weeks.

The new floor plan still has question marks on it. The landlord wants the old space back as bare walls and carpet. And nobody has asked how long the new internet connection takes.

Most office moves go wrong months before moving day, when a date slips past unnoticed. So the most useful office relocation checklist is a timeline, counted back from move day.

Key Points

• Whether you move with your own team or use office relocation services, the deadlines that matter start inside your lease, often a year out.
• Read the notice period and make-good clause first. They set the dates for everything else.
• Every outside supplier needs a latest order date, counted back from move day.
• A label code that matches the new floor plan saves the first morning.

6 to 12 Months Out: Lease, Make-Good and Space

Have you ever moved out of a rental and lost part of your bond over a few picture hooks? Yeah, it can happen, and there are usually a few reasons why. The condition report said one thing, and you remembered another. The repairs were left too late to do yourself. And the move-out date couldn’t shift.

An office lease works the same way, with bigger numbers.

• First, the condition report becomes the make-good clause, which can make you remove partitions, cabling, signage and fit-out you added.
• Second, repairs left too late become trades booked in a rush.
• Third, the fixed move-out date becomes your notice period. Many commercial leases need written notice months before the end date, and missing it can leave you paying rent on two offices.

Space planning belongs in this window too. Australian Standard AS 1668.2 recommends about 10 square metres per person for offices, including shared areas. A team of 46 needs roughly 460 square metres today. Expecting six more hires before the new lease is up? Plan for 520.

The hidden cost is time. Make-good works can take weeks and must be finished before handover, so a late start eats into the move.

The Quick Win (Low/No Cost)

Pull out your lease and write three things on one page: the notice deadline, the end date and every make-good obligation.

The Strategic Fix

Have a builder quote the make-good scope early, then ask your landlord whether they’d accept a cash settlement instead of the works.

3 to 6 Months Out: Floor Plan, Furniture and Lead Times

The new floor plan arrives. It looks great, until someone counts the desks. Forty workstations for 46 staff, and the old desks are a different size to the new pods. Have you ever booked a holiday, then found out your passport renewal takes six weeks? Yeah, it can happen, and usually for the same reasons.

• First, the travel date can’t move.
• Second, the wait is out of your hands.
• Third, you find out when time is already tight.

An office move is full of veritable “passports”. Your move date is set by the lease. Internet connections, fit-out trades and new furniture each run on someone else’s timetable. And most businesses only ask about lead times once the move is close.

This is also when you decide what comes with you. Desks that don’t suit the new layout, broken chairs and cabinets of old paperwork all cost money to dismantle, carry and rebuild. Paying to move something you’ll throw out is money in the bin.

The Quick Win (Low/No Cost)

Walk the office with three colours of sticker. Green moves, red goes, and yellow needs a decision by a set date. You’ll have a furniture inventory in an afternoon.

The Strategic Fix

Build a lead-time register listing every supplier, their quoted lead time, and the latest date to order. Here’s an illustrative example for a move on Monday 1 March 2027:

• Internet connection quoted at 12 weeks: order by Monday 7 December 2026.
• New furniture quoted at 8 weeks: order by Monday 4 January 2027.

Many suppliers close over Christmas and New Year, so add at least two weeks to each date. If furniture is ready before the fit-out, first ask the supplier to hold it and deliver later. If they can’t, flexible warehousing can bridge the gap, with an on-demand transport run once the floor is clear.

The Final 8 Weeks: Labels and Staff

It’s Friday afternoon, and the email goes out: “Please pack your desk before you leave.” At the new office, there are 46 crates, a stack of monitors and a tangle of cables. Nobody knows what belongs where, so the first morning turns into a treasure hunt.

Give every desk on the new floor plan a code of floor, zone, and desk number, such as 2-B-14. Every crate, monitor, chair, and cable bag from that desk carries the same code. The movers place items by code instead of guesswork, and staff walk in to a desk that’s already set up.

The hidden cost is lost hours. Using illustrative figures, if each of 46 staff loses three hours on the first morning, that’s 138 hours over three working weeks for one person.

The Quick Win (Low/No Cost)

Print the new floor plan with desk codes and hand out labels a week before the move. Everyone labels their own items.

The Strategic Fix

Give every staff member a one-page first-morning sheet: their desk code, building access and parking details, and who to call if something is missing. Send it the Friday before, so Monday starts with work, not questions.

Turning Your Office Relocation Checklist Into a Countdown

The earlier you start counting back from move day, the calmer the move. Our guide to planning a relocation with a transport partner covers the transport side.

Atlas Transport has supported Australian businesses for more than 40 years, with business relocation services for metro, regional and interstate moves.

Planning an office move? Let’s have a chat.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Should staff pack their own desks?

Yes, for personal items, paperwork, and small desk equipment. Leave computers, monitors, and furniture to your IT team or the movers.

2. Do we need to redirect our mail when we move offices?

Yes, as a safety net. Australia Post business mail redirection runs for up to 12 months and takes 3 to 6 business days to process, so apply a week or two ahead.

3. Can we negotiate make-good terms on our new lease?

Yes, before you sign. Ask to limit make-good to the condition you received the space in, and record it with photos and a signed report on day one.

4. Are our things insured during an office move?

Not automatically. Check that your business insurance covers goods in transit, and ask your mover what their cover excludes.

5. What should we do with old office furniture we’re not taking?

Sell or donate what’s in good condition, as schools and charities often take desks and chairs. Book removal or recycling for the rest early.