Most office buildings need at least 48 hours to schedule a lift time for office movers; some take five business days.
Providers on the Urgent Pro network carry their own $10 million public liability insurance, and some buildings require more, so confirm the requirement with the building manager. Office removalists on the network cover commercial moves in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast.
For office moves, “movers” and “removalists” are synonymous. “Movers” is the more popular search term and “removalists” is the trade and contract term used in Australia. This article uses “office removalists” from here.
Commercial moves and residential moves are completely different animals. Building access is controlled by a building manager under a formal process, unlike in a residential move where a landlord controls access. Insurance is stricter for commercial moves because removalists are working on common property, and there are additional liability considerations, e.g., IT equipment and confidential documents. Delays on move day are costly.
Urgent Pro operates across both house and office removals, and the patterns below reflect actual experience across thousands of jobs, not theory.
Consider the following 10 questions before booking office removalists.
Ten Questions to Ask Any Office Removalists Before You Book
- Can you provide a certificate of currency prior to our commitment?
A certificate of currency is a one-page document from the insurer that states the name of the insured party, the type of cover, the limit of indemnity, and when the policy expires.
Nearly all managers of commercial buildings require this before granting access. The entity name on the certificate must be the same as the trading name of the company doing the move. Ask for it early. A removalist who hesitates to provide it before signing is one whose compliance posture needs a closer look.
- What is your public liability cover limit?
Most commercial buildings require a public liability limit of at least $10 million as a condition of access. Some premium and high-rise CBD buildings require $20 million. Confirm the exact amount your building requires before shortlisting anyone.
- Do you carry goods-in-transit insurance as a separate policy from your public liability?
These are two different covers. Public liability insurance covers damage to third-party property, such as the building’s lift interior or walls. Goods-in-transit (GIT) insurance covers the goods in transport against loss or damage. Both must be current and both must be confirmed before the move. A removalist who cannot immediately distinguish between these two covers is not ready to work in a managed commercial building.
- Do you have experience booking commercial building lifts and using loading docks?
Most commercial buildings require a minimum of 48 hours notice for a lift booking. Move times are typically restricted to business hours.
An experienced commercial removalist already has the process to book the lift, arrange for lift protection installation with building management, and align the loading dock schedule. You generally don’t have to chase them on these details.
- Can you do after-hours or weekend moves, and what is the additional cost?
Most businesses choose after-hours or weekend moves to avoid disrupting staff and clients. Not all buildings allow after-hours moves, and some removalists don’t include after-hours rates in their standard quotes. Confirm both: what your building allows, and what the additional cost is. Get it in writing.
- How do you protect floors, lifts and common areas during the move?
Floor damage caused by a removalist during a commercial move is a liability the tenant must make good under the lease. A professional office removalist uses floor runners in corridors and lifts, corner protection on door frames, and furniture padding on everything loaded onto trolleys. Ask whether the building manager installs protective curtains in the lift; if not, the removalist should supply them. For a full picture of what make-good can involve, see what a lease exit can cost you.
- Will you create an asset register before anything is loaded?
A professional removalist creates an asset register before loading begins, recording the condition of each item. This is the evidence base for any damage claim. Without one, proving whether a scratch was pre-existing or caused during the move becomes a dispute of competing accounts. Ask whether they produce one as a matter of course.
- How do you handle confidential documents and records?
A move involving archive boxes, paper records, or storage devices marked confidential should include a chain-of-custody log from uplift to delivery. The removalist should seal, log, and track those items as a separate category. Ask whether they have a formal process for this, and request it in writing in the scope.
- What is your scope for IT equipment, and what is explicitly excluded?
Physical damage to IT equipment caused by removalist negligence and discovered within the applicable claims period is a covered event. Data loss, configuration loss, and functional failure with no visible physical damage are not. The business is responsible for backing up all data and powering down equipment before uplift. Ask the removalist to clarify what they will and will not take responsibility for before they touch anything. What falls outside a removalist’s IT scope covers this boundary in detail.
- What is your process for damage claims, and what is the timeframe?
Visible damage is noted on the delivery inventory before sign-off. Hidden damage discovered after unpacking has a separate written claim window. For removalist jobs booked through Urgent Pro, the warranty terms for removalist jobs set out the 48-hour window for visible damage claims and the 7-day window for hidden damage claims.
Red Flags When Evaluating Office Removalists
These are the warning signs that justify removing a removalist from your shortlist.
Reluctance to provide a certificate of currency before you sign. A reputable operation has this document ready. Hesitation means either the cover is inadequate or the business is not organised enough for a managed commercial building.
No commercial references or an inability to name similar jobs. Experience with house moves does not translate automatically to commercial building access, asset registers, and after-hours coordination. Ask specifically for office move references from the past 12 months.
Verbal estimate only. A professional commercial removalist provides a written quote detailing what is included, what is excluded, and what variables could change the price. A commercial move is not a simple furniture move. Unresolved scope leads to disputes on move day.
Vague answers about insurance. If the removalist cannot distinguish between their public liability and GIT cover, or cannot confirm their cover limit immediately, their insurance literacy is not at the level a commercial client needs.
No site inspection before quoting. A removalist who quotes without walking the space, or at minimum a detailed video walkthrough, is estimating the scope. Guessed scope generates on-day variations and unexpected charges.
Unusually low estimate. Commercial moves have real cost floors driven by crew requirements, truck size, and time on site. A quote significantly below every other estimate you have received is either missing scope or will generate additions on move day.
Building Access, Lifts and Loading Docks: What to Confirm Before Move Day
Access problems on move day are the most common cause of delays across office moves on the Urgent Pro network. The lift slot was not booked, or the certificate of currency was not submitted to the building manager, and the job could not start.
Commercial buildings manage their own lift schedules. The service lift is normally allocated to a fixed time slot of three to four hours and once that window closes, it is gone. Rescheduling in a shared commercial building can add days.
Before signing with any removalist, confirm directly with your building manager: the required notice period for a lift booking, the hours during which moves are permitted, whether after-hours moves are allowed, the format of the insurance certificate and the minimum cover required, and who installs lift protection. The office move project checklist covers the full sequencing from lease signing through to first day at the new address.
Certificates of Currency: What the Building Manager Actually Needs
A certificate of currency is not the insurance policy itself. It is a one-page summary from the insurer showing that a policy is active for the named insured, the class of cover, the limit of indemnity, and when it expires.
The insured entity name must be the same as the trading name of the company doing the move. The building manager will check: the limit of indemnity (typically $10 million minimum for commercial buildings, $20 million for high-rise and some premium buildings), the period of insurance confirming the policy is active on move day, and that the cover includes public and products liability.
Some building managers require that they be listed as an interested party on the policy, or that the certificate notes the specific building address. Get those requirements from your building manager before asking the removalist to produce the document. A removalist who cannot provide the certificate promptly is not set up to work in a managed commercial building. For a breakdown of how office move pricing works alongside these compliance requirements, see office move pricing in Australia.
IT, Servers and Confidential Records: The Scope Boundary
The scope line for IT is clear: a removalist moves the physical hardware. They are not responsible for data integrity, software configuration, network settings, or functional failure where there is no visible physical damage.
For servers and network equipment, your IT team should confirm that all hardware is powered down, disconnected, and prepared for transport before the removalists arrive. Back up everything. Disconnection, reconnection, and rack equipment handling sit outside a removalist’s standard scope and should be managed by your IT provider or a specialist IT relocation service.
For confidential records, ask whether the removalist maintains a chain-of-custody log and how they manage breaks in seal or evidence of access. Archive boxes and confidential media should be a separate, tracked category from the start of uplift, not a subset of general office contents.
What to Confirm in Writing Before the Move Starts
Before the removalists arrive, confirm in writing: the full scope including what is included and excluded, the public liability cover amount and GIT insurance confirmation, the asset register sign-off process before loading, the procedure for reporting damage at delivery, and the warranty claim timeframes.
Designate one internal contact as the removalist’s point of contact for the day. Decisions made through a chain of three people slow everything down. One person with the authority to make on-site calls keeps the move on schedule.
Under the model work health and safety laws, which apply in most states, both the business engaging the removalists and the removalist company are persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs). Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 imposes similar duties on employers and those who control workplaces. These duties are concurrent: the business cannot transfer its obligations to the removalist through a commercial contract. In practice this means sharing hazard information before the move, agreeing on site induction requirements, and coordinating risk management before work begins. Safe Work Australia’s guidance on PCBU duties sets out what those consultation obligations involve.
Ask to see both certificates of currency before you sign. They cover different risks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between office movers and house movers?
Commercial moves involve building management requirements, formal lift bookings, certificates of currency, asset registers, and coordination across multiple vendors including IT providers. A house move involves none of this. Office removalists who work regularly in managed commercial buildings understand these requirements as part of their standard process; residential removalists typically do not.
What insurance should office removalists hold for a commercial move?
At minimum: a current public liability policy (most commercial buildings require $10 million cover; some require $20 million) and a separate goods-in-transit policy. Ask to see the certificate of currency for both before you sign. These are two different documents covering two different risks.
Can office moves happen after hours or over the weekend?
It depends on the building. Many commercial buildings don’t allow moves outside business hours because after-hours access requires security or facilities staff to be on site. Confirm permitted hours with your building manager before booking. Some removalists offer after-hours and weekend moves at an additional charge.
Who is responsible if IT equipment is damaged during the move?
Physical damage caused by removalist negligence and visible on inspection within the claim window is a covered event. Functional failure without visible physical damage, data loss, and software or configuration loss are not covered. The business is responsible for backing up all data and powering down equipment before uplift.
Do office movers handle IT equipment?
A removalist moves the physical hardware once your IT team has powered it down, disconnected it, and prepared it for transport. Disconnection, reconnection, data integrity, and rack work sit outside standard removalist scope. Those tasks belong to your IT provider or a specialist IT relocation service.
How far in advance should I book office removalists?
Building access is usually the constraint, not the removalist’s calendar. Lift bookings typically need 48 hours minimum notice; some commercial buildings require up to five business days. For a mid-sized office, four to six weeks of planning lead time gives enough room for scoping, insurance verification, building coordination, IT preparation, and staff communication.