What's a typical lease term in Melbourne?

7 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.

How is rent quoted in Melbourne?

In AUD/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($468/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Net leases.

Typical lease length: 7 years.
Typical rent-free: 14 months.
Vacancy: 18.4%; trend softening.
Net leases.

Melbourne office lease norms

Net leases.

TL;DR

Typical lease length: 7 years.
Typical rent-free: 14 months.
Vacancy: 18.4%; trend softening.
Net leases.

Structure

Net leases. 7-10 year terms standard. Incentives of 30-45% (combination of free rent, fitout, and rent abatement) typical on a 10-year Class A deal.

Negotiating levers

Free rent and TI remain the most negotiable line items; landlords prefer concessions to face-rent cuts because they preserve headline rent and implied valuation. Always model effective rent (face minus PV of concessions).

Key facts

city	Melbourne
country	Australia
region	APAC
classARentLocal	720 AUD/sqft/yr
classARentUsd	$468/sqft/yr
vacancy	18.4%
typicalLeaseYears	7
typicalRentFreeMonths	14
submarkets	5
primeYieldPct	5.4%

Frequently asked questions

What's a typical lease term in Melbourne?: 7 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.
How is rent quoted in Melbourne?: In AUD/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($468/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Editorial provenance

Reviewed by Kenji Watanabe — APAC contributing editor. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our methodology and editorial standards.

Primary sources for this page

CBRE Marketview reports — CBRE
JLL Office Insight — JLL
Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat — Cushman & Wakefield
Savills World Research — Savills
Colliers Global Office Outlook — Colliers

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