Business premises

There are a number of different types of premises that you may consider for your business, including:

• retail premises
• a home-based office
• warehouses, manufacturing plants or storage facilities
• shared commercial offices or hubs
• temporary premises, like a market stall or pop-up shop.

Depending on your business needs you may even have more than one type of premises, for example, you could have a warehouse to store goods and a shopfront to sell them.

Even if you run your business online, you’ll still need somewhere to operate your business from, such as a place for your computer, or a place to store your stock. This could mean renting a commercial space, or simply running your business from your home. See getting started online for information about online business.

Use the business premises checklist to help you decide on the right business premises for you.

Choosing the location of your business can be an important factor for your business to succeed.

The type of business that you run can help guide your choice of location. For example:

• A small online business or a tradesman who simply keeps their tools and work vehicles at home may want to save on expenses by running their business from a home office.
• Retailers may do better if they are close to shopping areas, tourist attractions, or places with good parking or public transport.
• Service providers might need to be located in an office space that’s suitable for customer and business meetings.
• Manufacturers may need to look for locations in industrial areas that are close to major highways or freight infrastructure.

Did you know?

When choosing a location for your business, make sure to research your business location, and look at things like:

• how close you need to be to your customers, clients and suppliers
• whether there is parking available for customers or if the location is easily accessible by public transport
• whether your facilities can receive deliveries of goods
• how big you need the space to be for your current and possible future business needs
• whether there is enough storage room for your business needs, or whether you would need to consider having separate shopfront and warehouse premises.

Find out more:

• Read more about researching locations on Business Victoria’s website.
• Find out about choosing a location on Business Tasmania.
• See Locating your business - PDF; 146KB on the State Development South Australia website.
• Use the business premises checklist to help you decide on the right location.

When looking for business premises, you may need to decide whether to buy or lease commercial property. It can be tricky so don’t be afraid to get professional advice.

Buying commercial property

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to consider when buying commercial property, such as owning a major asset but also having a costly initial outlay.

If you buy a property, make sure to keep all records as you may be able to claim tax deductions and GST credits for the property or some of the expenses associated with it.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO)’s GST property tool can help you work out how GST will apply in your property transactions.

If you sell commercial premises you may need to pay capital gains tax (CGT) or goods and services tax (GST).

Find out more

• Read the ATO’s information on buying and selling commercial premises
• Check out the buying a business guide – PDF; 153 KB by South Australia State Development
• Read more on buying or leasing commercial premises
• See Buying business premises on Business Victoria’s website

Leasing or renting commercial business premises

If you're thinking about leasing commercial property for your business, you should make sure you completely understand and agree with the lease before you sign it. You may like to seek professional advice as it can often save you money in the long run.

There are a few different types of leases that you might like to weigh up, and some factors to consider before you sign.

Find out more:

• How to negotiate a good lease on the WA Small Business Development Corporation website
• Business Victoria’s checklist for lease agreements lists questions you should ask or may be asked when leasing property
• What to do if you have retail leasing disputes on the Queensland Business Portal
• Tax information on leasing and renting commercial premises

When looking for your business premises, make sure you don’t forget important things like security, safety and insurance. If you’re going to be handling food in your business, make sure you also keep food standards in mind for your business premises.

Security

While you’re setting up your new business premises, you need to consider how you’ll protect your business from crimes such as shoplifting, robbery and vandalism. Think about security planning and crime prevention and look at some of the security measures you can take.

For further information on security for your business premises see:

• Securing money and security devices on the Queensland Business Portal.
• Business security on the ACT Policing website.
• Business security - PDF 630KB; on the South Australia Police website.
• Business security on the Queensland Police website.

Safety

Safety considerations for your business premises can include:

• making sure you plan for emergencies such as natural disasters
• thinking about fire safety in your business and having adequate smoke alarms, sprinklers or extinguishers and emergency response plans
• ensuring Work health and safety for people who are going to be on your business premises.

Additional safety measures for COVID-19:

• Read about how you can keep you and your employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Insurance

You need to make sure you have adequate insurance for your business premises.

If you have a home-based business, be mindful that your home insurance might not be adequate to cover your home-based business operations.

Check out how to find the right insurance from the Business Victoria website.

Learn more about arranging insurance for your business.

Food standards

If your business operates in the food industry, you need to make sure your business premises are suitable and adhere to the food standards.

Also, check out what you need if you have a food stall at a market.