Office Relocation IT Checklist: Internet, Backups and Data for a Small Office Move

This is the IT companion to our office move checklist for Hills District businesses, which covers who to tell and what to lift. Here, Castle Hill Removals walks through the part that decides whether your team can work on its first morning in the new place.

How early should you call your internet provider?

Oct Nov Dec Jan

1. This week Call, to move in before 17 December
2. Late Oct to late Nov Call, to move after 27 January 2027 Our estimate
3. 17 Dec 2026 School year ends
4. 27 Jan 2027 Summer holidays end

nbn's own advice for relocating businesses is that starting plans two to three months in advance can help prevent downtime, and that you should talk to your service provider early. "Help" is the honest word. Nobody can promise a connection on a given day, which is exactly why the conversation comes first.

Two things make that lead time matter. First, check which nbn technology is available at the new address before you commit to it. A lease signed on the assumption of a particular connection is a poor surprise in week one.

Second, if the business runs on a dedicated fibre service, ask now. nbn says Enterprise Ethernet is custom-built on request and "can take time to set up". Build costs may apply depending on location. nbn is a wholesaler and says to ask your provider about availability and any fees and charges. Get the provider's figure for your address.

Here is our own working on timing. If you want to be in before the school year ends on 17 December, you are already inside the two-to-three-month window, so the call belongs this week. If you would rather move after the summer holidays end on 27 January 2027, counting back two to three months puts the provider call between late October and late November. That estimate is ours, from the nbn lead time and the calendar.

Ask your provider whether the old and new services can overlap for a few days. A planned cutover beats finding out on day one that the team is offline.

What stays behind at the old address?

The nbn connection box, its power adaptor and its cables stay at the old premises because they are linked to that address, and if one ends up packed by accident it can go back free through Australia Post.

Put a note on the box before packing starts, so it doesn't get wrapped up with the router by habit.

If you are changing the new space, say taking out a wall, nbn may be able to help move its equipment there, or your provider may say a registered cabler is needed. Raise it before the fit-out starts, not after the plasterer leaves.

What should you back up before anything is unplugged?

The Australian Cyber Security Centre's small business handbook names three starting measures: turn on multi-factor authentication, keep software updated, and back up regularly. A move is the week to prove the third one works.

Restore one real folder to a spare machine before the move, not after.

The ACSC says a backup plan should answer six questions: what is backed up, when, where it is stored, who manages it, how long it is kept, and how often it is tested. Then go past the server. The ACSC says to think about every place important information lives, such as email and cloud accounts, and check each one is in the plan.

The handbook's last word on backups is the one people skip: test that you can restore it. Restore one real folder to a spare machine before the move, not after.

Why bother when the gear is only going across the Hills? Because the ACSC says backups guard against physical events like fires or floods as well as ransomware, and a server in transit is a physical risk too. The ATO says to keep a good backup procedure with external off-site storage, which may include cloud storage, and warns that reconstructing records can be "time consuming and costly". So keep one copy away from both offices on move day.

The tax rules add weight. Most business records must be kept for 5 years. If the move doubles as a change of system, such as retiring the office server for a cloud service, the ATO says you must be able to reconstruct your original data if your record-keeping system changes. If records sit behind passwords or encryption, you must be able to give access information when asked. Write down where those keys live before the old office is emptied.

What goes on the truck, and what travels with you?

1. Stays on the wall The nbn box
2. Travels with you Laptops and backup drives In the car or a bag, never in a carton with the stationery
3. Goes on the truck Desktop PCs, monitors, the server, the NAS, the router Packed last, on near the doors, off first

Think in three piles. The nbn box stays on the wall. Laptops and backup drives travel with you, in the car or a bag, never in a carton with the stationery. Everything else (desktop PCs, monitors, the server, the NAS, the router) goes on the truck.

Before anything comes out of the wall, photograph the back of every rack, desk and cabinet. Those photos are your rewiring map at the other end. Label and list each device, so the person plugging it in knows which box holds the router and which holds the spare keyboard.

Pack the IT gear last and unpack it first. Tell your removalist, whether that is Castle Hill Removals or anyone else, which cartons hold it, so they can go on near the doors and come off first. Our office move checklist covers the rest of the load.

Two security points apply while the gear is out of its usual home. The ACSC says servers and network-attached storage are common targets, so update them and protect administrator accounts with strong passwords and MFA before the move. It also says to keep devices locked and physically secure, with a password or biometric and an automatic lock after a short period of inactivity. Moving week is when a laptop gets left on a car roof.

Does a lost laptop count as a data breach?

A device with personal information is lost or stolen

Is the business covered by the Privacy Act?

Not covered

Most small businesses: annual turnover of $3 million or less

The OAIC still recommends protecting personal information as best practice

Covered

Organisations covered by the Act

Covered regardless of turnover: some small businesses, such as health service providers and businesses trading in personal information

Notify affected individuals and the OAIC when the breach is likely to cause serious harm

Either way: full-disk encryption on laptops, servers and phones that store or access personal data

It can. The OAIC says a data breach includes personal information being lost, and its own example is a device with a customer's personal information is lost or stolen. Organisations covered by the Privacy Act must notify affected individuals and the OAIC when a breach is likely to cause serious harm.

Most small businesses are not covered by the Privacy Act, where a small business is one with an annual turnover of $3 million or less, but some are covered regardless of turnover, such as health service providers and businesses trading in personal information. Even outside the Act, the OAIC still recommends protecting personal information as best practice.

Either way, the protection is the same. The ACSC recommends full-disk encryption on laptops, servers and phones that store or access personal data. It also says to keep a register of what personal data you hold and where, and to delete what you no longer need. A move is a good time to do both, because fewer files means less to lose.

If something does go wrong, the ACSC says any cyber incident can be reported through ReportCyber or on 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371).

What needs setting up fresh at the new office?

A new office means a new router set-up, and the ACSC's list is short. Change default passwords, use strong encryption, keep firmware updated and enable guest Wi-Fi for visitors. The visitor network keeps clients and contractors off the network your files live on.

Next, look outward. The ACSC says to review internet-facing services such as Remote Desktop, file sharing and remote administration tools, and to limit access or secure or disable what isn't needed. A move often leaves a remote-access setting that existed for one reason at the old office.

Then the people side. Review third-party providers' access to your systems and remove it when it is no longer needed, including the old building's IT contractor. Update your incident response plan too: the ACSC says to update contact details and systems as the business goes through changes.

Finally, the machines that don't make the trip. The ACSC says to remove all information from business devices before selling, trading or throwing them away, for example by factory reset, and to consider a data destruction service or an IT professional for very sensitive data.

What to ask your IT provider and your removalist

Ask	The question
Your IT or internet provider	Which nbn technology is at the new address?
	Is Enterprise Ethernet available, and what build costs apply?
	Can the old and new services overlap?
	When was a restore last tested?
	Who still has access to our systems?
Your removalist	How do you want IT cartons labelled?
	Can that gear go on last and come off first?
	What cover applies to electronics in transit?
	What do you need to know about the server or NAS before the day?

Most of this plan comes down to asking the right person the right question early. For your IT or internet provider: which nbn technology is at the new address, whether Enterprise Ethernet is available and what build costs apply, whether the services can overlap, when a restore was last tested, and who still has access to your systems.

For your removalist: how they want IT cartons labelled, whether that gear can go on last and come off first, what cover applies to electronics in transit, and what they need to know about the server or NAS before the day. Write the answers down. They become the move-day run sheet.

The move in three numbers

1. 2 to 3 months nbn's suggested lead time
2. 5 years how long most business records must be kept
3. $3 million or less annual turnover that generally puts a small business outside the Privacy Act, exceptions aside

Three figures carry the plan. Two to three months is nbn's suggested lead time. 5 years is how long most business records must be kept. $3 million or less in annual turnover generally puts a small business outside the Privacy Act, exceptions aside.

Your next step

Make the provider call first, because it has the longest lead time. Run and test the backup next. Once those two are moving, book the physical side: tell Castle Hill Removals your dates, your new address and which items are IT gear, and request a removalist quote. If you want a sense of how we work across the Hills, our services page sets it out.