Internal Strip Out in Tweed Heads & Coolangatta

An internal strip out is the systematic removal of all non-structural elements from inside a building — partitions, ceilings, floor coverings, fixtures, joinery and fit-out services — while the structural shell (load-bearing walls, columns, slab and roof) stays untouched. It's the first stage of nearly every commercial defit, residential renovation and pre-demolition project, and Strip It Out delivers it across the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Two things to know up front. First, internal strip out is not "building maintenance" or casual renovation prep in the regulatory sense — under BS 6187 (the international Code of Practice for Full and Partial Demolition) and Queensland's WHS framework, it is classified as demolition work and carries the corresponding safety, licensing and notification obligations. Second, since 1 September 2024 the rules around crystalline silica dust — which strip outs generate in volume — have tightened materially. The contractors worth hiring now are the ones who actually run the work to those rules.

What's included in an internal strip out

A typical internal strip out clears out everything inside the structural shell:

• Non-structural partition walls (timber stud, steel stud, lightweight masonry)
• Suspended ceilings, bulkheads and ceiling-mounted services
• Floor coverings (tiles, carpet, vinyl, timber) plus the screed and adhesive beneath
• Joinery: built-in cabinetry, benchtops, shopfront, reception desks, storage
• Fixtures and fittings: lighting, plumbing fixtures, sanitaryware, switchboards
• Mechanical fit-out: ducting, grilles, fan-coil units (mains isolated by a licensed mechanical trade first)
• Electrical fit-out: data cabling, conduit, GPOs, fittings (mains isolated by a licensed electrician first)
• Plumbing rough-in: pipe sections penetrating non-structural elements (mains isolated by a licensed plumber first)
• Signage, branding, display systems and window treatments
• Sorting and removal of all waste materials

What's not included

The structural shell stays:

• Load-bearing walls, columns and beams
• Concrete slab and footings
• External walls, cladding and roof structure
• Utility mains (power, gas, water, fire services) — these are isolated at source by the relevant licensed trades before strip-out begins; never disconnected ad-hoc by the demolition crew

If a wall is load-bearing and needs to come out, that is a separate scope — it needs an engineer, possibly a builder, and possibly a council building permit. We will flag that during inspection rather than touch it.

Internal strip out vs full demolition, soft strip, defit and make-good

The terms get used interchangeably. The actual landscape:

• Internal strip out = removal of non-structural fit-out, leaving the shell. Also called interior demolition or interior strip-out.
• Soft strip / soft strip demolition = the same thing — the term used by architects and project managers. UK construction calls it soft strip; Australian commercial property tends to say strip out or defit.
• Full demolition (hard demolition) = removal of the entire building including structural elements. Requires a separate WorkSafe Queensland demolition work licence, engineering, hoarding and a council demolition permit. A strip out often precedes a full demolition (to enable salvage and waste separation).
• Defit = a strip out conducted at the end of a commercial lease, scoped to the lease's make-good clause. All defits are strip outs; not all strip outs are defits.
• Make-good = the legal obligation in the lease describing the condition the tenancy must be returned in. The defit is the activity that achieves the make-good.
• Dilapidation = a condition report (photographic and written) documenting the building's state before works begin. Not an activity — a risk-management document. Strongly recommended for strata, semi-detached and shared-wall buildings.

When you need an internal strip out

There are four reliable triggers:

1. Pre-renovation — clearing fit-out so a builder can install a new kitchen, bathroom or full interior. Most residential strip outs sit here.
2. End-of-lease defit / make-good — restoring a commercial tenancy to its lease-required handover condition. Driven by lease dates, often with after-hours scheduling and centre-management coordination.
3. Pre-full-demolition — soft-stripping interiors before structural demolition, both for safety (removing combustible and hazardous materials) and for material-recovery economics.
4. Pre-sale clearance — clearing a property of fit-out to present a neutral, marketable shell to potential buyers.

If your project is one of these, an internal strip out is the scope.

Queensland regulatory checklist for internal demolition

This is the section most contractors skip — and it's exactly the section commercial property managers, builders and procurement people screenshot. Here is what governs internal strip-out work in Queensland in 2026:

• QBCC contractor licence — required for any building work in Queensland valued over $3,300 (including labour and materials). Internal strip-out work is building work under the QBCC Act, so a current QBCC licence of the appropriate class is required. Verify your contractor at the QBCC's "Find a Local Contractor" tool.
• WorkSafe Queensland demolition work licence — required separately where work involves load-shifting equipment (excavators, skid-steers), pre-tensioned or post-tensioned structural components, or explosives. Pure interior soft strip by hand tools usually does not trigger this licence, but the PCBU still has full WHS Act duties.
• 5-day WHSQ notification — required before commencing notifiable demolition (such as demolition of structural elements over 6 m). For interior-only strip outs this generally does not apply, but a competent contractor confirms it case by case.
• Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) — required under WHS Regulation 2011 for all high-risk construction work, which includes work involving asbestos, demolition of load-bearing elements and crystalline silica processing. Every Strip It Out job has a SWMS prepared and on site.
• Asbestos pre-demolition rule (WHS Reg s.452–453) — asbestos must be removed before demolition commences "so far as reasonably practicable", which means a refurbishment/demolition asbestos survey is required for any pre-1990 building.
• Council permit / development approval — pure non-structural interior strip-outs in commercial tenancies in Brisbane and the Gold Coast typically do not require a DA or building permit. They do when: structural walls are touched, the building is heritage-listed or overlaid, the project precedes full demolition, or essential safety measures (sprinklers, alarms) are affected. Confirm with the relevant council or an accredited building certifier before scope is finalised.

The two foundational regulatory documents are Safe Work Australia's Model Code of Practice — Demolition Work (adopted in Queensland as the WHSQ Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021) and the WHS Regulation 2011.

Silica compliance — what changed in 2024

Crystalline silica is the dust that strip outs generate when you remove tiles, concrete, brick, fibre-cement sheeting and engineered stone — all common in Australian buildings. Breathed in, the fine fraction (respirable crystalline silica) causes silicosis, lung cancer and COPD. Australia tightened the rules in two waves:

• 1 July 2024 — Australia became the first country to ban the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs, in response to the silicosis epidemic among stonemasons.
• 1 September 2024 — stronger nationwide rules took effect for all crystalline silica work, not just engineered stone. A crystalline silica substance (CSS) is any material containing at least 1% crystalline silica by weight — covering concrete, mortar, fibre-cement, tiles, grout and most natural stone. Before any high-risk crystalline silica work, the PCBU must conduct a documented risk assessment and prepare a written Crystalline Silica Risk Control Plan. Uncontrolled dry cutting is effectively banned — water suppression or on-tool extraction with H-class HEPA vacuums is mandatory. Minimum RPE for high-risk processing is P3 / FFP3, escalating to powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR / TH3) for sustained work.
• 1 October 2025 — the new Silica Worker Register commenced. Workers undertaking high-risk silica processing must be notified to the register within 28 days of starting.

What this means in practice: a contractor who turns up to grind a tiled floor with an angle grinder and no extraction is working unlawfully. Strip It Out runs water suppression, on-tool HEPA extraction and proper RPE on every silica-relevant job — both because it's the law and because it's the right thing for everyone on site.

For a homeowner-focused walkthrough of what silica dust is and how to spot a contractor who handles it properly, see our silica dust and home renovations guide.

Asbestos in pre-1990 buildings

Asbestos was widely used in Australian construction until the late 1980s and was fully banned from new use in 2003. Buildings constructed before late 1987 should be treated as potentially containing asbestos until proven otherwise — and in practice, that extends through anything completed before about 1990.

The Queensland rules:

• Refurbishment/demolition asbestos survey by a competent person is required before any strip-out work that may disturb materials in a pre-1990 building. The survey identifies the location, type and condition of any asbestos-containing materials (ACM).
• Up to 10 m² of non-friable (bonded) ACM can be removed by an unlicensed person following safe-work procedures. In a residential owner-occupier context only, a Queensland Health homeowner's certificate is required for DIY removal of more than 10 m² of bonded ACM.
• More than 10 m² of non-friable ACM must be removed by a business holding a current Class B or Class A asbestos removal licence.
• Any amount of friable (loose/damaged) asbestos must be removed by a Class A licensed removalist only, regardless of quantity.

Commercial strip-out contractors are not the homeowner. The 10 m² DIY allowance does not apply on commercial jobs. Any commercial strip-out in a pre-1990 building must be assessed for ACM before quotation and priced to include licensed asbestos removal if found. Reputable contractors pause and refer to a Class A or B asbestos removalist rather than disturb suspect material.

Our internal strip-out process

Every Strip It Out job runs the same disciplined sequence:

1. Site inspection and quote. We visit the site, identify hazards (especially asbestos and existing services), scope inclusions in writing, and provide a fixed-scope quote. No vague "TBC" line items.
2. Pre-start checks. Asbestos survey if required; service isolation booked with licensed electrician, plumber and (if relevant) gas fitter; SWMS prepared; dilapidation report agreed if neighbours or shared structure are at risk.
3. Mobilisation. Site protection (floor protection, dust barriers, lift booking, loading-zone permits), RPE issued, signage posted, neighbours and adjacent tenants informed.
4. Top-down removal. Ceilings and high services first, then walls and partitions, then floor coverings and substrates. This sequence keeps the work area cleaner and safer at every stage.
5. Dust and silica control. Water suppression at the source, on-tool H-class HEPA extraction, sealed work zones, P3 / PAPR RPE — we work to the HSE Assess, Control, Review framework adapted to the WHSQ Crystalline Silica Code of Practice 2022.
6. Sorted waste handling. Materials are separated at source where practical — metals, recoverable timber, clean concrete and salvageable fixtures from general waste. This reduces landfill cost and is genuinely better for the planet.
7. Final clean and hand-over. HEPA-vacuumed, not dry-swept. Inspection, sign-off, photographs. The space is trade-ready for the next contractor.

What drives the cost — and how long it takes

We don't publish dollar figures here because every strip out is priced to its specific scope, and an honest fixed quote beats a misleading price band. The factors that move the quote, in roughly the order they matter:

• Floor area — the primary scale driver, especially in commercial work.
• Scope depth — fixture-only is a different job to full ceiling/wall/floor removal plus substrate preparation.
• Tile bed and substrate — tiles on a thick sand-and-cement bed take far longer to remove than thin-set tile, and the substrate usually needs grinding afterwards.
• Access — ground floor with truck access is straightforward; high-rise with lift bookings, restricted loading windows or after-hours requirements adds time and cost.
• Hazardous materials — asbestos, lead paint or contaminated materials add survey, licensed-removal and regulated-disposal cost. This is the single biggest cost escalator in pre-1990 buildings.
• Service isolation — formally isolating mechanical, electrical and plumbing services through the relevant licensed trades is sometimes additional to the strip-out price.
• Waste volume and type — disposal is a real cost and rises with volume. Queensland's Waste Levy applies to commercial waste — on-site separation can offset some of this.

Typical timeframes by job type:

• Single-room residential (kitchen or bathroom): 1–2 days on site
• Full residential or pre-renovation strip out: 3–7 days on site
• Small commercial defit (up to ~200 m²): 3–7 days on site
• Mid-size commercial defit (200–1,000 m²): 1–3 weeks on site
• Large commercial defit or full floor plate (1,000 m²+): 3–6 weeks on site

Lead time before mobilisation (asbestos survey, service isolation, SWMS, council notification if applicable) typically adds 1–2 weeks regardless of project size.

For a more detailed walk-through of cost factors — same factor-based framing, no invented prices — see our strip-out cost guide.

Material salvage and responsible waste

Internal strip outs generate significant waste — but most of it is recoverable. Construction and demolition waste is the single largest waste category in Australia, representing 39% of the national waste stream (29.2 million tonnes in 2022-23, per the federal government's DCCEEW National Waste Report 2024). The good news: Australia's national C&D recovery rate is 84%. Metals, clean concrete, recoverable timber and many fittings can be diverted from landfill.

Why this matters commercially as well as environmentally: in Queensland the Waste Levy applies to commercial waste going to landfill, so the more material we recover, the more we reduce your disposal cost. We sort metals, recoverable joinery and clean concrete on-site where the job size makes it practical. It's the right way to run a strip out and it is frequently the cheaper way too.

How to vet a strip-out contractor in Queensland

Before you sign with any internal demolition contractor, check these eight things. It takes ten minutes and it's the difference between a clean handover and a six-month dispute.

1. Valid QBCC contractor licence of the appropriate class. Verify it by name at the QBCC's "Find a Local Contractor" tool. If they can't give you their licence number on request, walk away.
2. WHSQ demolition work licence if applicable to the scope.
3. Public liability insurance — minimum $20 million is standard for commercial sites.
4. Workers' compensation cover — required for any business with employees in Queensland.
5. Asbestos removal licence (Class A or B) if they're proposing to remove asbestos themselves, OR a stated process for engaging a licensed removalist if any is found.
6. A Safe Work Method Statement provided before work starts — not as an afterthought.
7. References and a project portfolio with at least two or three jobs of comparable scope.
8. A written, fixed-scope quote that itemises what's included, what's not included, the timeframe and the waste-removal arrangement. Vague "POA" or "to be quoted" line items are red flags.

Strip It Out is QBCC-licensed and insured. We provide all of the above as standard with every quote.

Internal strip-out services we cover

Internal strip out is the umbrella; the specific job is usually one of the following — every one of these is a service we run regularly across Brisbane and the Gold Coast:

Commercial: commercial strip out · shop and office defit · warehouse and industrial strip-out · body corporate strip outs

Residential: residential strip out · kitchen demolition · bathroom demolition

Specialist removal & preparation: tile removal · concrete grinding · timber and bamboo floor removal · vinyl and carpet removal · paint and epoxy removal · wall and partition removal · rubbish and debris removal

We service the Gold Coast, Brisbane and all the surrounding South East Queensland corridors. See our service areas for full coverage.

Get a free, fixed-scope quote

Whether you are commissioning a commercial defit, prepping a home for renovation, or clearing a site before a full demolition, Strip It Out provides free, fixed-scope written quotes for internal strip out and internal demolition across the Gold Coast and Brisbane. We inspect the site, scope the work to your build program, and give you a clear price and timeline — no surprises, no variations sprung mid-job. Call us or send the project details and photos through our contact page.

Strip Out Services in Tweed Heads & Coolangatta

The Tweed Heads and Coolangatta border region sits immediately south of the Gold Coast, and Strip It Out services it as a core part of our area — Tweed Heads, Tweed Heads South, Banora Point, Coolangatta, Kingscliff, Casuarina and the surrounding border suburbs. We work on both sides of the Queensland/New South Wales line.

An ageing coastal building stock

The Tweed and Coolangatta have a large stock of older beachside homes, walk-up holiday units and dated commercial buildings, much of it built decades ago for a smaller coastal town. As the region gentrifies and major town-centre renewal continues, that ageing stock is steadily being renovated or redeveloped. Older buildings mean tiled wet areas on thick mortar beds, dated kitchens, and the fibre-cement sheeting common to the era — all squarely in our wheelhouse for careful, dust-controlled bathroom demolition, tile removal and full residential strip-outs.

Coastal hospitality and commercial

Coolangatta's beachfront hospitality strip and the retail of Tweed Heads see regular tenancy turnover, generating commercial strip-out and defit work — cafes, restaurants and shops being cleared for the next operator. We scope this work to the lease and can run after hours to suit a trading precinct.

Cross-border, no complications

A practical advantage of hiring a Gold Coast strip-out crew for Tweed work: we already operate across the border routinely, so a job in Kingscliff or Casuarina is handled with the same prompt scheduling and free, fixed-scope quoting as one in Coolangatta. We leave every site, residential or commercial, clean and trade-ready.