How much does a commercial fit-out cost in Cairns?
Commercial fit-out in Cairns is priced for the tropics. Cairns Aero averages 2,019.1 mm of rain a year, most of it from January to March, and December and January maximums average 31.5 °C (BOM, Cairns Aero). Cairns fit-outs serve a tourism and services economy: cafes, tour and retail shopfronts, clinics and offices, and every one has to cope with tropical heat and humidity once open.
Air conditioning, ceiling space and moisture control drive more of a Cairns fit-out budget than in temperate cities, because the building has to cope with NCC climate zone 1 conditions ({A(F.ABCB,'ABCB')}). Commercial building work in Queensland is licensed by the QBCC; check the builder and each trade on the QBCC licence register.
The table below sets out the Cairns ranges. The sections after it explain where a site falls inside each band and what a complete quote should list.
Detailed Commercial Pricing — Commercial Fitout Cost in Cairns 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit-out feasibility / concept design | $3,250per report | $8,650 | $21,600 |
| Cat A fit-out (base building) | $430/m² | $565 | $755 |
| Cat B fit-out (tenant, standard) | $1,625/m² | $2,150 | $2,700 |
| Cat B fit-out (full / premium) | $2,700/m² | $3,250 | $4,325 |
| Retail shopfitting | $1,075/m² | $2,150 | $2,975 |
| Hospitality fit-out (cafe / restaurant) | $3,025/m² | $4,000 | $4,850 |
| Office partitioning (plasterboard) | $130/m² | $190 | $245 |
| Glazed office partitioning | $540/m | $865 | $1,500 |
| Suspended ceiling (supply + install) | $54/m² | $110 | $160 |
| Office joinery package (kitchenette + reception counter + storage) | $10,800per job | $21,600 | $32,400 |
| Services upgrade to existing base build (mechanical adjustment, power, data) | $215/m² | $325 | $485 |
| End-of-lease make-good | $160/m² | $430 | $700 |
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Commercial Fitout Costs by Sector in Cairns
Offices & Corporate
Open-plan workstations, meeting rooms, breakout and end-of-trip facilities across multi-tenant towers and owner-occupied buildings in Cairns. Cat A vs cat B scope and the services upgrade drive the rate far more than floor area.
Retail & Shopfronts
Shopfitting for strip shops and shopping-centre tenancies in Cairns - shopfront glazing, joinery, display, lighting and POS. Centre trading hours force after-hours work and landlord design approvals that lengthen the programme.
Hospitality
Cafes, restaurants, bars and venues, where commercial kitchens, exhaust, grease arrest and hydraulic and mechanical services dominate the cost. In Cairns, any development and building approvals should be in place before work starts, with environmental health (food premises) requirements checked alongside the build. Hospitality fit-outs price above the general band.
Medical, Healthcare & Professional Suites
Consult rooms, treatment areas and reception with heavier compliance - infection control, accessibility, lead-lining for imaging and specialised services - and strict certification before Cairns occupancy. Medical and healthcare fit-outs price above the general band.
What Cairns Commercial Fitout Jobs Actually Cost
Small office cat B fit-out
A standard tenant fit-out of a Cairns suite - workstations, a couple of meeting rooms, a kitchenette, ceilings, lighting and data. Priced per m² on the cat B specification, with services reuse from the base building where possible.
Cafe / restaurant fit-out
A Cairns hospitality fit-out built around the commercial kitchen, exhaust canopy, grease arrestor and mechanical services, plus joinery, seating and shopfront. Any development and building approvals should be in place before work starts, with environmental health (food premises) requirements checked alongside the build.
Retail shop fit-out
A strip or centre tenancy in Cairns - shopfront, joinery, display, lighting and flooring - staged after-hours around centre trading and signed off against the landlord design guidelines.
Medical / dental suite fit-out
Consult and treatment rooms with infection-control finishes, accessibility, specialised plumbing and certification, delivered to a strict Cairns occupancy and compliance program.
Open-plan office refurbishment + make-good
Refreshing an occupied Cairns floor - new finishes, partitions and services tweaks - plus the end-of-lease make-good obligation on the outgoing tenancy, which is a separate cost line.
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What Affects Commercial Fitout Costs in Cairns
Three Cairns conditions sit under every commercial fit-out quote: the wet season (436.1 mm in an average February at Cairns Aero), the cyclone season from November to April in Wind Region C (QRA), and the humidity of NCC climate zone 1 (ABCB). The factors below come on top of those.
Wet and dry seasons
Cairns Aero records 404.8 mm in January, 436.1 mm in February and 424.3 mm in March, against 26.9 mm in August (BOM, Cairns Aero). External and weather-sensitive work is easiest to program from June to October.
Cyclone season
Cairns is in Wind Region C, with the season running from November to April (QRA cyclone resilience guideline). Ask the fit-out builder how the job and anything left on site is secured if a warning is issued.
Licences and records
Commercial building work in Queensland is licensed by the QBCC; check the builder and each trade on the QBCC licence register.
Check the property first
The CairnsPlan Property Report tool shows flood, coastal and bushfire overlays for a lot, which can affect access, approvals and the materials a contractor has to use.
Local demand
Air conditioning, ceiling space and moisture control drive more of a Cairns fit-out budget than in temperate cities, because the building has to cope with NCC climate zone 1 conditions ({A(F.ABCB,'ABCB')}).
How to Control Commercial Fitout Costs in Cairns
Commercial fit-out cost by floor area in Cairns
Commercial fit-out costs in Cairns scale with floor area first, then specification. A small suite and a full-floor tenancy are quoted on the same per-square-metre logic, but the cat A vs cat B specification, the services scope and the finishes move the rate more than the size does.
Several factors push a Cairns fit-out above the typical band: a raw shell needing full services, premium joinery and finishes, healthcare or hospitality compliance, asbestos in an older building, and after-hours staging in an occupied tower. End-of-lease make-good is a separate obligation that should be budgeted from the start.
Our Methodology
These are independent, GST-inclusive estimates from commercial contractors, suppliers and rate guides, and no contractor can influence them, so always get several written quotes. Read our full methodology →