Commercial make good in Melbourne

If your lease on a Melbourne office, shop, clinic or warehouse is ending, your lease very likely asks you to "make good" before you hand back the keys. This page explains, in plain words, what that means in Victoria, which rules apply, and what affects cost and timing. It links to detailed pages for each type of premises and area.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your lease is the document that decides what you must do. If the wording is unclear or the amount at stake is large, speak to a commercial leasing lawyer.

What does make good actually involve?

No Victorian Act we have reviewed defines "make good". It is a promise in your lease, and the lease clause sets the scope. In practice, make-good clauses fall into three broad shapes:

The Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) describes retail make good as returning premises to their original condition, which "typically" means removing the fit-out and repairing damage above fair wear and tear. The VSBC also notes that a repainting clause can require you to repaint to a new standard even if the paint was tired when you moved in, if that is what the lease says.

Why approvals you got (or didn't get) during the lease matter

Make good is often decided by what happened years earlier. If you altered the premises without the landlord's written consent, the landlord may be able to recover the full cost of putting it back. In Tabcorp v Bowen [2009] HCA 8, the High Court allowed a landlord to recover the cost of reinstating a foyer the tenant had rebuilt without consent, not just the drop in the building's value. Find your consent letters and any start-of-lease condition report before you plan anything.

Which Melbourne make-good page fits my premises?

Each type of premises has different problems. Start with the page that matches yours:

Not sure which applies? Commercial make-good contractors in Melbourne explains how to choose and compare contractors across all premises types.

How does make good differ across Melbourne?

The building you are in shapes the work as much as the lease does.

Which Victorian rules apply to a make good?

Is my lease a retail lease?

The Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) applies to premises used wholly or mainly to sell or hire goods by retail or to provide retail services (s 4(1)). It does not apply where, for example:

• occupancy costs are more than $1,000,000 a year, excluding GST (s 4(2)(a); Retail Leases Regulations 2023 reg 6(1)),
• the tenant is a listed company or a subsidiary of one (s 4(2)(c)–(d)), or
• the lease is for less than one year, unless renewals keep you there for a year or more (s 12).

Whether a lease is retail is tested when it is signed or renewed (s 11(2)). Most office and industrial leases are not retail leases, so the lease and general law decide everything. Our make good in Victoria guide covers these rules in more depth.

What did the landlord's disclosure statement say?

For a Victorian retail lease, the landlord must give you a disclosure statement and a copy of the lease at least 14 days before you sign (s 17(1)). The prescribed form asks: "Are you required to make good the premises at the end of the lease?" Dig out that statement now. It is often the clearest early record of what both sides expected.

When do I get my security deposit back?

Under a retail lease, a landlord holding a cash security deposit must keep it in an interest-bearing account and return it within 30 days after the lease ends, if you have met all your obligations (s 24(1)(a)–(d)). The landlord also cannot unreasonably refuse a bank guarantee instead of a cash deposit (s 24(1)(c)). Non-retail leases depend on the lease wording.

Who resolves a make-good dispute in Victoria?

For retail leases, either side can refer the dispute to the VSBC for mediation (s 86). VCAT can generally hear it only after the VSBC certifies in writing that mediation has failed or is unlikely to resolve it (s 87). The VSBC lists mediation fees of $300 per party for a half day and $600 per party for a full day, including GST, for most commercial disputes. The VSBC also handles general (non-retail) commercial disputes, but there is no legal requirement to take those to the VSBC first. What is said in VSBC mediation cannot be used in later proceedings (s 88).

What permits and licences does make-good work need in Victoria?

Know these rules so you can check quotes properly.

• Building permit. Demolition counts as "building work" under the Building Act 1993 (s 3(1)), and building work needs a permit unless exempt (s 16). Schedule 3, item 4 of the Building Regulations 2018 exempts many alterations to commercial buildings, but not if the work affects structure or safety, relates to an essential safety measure (such as fire doors, exit signs or sprinklers), or is on a building on the Victorian Heritage Register. A planning permit may still be needed even where no building permit is.
• Asbestos. Before refurbishment or demolition, whoever manages or controls the workplace must review the asbestos register (OHS Regulations 2017, regs 240–241). Asbestos likely to be disturbed must be identified and removed by a licensed removalist, except limited non-friable work of up to 10 m² (regs 244, 246, 250). Asbestos was banned nationally from 31 December 2003, so any building finished before then needs this check.
• Electrical. Disconnecting circuits, removing power poles or making safe old cabling is electrical work. It must be done by a licensed electrician working for a registered electrical contractor, and prescribed work must be inspected by a licensed inspector (Electricity Safety Act 1998, ss 30, 38, 45).

Ask every contractor which of these apply to your job and who is responsible for each.

How much does make good cost in Melbourne?

There is no reliable, current public price list for Melbourne make goods. The few published figures disagree and are mostly for offices.

Treat these as a rough sense of scale, not a budget. Neither source says whether its figure includes GST. Your real cost depends on:

• Lease scope: clean-and-repair usually costs less than reinstatement to base building.
• What you built: glass offices, kitchens, raised floors, cool rooms and mezzanines add work.
• Building rules: after-hours work, lift bookings and the landlord's nominated fire and mechanical trades.
• Asbestos: a survey and licensed removal can change the price a lot.
• Waste: landfill versus recycling.

Until we have enough real, anonymised Melbourne quotes to publish meaningful figures, the only dependable number is a quote for your premises. See our make good cost guide for more detail.

When should I start my Melbourne make good?

Use this as a planning checklist:

• 12 to 6 months out: read the make-good, alterations and repair clauses. Find the lease, disclosure statement, consent letters and any condition report.
• 6 months out: get an independent scope and at least two quotes. Ask whether the building has an asbestos register.
• 4 to 3 months out: agree the scope with the landlord or their agent in writing. Decide whether to do the works or negotiate a cash settlement.
• 3 to 2 months out: book contractors, building-management approvals, lift and loading-dock times, and any permits.
• Final weeks: works, clean, and a joint inspection with photos.
• Handover: get written sign-off from the person with authority to give it (check whether that is the landlord or the agent), then chase the return of your bond or bank guarantee.

If works run past your lease end date, you may be holding over and paying rent while the work finishes, so build in a buffer. Our lease exit timeline has the full version.

How does MAKE GREAT work in Melbourne?

MAKE GREAT is a marketplace, not a builder. We do not carry out the work.

1. Tell us about your premises. Upload your lease, floor plan and photos.
2. Get a preliminary scope. Our lease check suggests what your make-good clause may require. It is preliminary, a person on our team reviews it before contractors are briefed, and it is not legal advice.
3. Compare quotes. Independent contractors who have passed our checks (business details, insurance and licences) quote on the same brief.
4. You choose. You contract directly with the contractor you pick.

How we are paid: Free for tenants. If you hire a contractor through us, they pay us a referral fee. Nobody can pay to rank higher.

Ready to start? Use Get my make-good quotes, or choose Analyse my lease if you want to understand your obligations first. Leaving a Sydney property too? See make good in Sydney.