Australian construction throws around half a dozen terms that mean different things to different people. "Strip out", "internal demolition", "soft strip", "defit", "make-good" — they overlap, they're used interchangeably in casual conversation, and they get clients quoted for the wrong thing. This guide untangles them in plain English so you know exactly what you're hiring (and what you should be paying for).
The short version
- Strip out / internal strip out / soft strip / internal demolition — all the same thing. Removal of everything inside a building that isn't structural.
- Full demolition (hard demolition) — removal of the entire building including structural walls, floors and roof. Different licence, different scope.
- Defit — a strip out done at the end of a commercial lease, to satisfy the make-good clause.
- Make-good — the legal obligation in the lease, not the activity. The activity that achieves it is the defit.
- Dilapidation — a condition report, not an activity. A document used to manage risk.
If you only read this section, you've got the essentials. Read on for the practical distinctions that change what you pay and what your contractor needs to be licensed for.
Internal strip out: what's actually removed
An internal strip out — also called interior demolition, soft strip or soft strip demolition — is the systematic removal of every non-structural element from inside a building. The structural shell — load-bearing walls, columns, slabs, the roof — stays untouched.
In practice that means:
- Non-structural partition walls
- Suspended ceilings and bulkheads
- Floor coverings (tiles, carpet, vinyl, timber) and the substrate beneath
- Joinery, cabinetry, benchtops, shopfronts
- Fixtures, lighting, plumbing fittings, switchboards
- Mechanical fit-out (ducting, grilles)
- Services fit-out (cables, conduit, pipes within non-structural elements) — but only after the mains have been isolated by a licensed electrician, plumber or gas fitter
What's not removed: structural walls, slab, roof, external walls and the mains for utilities. The contractor will not disconnect mains services — that's regulated trade work that has to happen before the strip-out crew arrives.
This is the scope for a renovation, a commercial defit, a pre-demolition clearance or a pre-sale clean-up.
Soft strip vs internal strip out
These are the same activity under different names. "Soft strip" is the technical term used by architects, principal contractors and project managers — borrowed from UK construction usage. "Internal strip out" is the term most Australian clients search for. "Internal demolition" is the same thing again, from the regulatory side.
When you read a tender document or an architect's spec, you'll see "soft strip". When you Google for a contractor, you'll search "internal strip out". They mean the same job.
Internal strip out vs full demolition
This is the most important distinction in licensing and price.
- An internal strip out removes non-structural elements only. The building still stands afterwards. In Queensland, work over $3,300 requires a QBCC contractor licence; a WorkSafe QLD demolition work licence is usually not required for pure interior soft strip.
- A full demolition (hard demolition) removes the entire structure, including load-bearing walls and the roof. It requires a separate WorkSafe QLD demolition work licence, engineering design for any temporary works, site hoarding, a council demolition permit and 5-day WHSQ notification.
A strip out often precedes a full demolition — clearing the interior is done first because it lets you salvage and separate waste at much higher rates, and it makes the structural demolition stage safer. But they are two distinct scopes, priced and licensed differently. If a contractor proposes to do both under one quote, ask them to break it out so you can see what licence covers what.
Internal strip out vs defit
A defit is a strip out, done at a specific time, to satisfy a specific contract. Specifically: a defit is the strip out conducted at the end of a commercial lease, scoped to the make-good clause in that lease.
Every defit is a strip out. Not every strip out is a defit. If you're renovating your own building, that's a strip out — not a defit. If you're a tenant clearing out before lease end, that's a defit.
The practical difference is mostly contractual. A defit's scope isn't decided by what you want removed — it's decided by what your lease says you need to hand back. Some leases require base-building condition (a bare shell). Some require you to remove only your own tenant-installed improvements. Some require patching, painting and reinstatement of removed services. Read the make-good clause carefully — or ask the contractor to scope to it.
Make-good vs defit
This trips people up constantly. Make-good is not the activity — it's the obligation. It's a clause in your commercial lease that defines the condition you must return the premises in. Defit is the activity that achieves the make-good.
Your make-good clause might require:
- Removal of all tenant-installed fit-out
- Patching and painting of walls and ceilings
- Reinstatement of services (e.g. lighting, suspended ceiling grid) to base-build condition
- Floor covering restoration
- Removal of signage and branding
A good defit quote scopes precisely to your make-good clause — neither under-delivering (which leaves you exposed at handover) nor over-delivering (which costs you money you didn't owe). Bring the lease to the inspection. If the contractor doesn't ask to see it, that's a warning sign.
What about dilapidation?
Dilapidation is not work — it's a report. Specifically, a photographic and written record of the condition of a building (and often the adjacent properties) before strip-out work begins. It documents what's there, so any damage that happens during the works can be attributed correctly.
It's not legally mandatory for a small strip out, but it's strongly recommended for:
- Strata buildings (apartments, units, townhouses)
- Semi-detached or shared-wall buildings
- Heritage-overlay properties
- Anything where damage to neighbours' property would be expensive to argue about
A dilapidation report is cheap insurance. Ask your contractor whether they recommend one before the job starts.
Pre-demolition strip out vs deconstruction
Some contractors distinguish between a "strip out before demolition" (where you clear out the interior to enable safer, lower-cost demolition of the shell) and "deconstruction" (where you systematically dismantle a building to maximise material recovery for re-use rather than recycling).
In Australia the terms aren't formally separated, but the distinction matters environmentally: full deconstruction can achieve over 90% landfill diversion. A standard internal strip out with on-site sorting typically achieves the national average for C&D waste — Australia's overall construction and demolition recovery rate is 84% (DCCEEW National Waste Report 2024). The difference is mostly about how aggressive the material-separation process is and whether there's a buyer for the salvaged materials.
Choosing the right term for your job
The simplest mapping:
- Renovating your own house? → residential strip out
- Commercial tenant clearing for lease end? → defit (scoped to your make-good clause)
- Clearing interior before demolishing the building? → pre-demolition strip out
- Restoring a tenancy to base-building condition for a new tenant? → defit / make-good
- Architects or principal contractor talking? → they'll say soft strip
If you're unsure which applies, the scope of work and the regulatory requirements are the same in all cases: an internal strip out, governed by Queensland's WHS framework, requiring a QBCC-licensed contractor for any job over $3,300.
For the full technical detail on what an internal strip out covers, the Queensland regulatory framework, silica and asbestos rules, what to expect on the day and how to vet a contractor, see our internal strip out service page.
Get a quote — without picking the wrong term
You don't need to use the right term to get the right quote. Tell Strip It Out what you need cleared, when, and from where — and we'll scope it to the correct definition, the correct licensing and the correct waste handling. Free fixed-scope written quotes for the Gold Coast, Brisbane and South East Queensland. Contact us.