Commercial Kitchen Equipment Checklist (2026): The Complete Australian Guide

A complete commercial kitchen equipment checklist is the single most useful document an Australian foodservice operator can hold during a new build or refit. Commercial kitchens — whether quick-service cafes, full-service restaurants, or large hospitality production kitchens — all rely on the same backbone categories of restaurant equipment, and missing one piece of equipment (a handwash basin, a fire suppression system, a third compartment on the wash sink) means the council inspection and health department audit both fail before the doors open. This checklist runs through every category an Australian commercial kitchen needs, organised so you can print it, tick as you commission each item, and use it as the supplier-quote brief.

Nine categories of commercial kitchen essentials follow: cooking, refrigeration (upright, reach-in, walk-in cooler), food preparation, dishwashing and cleaning, storage and shelves, benches and work surfaces, ventilation and safety (including fire extinguishers and kitchen display systems for ticket flow), smallwares and utensils, and front-of-house. Then a "How to Use This Checklist" section, downloadable PDF placeholder, FAQ, and CTA to our complete product range. Use it to plan your kitchen layout, scope your equipment needs against your menu, and run a quick food safety compliance audit before opening — every checkbox below is also a health-code line item your local council will check.

Cooking Equipment

The single biggest budget line and the first one your menu shapes. Match every item below to your covers target and cuisine.

• [ ] Commercial oven (combi steam oven, convection oven, deck oven or pizza oven depending on menu) — the kitchen's anchor
• [ ] Gas or induction cooktop (4-burner, 6-burner or 8-burner per output)
• [ ] Deep fryer (single-tank or twin-tank; benchtop for cafes, floor-standing for restaurants)
• [ ] Chargrill or griddle (gas chargrill for high-heat searing; flat-top griddle for breakfasts and smash burgers)
• [ ] Salamander or overhead grill (essential for finishing dishes at the pass)
• [ ] Commercial microwave (heavy-duty 1000 W+ commercial unit, not domestic)
• [ ] Bain marie (hot wet or dry, for hot holding above 60 °C)
• [ ] Wok burner with tilting cradle (Asian cuisines; high BTU output)
• [ ] Pizza oven (deck, conveyor or wood-fired depending on volume)
• [ ] Steam kettle / tilting brat pan (large-volume soup, sauce and braise production)

For deeper cost benchmarks, see our commercial kitchen setup cost australia guide. The right cooking line also requires properly sized ventilation — covered in commercial kitchen ventilation requirements in australia.

Refrigeration Equipment

Australian summers and a busy line punish under-spec'd refrigeration. Buy commercial-grade — never domestic — and oversize cooling capacity by 25–30%.

• [ ] Upright commercial fridge (1-door 600 L or 2-door 1,200 L; main protein and dairy storage)
• [ ] Commercial freezer (upright or chest)
• [ ] Under bench fridge (2-door or 3-door; the workhorse beside the cook line)
• [ ] Display fridge (cake, deli, beverage; for front-of-house sales)
• [ ] Salad bar / pizza prep fridge (refrigerated GN-pan top + fridge below)
• [ ] Blast chiller (drop hot food from +90 °C to +3 °C in under 90 min; FSANZ-aligned safe cooling)
• [ ] Ice machine (cube, nugget or flake; sized to peak service)
• [ ] Walk-in cool room (for high-volume kitchens; 5–10 m² typical)

Food Preparation Equipment

Prep is where service speed lives or dies. Mise-en-place starts here, and the right prep equipment cuts hours from every shift. The biggest ROI items are the planetary mixer (bakeries, dough-based menus) and the heavy-duty food processor — both replace 3–4 hours of manual labour per service.

• [ ] Commercial food processor (5–15 L bowl; soups, dips, hummus, mince)
• [ ] Commercial blender / smoothie blender (heavy-duty 1.5–2 HP; coffee shops, juice bars)
• [ ] Planetary mixer / spiral mixer (5–20 L bowl; bakeries, pizzerias)
• [ ] Meat slicer / cheese slicer (manual or automatic; deli, sandwich shops)
• [ ] Vegetable dicer / cutter (volume veg prep)
• [ ] Pastry sheeter (bakeries, pizzerias)
• [ ] Vacuum sealer (sous vide kitchens, portion control)
• [ ] Digital scales (kitchen scales for portion control, baker's scales for pastry)
• [ ] Colour-coded cutting boards (raw red, ready-to-eat green, fish blue, dairy white, allergen yellow — designed to prevent cross-contamination across protein, dairy and allergen prep)
• [ ] Chef's knife set (chef knife, paring knife, bread knife, boning knife, slicer; magnetised wall storage)

Dishwashing & Cleaning Equipment

Hygiene compliance lives here. Every Australian council inspection checks dishwasher temperatures and handwash basin condition first.

• [ ] Commercial dishwasher (underbench, pass-through or conveyor; minimum 60 °C wash + 82 °C final rinse)
• [ ] Glasswasher (separate from dishwasher for bar service)
• [ ] Pre-rinse spray arm (over a dedicated inlet sink)
• [ ] Three-compartment prep sink (wash, rinse, sanitise; council-mandated in most states)
• [ ] Dedicated handwash basin (foot-pedal or sensor mixer tap, separate from prep sinks)
• [ ] Pot wash sink (deep sink, often double-bowl)
• [ ] Grease trap or arrestor (council-mandated; 1,000 L minimum for 30+ covers)
• [ ] Cleaning chemicals (sanitiser, degreaser, dishwasher detergent, rinse aid)
• [ ] Rubbish bins (red lid general, yellow lid recycling, green lid organic; lockable for vermin control)

A full dishwasher buyer's guide for AU kitchens lives in our commercial dishwasher buying guide.

Storage & Shelving

Bulk storage is the unsung hero of margin protection — wasted dry stock = lost profit. Plan your shelving layout against the FIFO (first in, first out) workflow and ensure every container is dated and labelled. Vermin proofing matters as much as capacity: every storage container must be lidded, every shelf at least 200 mm off the floor, every dry-goods bin food-grade plastic with a tight-fitting lid.

• [ ] Stainless steel shelving (4-tier or 5-tier; food-safe coated wire or solid stainless)
• [ ] Ingredient bins (lidded, on castors, food-grade plastic)
• [ ] GN (gastronorm) pans (full set in 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/6, 1/9 sizes)
• [ ] Storage containers (food-grade plastic, lidded, date-label friendly)
• [ ] Trolleys (flat platform, shelf trolley, plate-carrying)
• [ ] Lockable cupboards (chemical storage, dry stock; separate)

Benches & Work Surfaces

Stainless steel benches are the canvas every other piece of kitchen equipment sits on. 304-grade stainless is the AU standard for food-contact surfaces — it resists rust, food acids and harsh sanitising chemicals. Plan bench heights at 850–900 mm for the typical adult chef; deeper benches (700 mm) give more workspace but eat floor area.

• [ ] Stainless steel prep benches (1.5 m to 2.4 m; under-shelf for storage)
• [ ] Splashback (stainless wall splash for behind the cooking line)
• [ ] Under-shelf (open or with sliding doors)
• [ ] Sink bench (single, double, or three-compartment built-in)
• [ ] Foldable / wall-mount bench (for tight back-of-house areas)
• [ ] Cutting boards on the bench (white food-grade plastic for everyday prep)

For sizing and configuration, see our commercial stainless steel benches guide.

Ventilation & Safety Equipment

Non-negotiable from day one — every line below is a council inspection item.

• [ ] Type 1 grease-laden vapour hood / range hood (sized to AS 1668.2 for the cooking line below)
• [ ] Make-up air system (introduces fresh air to replace what the hood extracts)
• [ ] Wet chemical fire suppression system (over the cooking line, AS 1851-serviced 6-monthly)
• [ ] Class F wet chemical fire extinguisher (within 1.5–2 m of every cooking appliance)
• [ ] Class E (CO₂) fire extinguisher (near electrical board)
• [ ] Fire blanket (mounted in a wall pouch beside the deep fryer)
• [ ] First aid kit (AS/NZS 4501.4)
• [ ] Non-slip rubber floor mats (cook line and dishwashing area)
• [ ] Calibrated probe thermometer (one per task, weekly calibration)
• [ ] Smoke alarm / heat detector (photoelectric type)
• [ ] Annual Fire Safety Statement / state equivalent (issued by AS 1851 certifier)

The complete fire safety framework, including AS 1851 servicing cadence and the 8-step emergency procedure, sits in our commercial kitchen fire safety guide.

Smallwares & Utensils

The "bits and pieces" line in every quote that always blows out 30–50%. Budget generously, source from a single supplier for consistency, and carry 25% spare on every breakable item (crockery, glassware, ramekins). Quality pots and knives pay back fast — a $200 carbon-steel chef's knife outlasts five $40 stamped knives in any busy kitchen.

• [ ] Pots and pans (stockpot, sauté pan, saucepan, frypan, wok; full range of sizes)
• [ ] Sheet pans and roasting trays (gastronorm-compatible aluminium and stainless)
• [ ] Mixing bowls (stainless steel, nesting set 1 L to 20 L)
• [ ] Tongs, spatulas, ladles, whisks, peelers (in a chef's tool roll per station)
• [ ] Measuring cups and jugs (metric, calibrated)
• [ ] Knife sharpener and honing steel (magnetic-mount knife rack)
• [ ] Strainers, colanders, sieves (range of sizes)
• [ ] Service utensils (slotted spoons, slotted spatulas, cake servers)

Front-of-House Equipment

The customer-facing equipment that does as much for revenue as the cook line. A great cafe lives and dies on its espresso machine; a busy restaurant relies on its POS for table-turn velocity. Specify each item against your concept — drink-led venues lean on the coffee machine and display fridge; full-service restaurants lean on the POS and EFTPOS integration.

• [ ] Commercial coffee machine + grinder (2-group for cafes, 3-group for high-volume venues)
• [ ] Display cabinet (cake, sandwich, deli; refrigerated or ambient)
• [ ] POS system (cloud-based tablet POS; Square, Lightspeed, Kounta)
• [ ] EFTPOS / card reader (integrated with POS or standalone)
• [ ] Menu boards (chalkboard, printed vinyl, or digital signage)
• [ ] Serving trays (insulated for hot, ventilated for cold)
• [ ] Crockery and glassware (full service set + 25% spare)
• [ ] Bar equipment (cocktail shaker, jiggers, ice scoops; for licensed venues)

How to Use This Checklist

Print this commercial kitchen equipment list and use it three times across the project: first as your supplier-brief at quote stage, second at fit-out commissioning, third as the day-1 hand-over to your kitchen team. Three practical principles:

Walk through the menu first, then the checklist. Every cuisine and venue tier requires a different cooking line — a smash-burger truck and a fine-dining restaurant share maybe 20% of this list. Highlight the items you actually need before pricing anything.

Get three quotes per major category — refrigeration, cooking line, dishwashing — and ask each supplier to itemise warranty, installation, commissioning and freight separately. Restaurant equipment costs vary wildly across Australian commercial kitchens; see our commercial kitchen setup cost guide for tier benchmarks across cafe, restaurant and large-scale kitchen operation builds.

Budget 15–25% contingency on top. Smallwares, three-phase upgrade, grease trap install, fire suppression commissioning and council fees are the lines that always exceed first estimates upfront. Build the buffer in from day one and the cash flow stays healthy through to first service.

Download Your Free Checklist PDF

A printable PDF version of this complete commercial kitchen equipment checklist is coming soon. In the meantime, you can copy the section above into a Google Doc or print this page directly — every checkbox will tick if you print on standard A4. The PDF version will include columns for supplier, model number, quoted price and commissioning date, so you can track the full procurement project from one page.

FAQ — Commercial Kitchen Equipment Checklist

What equipment is essential for a commercial kitchen in Australia?
Every commercial kitchen needs at minimum: cooking equipment (oven, cooktop, fryer); commercial refrigeration (upright fridge, under bench fridge, freezer); food preparation tools (prep benches, knives, GN pans); dishwashing (commercial dishwasher, three-compartment sink, dedicated handwash basin); safety (Class F + E extinguishers, fire blanket, AS 1851 fire suppression); and storage (shelving, ingredient bins). The full list spans nine categories — covered above.

How much does commercial kitchen equipment cost in Australia?
Equipment alone for a small cafe lands $30,000 – $50,000; for a medium restaurant $80,000 – $150,000; for a large hotel or production kitchen $200,000+. Fit-out and council fees add another 50–100% on top. See our commercial kitchen setup cost australia guide for tier-by-tier benchmarks.

Should I buy new or used commercial kitchen equipment?
Mixed approach: buy new for the anchor items (combi oven, walk-in cool room, fire suppression) where warranty and parts availability matter most; consider refurbished or ex-demo for stainless prep benches, basic refrigeration and benchtop cookware. 30 – 50% off new pricing is realistic for ex-demo stock from reputable Australian suppliers.

What Australian standards apply to commercial kitchen equipment?
The main ones: AS 1851 (fire protection servicing), AS 2444 (fire extinguisher selection), AS 1668.1/1668.2 (ventilation), AS 4674 (kitchen design and construction), AS/NZS 5601.1 (gas installation), AS/NZS 3000 (electrical), plus Food Standards Code Standard 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 (food safety practices and food premises and equipment).

Where can I buy a commercial kitchen equipment list in Australia?
The Commercial Kitchen Store stocks every category on this checklist — cooking, refrigeration, prep, dishwashing, storage, ventilation, smallwares — from major Australian and international brands with manufacturer warranty and nationwide delivery. Our team can also help spec a complete cooking line and refrigeration block against your menu and tier.

Final Word

A complete commercial kitchen equipment checklist saves time at quote stage, prevents the day-one "we forgot the handwash basin" panic, and gives your build a procurement document you can hand to the bank for the finance package. Print this, walk it with your fit-out builder, and use it as the supplier-brief baseline.

Browse our full range of commercial kitchen equipment or contact our team for a tailored quote for your cuisine, kitchen tier and council requirements.