Commercial Lift Installation Timeline

How long does it take to install a commercial lift?

From placing the order to handover, plan on roughly four to nine months for a standard commercial passenger lift — and longer for a tall building, a bespoke imported unit, or a project where builder's works run late. The single biggest variable is manufacturing lead time, not the on-site installation. A lift is made to order, and for a European or premium unit the factory lead time alone can run eight to twenty weeks or more before anything reaches site.

That is why the order date, not the installation date, drives the programme. Get the lift ordered early — ideally as soon as the shaft design is fixed — and the manufacturing clock runs in parallel with the builder's structural works instead of after them.

The stages, one by one

1. Procurement and shop drawings (2–6 weeks). Once you award the contract, the lift company produces shop drawings — the exact shaft, pit, overhead and power requirements for the chosen unit. These have to be approved before manufacturing starts and before the builder finalises the shaft. Late shop-drawing approval is a common and avoidable delay.

2. Manufacturing and lead time (8–20+ weeks). The lift is built to the approved specification. This is usually the long pole in the programme, especially for imported units. Ordering early is the one decision that most reduces total project time.

3. Builder's works (runs in parallel). The builder constructs the shaft, forms the pit, provides the machine room or overhead space, and brings the power supply to the machine location. This is the builder's scope, not the lift company's — the split is set out below. It should run alongside manufacturing so both finish together.

4. Lift installation (3–8 weeks). With the shaft ready and the equipment delivered, the lift company installs the guide rails, car, doors, drive and controller. Duration scales with the number of stops and the rise.

5. Commissioning and testing (1–2 weeks). The installed lift is adjusted, load-tested and safety-tested. Nothing is signed off until commissioning is complete.

6. Plant registration and statutory inspection (1–3 weeks). Under Schedule 5 of the Model WHS Regulations, lifts are registrable plant — both the design and each installed unit require registration with the state regulator (SafeWork NSW, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, and the equivalents in other states). Victoria is the exception: it registers plant under its own OHS Regulations 2017 through WorkSafe Victoria, not the model WHS laws. Allow time for the inspection and the paperwork before anyone rides the lift.

7. Handover. Documentation, keys, the maintenance logbook and the first service contract change hands, and the lift goes into service.

Who is responsible — builder or lift company?

The clearest way to avoid programme blowouts is to fix the scope split early. The builder is responsible for the builder's works: the shaft, the pit, waterproofing, the machine room or overhead space, and a power supply of the correct rating terminated at the machine location. The lift company is responsible for the equipment: guide rails, car, doors, drive, controller, installation, commissioning and registration.

Delays almost always come from one of three things: the lift ordered too late, builder's works not finished when the installers arrive, or power not connected at handover. Each is a coordination failure, not a manufacturing one. A short programme meeting that pins the order date, the shaft-complete date and the power-on date removes most of the risk.

For where the lift sits in the wider build, our commercial lift hub covers the category, and our guide to how to specify a commercial lift sets out the decisions — number of lifts, capacity, speed and drive type — that need to be locked before procurement even starts.

What this means for your programme

Sequence the lift as an early procurement item, not a late fit-out one. As a working rule: fix the specification and shaft design at design development, place the lift order the moment shop drawings are approved, and hold the shaft-complete and power-on dates as programme milestones the same way you would a structural pour. The residential version of this sequencing is covered in our home lift installation guide, and the compliance inputs that shape the shaft are in NCC lift requirements.

For the budget side of the same decision, commercial lift cost breaks down indicative ranges by building height as of Q3 2026. LiftQuotes does not provide compliance advice — confirm plant registration and inspection requirements with your state regulator and building surveyor.

Getting the lift onto the programme early is what turns it from a schedule risk into a routine line item. Get free quotes from Australian lift companies who can give you a firm lead time for your building.