Fire in your shop, workshop or office: next steps and funding

A fire at a single business — an electrical fault overnight, a kitchen fire, a lithium battery on charge, a break-in that ends in arson — is a crisis that doesn’t make the evening news. There’s no declared disaster, no recovery centre and no grant program. It’s you, your insurer, your landlord and your bank.

That makes the first decisions more important. Here’s a calm order to work through, matching the “Premises fire” option in our emergency action checklist.

What should you do in the first 24 hours after a fire?

Fire services and, if there’s an investigation, police or fire investigators control the site until they release it. Don’t go in until you’re told it’s safe — smoke damage, weakened ceilings and electrical hazards linger.

When you’re allowed back:

• Get the incident number from fire services or police. Your insurer will ask for it.
• Photograph and video every room, including areas that look fine. Soot and smoke odour travel through ducts and ceiling spaces.
• Notify your insurer and, if you lease, your landlord — in writing as well as by phone.
• Secure the premises. Board-up and security costs are usually claimable. Keep receipts.
• Talk to staff about pay and rosters for the next few days.
• Redirect phones and email so customers can still reach you.

What should the first week look like?

• Confirm the scope of your cover. Building (usually the landlord’s if you lease), contents and fit-out, stock, equipment, business interruption, and whether there’s cover for temporary relocation.
• Arrange specialist cleaning quotes. Smoke and soot remediation is its own trade.
• Make a list of customers with open orders and call the important ones before they hear it elsewhere.
• Phone the ATO before any due date you’ll miss. Ask about lodgement deferrals and payment plans; the ATO’s lodge-and-pay line is 13 11 42 and it says to call before the due date, not after.
• Map your cash for 13 weeks. Our shutdown cash runway tool shows how long your cash lasts at reduced trade.
• Look at temporary options — a short lease nearby, a shared kitchen, a co-working space, a hired container. See funding temporary premises.

Who should you call after a premises fire?

Contact	Why
000	Fire or immediate danger
Your insurer	Claim, assessor, approvals, business interruption
Landlord or property manager	Building damage, rent abatement under the lease, access
Electrician and restoration company	Make-safe, cleaning, repair quotes
Your accountant	Tax on payouts, deductibility of repairs
Your bank	Repayment pause or hardship options
Small Business Debt Helpline — 1800 413 828	Free, confidential financial counselling

How does the ATO treat fire repairs and payouts?

The ATO’s guidance on damaged business premises (written for natural disasters, but the principles of repairs versus improvements are general) says you can claim an immediate deduction for repairs to business premises, while improvements are capital expenses. If a job includes both and you can separate the costs, the repair part is deductible.

On payouts, the ATO says insurance for lost or damaged trading stock is assessable income. For depreciating assets such as equipment, a payout above the asset’s book value is assessable, and a shortfall can be deducted. Your accountant can work through the details — but knowing this early helps you avoid a surprise tax bill after the claim settles.

How do you fund reopening after a fire?

The timing problem is simple: tradespeople, suppliers and landlords want paying well before a fire claim settles, especially if there’s an investigation. And some things aren’t covered at all. If that’s where you are, see what funding fits your situation with a short enquiry — no credit check applies at that stage.

Need	Typical route
Rebuild fit-out before the claim pays	Property-secured loan over residential or commercial property, from $20,000 to $5,000,000
Temporary premises, hire equipment	Unsecured or cash-flow funding, typically $5,000 to $500,000, if you’re still trading
Replace machinery immediately	Equipment replacement finance
Excess, exclusions or underinsurance	See the underinsurance gap

Illustrative example only: a bakery has a fire in its oven room. The insurer accepts the claim but is waiting on a report before paying for the fit-out. The owner takes a short caveat loan over an investment property, rebuilds the oven room in five weeks and repays the loan when the claim settles.

What mistakes do owners make after a fire?

• Underestimating smoke damage. Soot in ducts and ceilings can ruin stock and equipment that looks fine.
• Starting repairs before the insurer agrees. Make-safe work is expected; permanent work should be approved.
• Not reading the lease. Many commercial leases have rent abatement clauses for damaged premises — check before paying full rent.
• Losing customers during the rebuild. Even a temporary kitchen or shared workshop keeps your name alive.
• Forgetting business interruption cover. If you have it, lodge that part of the claim early with sales records.

What records matter most?

• Fire service or police incident number
• Photos, video and your loss list
• Lease and both insurance policies (yours and the landlord’s)
• Quotes, invoices and receipts for make-safe, cleaning and repairs
• Bank statements and sales figures from before the fire
• Correspondence with the insurer, landlord and investigators

Ready to see if you qualify for recovery funding?

A single-site fire has no recovery centre and no grant program, which makes a clear funding plan more important.

Enquiring is free of credit checks; your file is only looked at once you’ve decided to apply. In a crisis you need fewer calls, not more, so your enquiry stays with one team. Someone who understands crisis recovery reads your enquiry and phones you personally.

Be exact about the figure, the reason, your state and any property in the picture; it saves you a second round of questions. Get the conversation started.