Most opening checklists online are American. They reference permits that do not exist here and omit the two things most likely to delay an Australian opening by months: council development approval and the fit-out that follows it.
This is the Australian sequence. Requirements vary by state and by council, so treat this as the shape of the process rather than a substitute for talking to the council that will actually assess you.
What it costs
Realistic ranges for a first venue in a capital city, excluding the value of your own unpaid time:
- Small café, existing food-use premises: $80,000 – $250,000
- Café or casual restaurant, cold shell: $250,000 – $600,000
- Full restaurant with a commercial kitchen build: $500,000 – $1.5M+
The variable that dominates all others is whether the site was already a food premises. Taking over a fitted café means inheriting exhaust, grease trap, plumbing and often approval. Building those into a former retail shop can add two hundred thousand dollars and four months before you sell anything.
Two figures people underestimate. Exhaust canopy and mechanical ventilation routinely runs $30,000–$80,000 and is not optional. And working capital — the money to run at a loss while you find your trade — should be three to six months of fixed costs, held separately. Opening with the fit-out fully spent and nothing behind it is the most common way a good venue closes in its first year.
The sequence
1. Concept and numbers, before any site
Build the model first: covers, average spend, days traded, target food cost, staffing. Work out the weekly revenue at which the business breaks even, then ask honestly whether the site you are looking at can physically produce that many covers.
A venue that needs 400 covers a week in a 38-seat room trading five days is asking for a full house every service. That is not a plan.
2. Site — and check the zoning before you fall in love
Before signing anything:
- Zoning and permitted use. Does the planning instrument allow a food premises here? Is there an existing approval you inherit, or do you need a new one?
- Existing approvals. A prior restaurant use is worth real money and months of time.
- Grease trap and exhaust. Present or absent changes the budget by a six-figure amount.
- Power supply. Three-phase is required for most commercial kitchens. Upgrading it is expensive and slow.
- Lease terms. Length, option periods, make-good obligations, permitted use clause, and whether rent is a viable share of your projected turnover. Aim below 10%.
- Hours. Any conditions restricting trading hours or outdoor seating.
Have a lawyer read the lease. A make-good clause requiring you to return a fitted kitchen to bare shell can be a six-figure liability at the end of the term.
3. Business structure and registrations
- Company or trust structure, set up with your accountant before the lease is signed
- ABN, and GST registration (mandatory above $75,000 turnover)
- Business name registration with ASIC
- Workers' compensation insurance
- Public liability and product liability insurance
- Business insurance covering contents, glass and business interruption
4. Council approval
This is the step that determines your opening date. Depending on the state and the scope of works you will need either a development application or, for minor works in an already-approved food premises, a faster exempt or complying pathway.
A DA involving a change of use, new exhaust or external works commonly takes three to six months and can go longer if neighbours object on noise or odour. Budget for it in time and in rent — you will usually be paying rent throughout.
Separately from planning approval, you must notify the council that you are operating a food business before you trade, and the premises must be inspected.
5. Fit-out
Design the kitchen around the menu, not the other way round. The most expensive fit-out mistakes are decided on a plan: a pass that is too short, a cool room in the wrong place, no landing space beside the fryer, a single-door fridge for a section that needs two.
Have a chef who will actually work the space walk the plan before it is built. The kitchen must comply with the Food Standards Code — impervious and cleanable surfaces, adequate hand-washing basins separate from food-prep sinks, correct waste and grease management.
6. Food safety
- Food Safety Supervisor. Required for most retail food businesses. At least one nominated person with a current certificate from a recognised training organisation, with details lodged with council.
- Food handler training for all staff handling food.
- A food safety program — temperature logs, cleaning schedules, supplier records, and documented corrective actions.
- Council inspection before opening, and periodic inspections after.
7. Liquor licence, if you're serving alcohol
Applied for through the state liquor regulator — Liquor & Gaming NSW, or the equivalent in your state. Expect two to four months, and longer if there are objections. The application usually requires community consultation, a plan of management, and Responsible Service of Alcohol certification for anyone serving.
Start this early. It is routinely the last item people begin and the one that most often delays an opening.
8. Staff
- Identify the correct modern award — usually the Restaurant Industry Award or the Hospitality Industry (General) Award — and understand the penalty rate structure before you build a roster. Weekend and public holiday loadings change the economics of trading days entirely.
- Written contracts, correct classification levels, superannuation set up
- Check work rights for every hire
- Hire the head chef early enough to be involved in the kitchen design
9. Suppliers and systems
- Trading accounts opened and credit terms agreed — you will want thirty days, not cash on delivery, from week one
- POS configured with the menu costed correctly from day one, not "fixed later"
- Booking system, accounting software, rostering software
- Merchant facility and surcharge policy
10. Before you open
- Google Business Profile claimed and verified — this takes days and drives more early trade than any paid advertising
- Website live with the menu, hours and address as text, not as an image or a PDF
- Two or three friends-and-family services to break the kitchen in private rather than in public
- Every dish costed and every spec written before service one, not after
The three that hurt most
- Underestimating the approval timeline. People sign a lease assuming three months to open and take seven. Four months of rent with no revenue has closed businesses before they served anyone.
- Spending the working capital on the fit-out. The fit-out always runs over. If it eats the reserve, you open with no margin for a slow first quarter — and the first quarter is always slow.
- Designing the kitchen without a chef. An architect designs a beautiful room. A chef tells you the pass is a metre too short and the section will fall behind every Friday for the next five years.
Common questions
How much does it cost to open a restaurant in Australia?
Roughly $80,000–$250,000 for a small café in an existing food premises, $250,000–$600,000 for a cold-shell café or casual restaurant, and $500,000–$1.5M+ for a full restaurant with a new commercial kitchen. Whether the site was already a food premises is the single biggest variable.
How long does it take to open a restaurant in Australia?
Six to twelve months is typical from lease to opening. Council development approval alone commonly runs three to six months where there's a change of use or new exhaust, and a liquor licence adds two to four months on a parallel track. Both are usually paid for with rent you're already committed to.
What licences do I need to open a restaurant in Australia?
Council planning approval for the use and works, a food business notification to your council before trading, a nominated Food Safety Supervisor, food handler training for staff, and a liquor licence from your state regulator if you're serving alcohol. Requirements vary by state and council — confirm with the council that will assess you.
How much working capital do I need to open a restaurant?
Three to six months of fixed costs, held separately from the fit-out budget. The fit-out almost always runs over, and opening with the reserve already spent leaves no margin for a slow first quarter — which is the normal first quarter.