All-Electric From 2027: What Victoria’s New Rules Mean for Commercial Kitchen Design

From 1 January 2027, most new commercial buildings in Victoria must be built all-electric, and the Victorian Government has confirmed that includes commercial kitchens. For venues now in design, the decision is no longer gas or induction; it is how to plan the power, ventilation and menu around electric cooking.

For most of the history of Australian restaurants, gas has been the default fuel of the commercial kitchen. In Victoria, that default ends for most new buildings in January 2027. Commercial kitchen electrification is now a design requirement rather than a sustainability choice for many new Victorian venues, and the decisions it affects, from electrical supply to extraction and equipment budgets, are made long before opening day. This article applies to Victoria only; other states have not adopted the same rule.

What the rules say

In its June 2025 announcement on Victoria’s gas supply and electrification rules, the Victorian Government stated that “from January 1, 2027, all new commercial buildings (other than industrial, manufacturing and agricultural buildings) will also be required to be built all electric”. The same release states that exemptions apply, “including if installation costs are too high or if there is not enough space”, that there are no changes to end-of-life replacement rules for gas appliances in existing commercial buildings, and that “the use of LPG for households or business is also unchanged”.

Energy Victoria’s guidance on all-electric requirements for new buildings makes the hospitality point explicit: “From 1 January 2027, all new homes and most new commercial buildings, including commercial kitchens and full knock-down rebuilds, must be built all-electric”, and “these requirements do not apply to industrial or agricultural buildings”. Planning Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap summary adds that “existing commercial buildings are not required to electrify”. The rules are set out in the Building and Plumbing Amendment Regulations 2025.

What is still unclear for your project

Three questions matter most for venues in the pipeline. The first is whether a project counts as new: a fit-out in an existing commercial building is treated differently from a kitchen in a new building, and the line for major redevelopments should be confirmed with your building surveyor. The second is timing: Energy Victoria states that the requirements apply only to building permits issued on or after 1 January 2027, and that a building may still be connected to gas if its permit is issued before that date or a relevant building surveyor certifies in writing that substantial progress was made on the design before it. Where your project sits is a question for the surveyor. The third is fuel: the rules concern reticulated natural gas, and the government has said LPG use is unchanged, but bottled gas brings its own storage, safety and supply considerations.

There is also a political caveat. In its 17 October 2026 report on the opposition’s proposed gas-policy changes, PerthNow said Victoria’s opposition has vowed to scrap the gas appliance ban within 100 days of winning the upcoming state election, with Opposition Leader Jess Wilson saying that “Victorians should decide how they cook their meals, heat their homes and run their businesses”. The report does not specify which elements would change. Projects should be designed to the regulations as they stand, while keeping track of any change after the election.

The cooking equipment is the visible change. The real design work sits behind the wall: in the switchboard, the supply capacity and the extraction.

Power is the first constraint

An all-electric kitchen moves the whole cooking load onto the electrical supply. Induction ranges, combi ovens, fryers, salamanders, dishwashers, hot water and refrigeration can all peak at the same time during service. The available supply to the site, the size of the main switchboard and any upgrade required from the network operator need to be established before equipment is selected, because a supply upgrade can carry long lead times and significant cost.

Equipment, ventilation and the menu

Electric equipment changes more than the energy bill. Induction puts heat into the pan rather than the room, which can affect extraction design and kitchen comfort, but it also requires compatible cookware and new technique from cooks trained on gas. Some menus depend on open flame for charring, wok cooking or grilling, and those dishes need either an electric alternative, a solid-fuel solution where the site and approvals allow it, or a menu rethink. Combi ovens and other programmable equipment, which we discussed in Combi Ovens, Robotics and IoT, are already electric and become more central to the line.

Six decisions to make now

1. Confirm the rule applies. Ask your building surveyor whether the project is a new building, how any existing building elements are treated and what transitional arrangements apply.

2. Establish electrical capacity early. Commission a load assessment and ask the network operator about supply upgrades before the kitchen layout is fixed.

3. Design the menu with the equipment. Identify dishes that rely on flame and decide how each will be cooked, replaced or reworked.

4. Specify for peak demand. Choose equipment with load management and staged heating where possible, so the kitchen does not draw maximum power all at once.

5. Revisit extraction and comfort. Size ventilation for the actual electric equipment schedule rather than a gas-era rule of thumb.

6. Budget for training and cookware. Allow time and money for induction-compatible pans and for cooks to learn the new line before opening.

New Victorian venues now face a design brief that starts with the switchboard rather than the burner, and getting it wrong is expensive to fix after construction. At Alto Cibum, commercial kitchen and bar design brings menu, equipment, power and workflow together from the concept stage, which is where the costly mistakes covered in The Biggest Mistakes New Hospitality Venues Make Before Opening are most easily avoided. This article is general information; confirm how the regulations apply to your project with your building surveyor and engineers.

Robert Clifford, Managing Director, Alto Cibum