Your office move, planned

A house move is mostly about belongings. An office relocation is mostly about dates. There is a lease end, a fit-out finish, a building that only allows removals in set windows and a team that needs to be productive again as soon as possible. Miss one of those and the rest of the plan shifts with it.

This checklist is a timeline, because order matters. Some jobs need months of lead time, such as confirming lease dates or booking after-hours building access. Others only make sense in the final week. Start at the stage that matches your calendar and work forward.

We also note where a removalist can take work off your list and where it stays with you. Packing, furniture dismantling and placing everything to your floor plan can be handed to us. Lift bookings, building access, IT disconnection and licensed trade work stay with your business. Our office removals page explains how we run commercial moves.

This is the stage for decisions. Lock in the fixed points before anything is booked.

• Confirm your key dates. Lease end, fit-out completion and the date the new space is available rarely line up. Decide whether you need an overlap, a gap or a staged move.
• Check your lease obligations. Many commercial leases set out what has to happen to the old premises when you leave. Read yours, or ask your landlord or agent, so the move-out plan allows time for it.
• Appoint one move coordinator. One person who can make decisions on the day, answer questions and be our main point of contact.
• Plan the new floor. Get a floor plan of the new premises and decide where each team, desk and meeting room goes. Number the desks or name the zones.
• Request removalist quotes. Have both addresses ready with floor levels, your preferred date, any building work windows and a rough inventory. A floor plan or a few photos of each area help match the truck and crew to the job, rather than guessing from a headcount.
• Ask about timing early. After-hours, weekend and public holiday moves are available, subject to availability, so ask as soon as your date is known.

Ready to start? Request a quote and our team aims to call you back within five minutes during business hours (8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

Access is where commercial moves are won or lost, and it belongs to the business that is moving. Start the conversations with building management now.

• Book goods lifts and loading docks. Most Brisbane CBD towers require removalists to use a booked goods lift and loading dock. Ask both buildings for their permitted move times and how long a booking can run.
• Ask about after-hours access. If you are moving outside trading hours, check how each building handles after-hours entry, security and any lift protection it requires.
• Work out where the truck will stand. A loading dock, a driveway or the street. Brisbane City Council lets a commercial vehicle that is loading or unloading use a commercial loading zone for up to 20 minutes without a permit, which won't cover most office moves, so plan a dock or a permit.
• Get everything in writing. Confirm each booking by email and share the times with us. If a booking falls through and delivery cannot go ahead in a timely manner, waiting time is chargeable.
• Tell us what changes the job. Stairs instead of a lift, a long carry from the dock, a driveway the truck cannot use or a second pick-up point. Those details shape the crew, the equipment and the quote.

The jobs in this stage sit outside a removalist's service, so they need their own owners and dates.

• Brief your IT provider. Computers, servers, phones and network equipment need to be backed up, disconnected and reconnected by your IT provider. Agree when they will disconnect before the move and when they will reconnect at the new office. Once equipment is disconnected, our crew wraps, transports and places it where you need it.
• Arrange internet and phone connection at the new premises. Ask your providers how long connection takes and book it for before your first working day.
• Book licensed trades. Anything hard-wired or plumbed in, such as coffee machines, under-bench appliances or a plumbed fridge, needs a licensed tradesperson to disconnect and reconnect it. Data cabling and electrical work are trade work too.
• List heavy and unusual items. Safes, stone-topped boardroom tables, glass furniture and anything over 90kg are assessed individually, so tell us about them now.
• Start the address list. Customers, suppliers, your bank, insurers and the registrations and accounts that hold your business address.

A month out, the move becomes physical. The aim is to move only what the new office needs, with every item labelled for where it belongs.

• Decide what isn't coming. Old desks, broken chairs and surplus equipment cost time to move. Book junk removal for them instead, so you are not paying to relocate things twice.
• Set up a labelling system. Match labels to the new floor plan: desk numbers, zones or departments. Every chair, pedestal and carton carries one.
• Pack archives and records first. Archive boxes and rarely used files can go early. Pack confidential files in sealed, clearly marked boxes and tell us which they are, so we can agree how they are handled, for example kept together and delivered straight to a nominated room.
• Hand over the shared areas. Kitchens, storerooms and archives are where packing time disappears. Our packing service can take them on so your staff stay focused on their own work.
• Moving a warehouse or storeroom too? Scope it with the office move so stock and equipment are sequenced with everything else. See our warehouse removals page.

The last week is about removing surprises. Re-check every booking and give each person a clear job.

• Re-confirm building access. Lift, dock and after-hours times at both buildings, in writing.
• Confirm the move details with us. Date, start time, both addresses, access arrangements and any extras. We need at least 48 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule.
• Ask staff to pack their own desks. Personal items and desk drawers are packed and labelled by each person. Business-critical items, keys and anything confidential travel with a nominated person, not on the truck.
• Confirm IT disconnection. Equipment should be disconnected and ready to wrap before the crew arrives.
• Choose the timing. A common approach is to pack during the final working week, load after close of business on a Friday and deliver over the weekend, so the new office is ready when the working week begins. For larger workplaces, a staged move, one department or floor at a time, can suit better.

On the day, our crew wraps, loads and delivers in the sequence you need, using quilted blankets, furniture pads, stretch wrap, trolleys and straps that are included in the hourly rate. Your coordinator's job is to make decisions quickly.

• Walk the crew through both sites. What is moving, what is staying, the fragile pieces and any existing damage.
• Keep a coordinator at each end if you can. One person releasing items at the old office and one directing at the new one keeps the truck moving.
• Place to the floor plan. Furniture is placed by department, zone or desk number, so your team is not hunting for chairs on the first morning. Desks and tables that were taken apart are reassembled.
• Unpack, or don't. If you have booked unpacking, we also unpack cartons and remove used packing materials, so your team walks into a working office rather than a storeroom.
• Do a final sweep of the old premises. Every room, cupboard and storeroom, before the truck leaves.
• Keep a snag list. Note anything that needs attention in the first week, from a missing key to a monitor in the wrong room.

Office removals are charged by the hour. Our hourly rates are $125 to $169 per hour + GST, depending on the type of move and truck size, for a moving truck, two professional movers and all standard moving equipment. Additional movers and larger trucks are available for bigger or time-sensitive relocations, with the charges confirmed before booking.

Travel is charged depot-to-depot or as a call-out fee, depending on the job and location. Some items and access conditions carry an extra $48 including GST each, such as appliances, items over 90kg, stairs per flight, each additional pick-up or drop-off and a driveway the truck cannot use. Parking or permit costs apply where relevant, and any additional charges for after-hours, weekend or public holiday work are confirmed before booking. A deposit secures your date and the balance is payable on completion. The full list is on our pricing page.

The biggest savings come from the checklist itself:

• Move less. Clear out surplus furniture and equipment before the day.
• Be ready. Packed, labelled cartons and disconnected equipment let the crew start loading the moment they arrive.
• Book the dock. The closer the truck stands to the lift, the shorter every trip.
• Share the details. An accurate inventory and access notes mean the right crew and truck the first time.