Short answer. Australia has no national minimum bedroom size. The National Construction Code (NCC) sets ceiling heights, at least 2.4 m in bedrooms and living rooms and 2.1 m in kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and hallways, but no floor area. New apartments are the exception. In NSW, the Apartment Design Guide asks for a main bedroom of at least 10 m² and other bedrooms of 9 m², each at least 3 m wide, not counting the wardrobe. Victoria's apartment standards ask for 3 × 3.4 m and 3 × 3 m, plus room for a wardrobe. The NSW guide's minimum apartment sizes are 35 m² for a studio, 50 m² with one bedroom, 70 m² with two and 90 m² with three. We found no official survey of the average Australian bedroom, so measure yours.
Will a queen bed fit your bedroom?
A 3 × 3 m bedroom, the smallest second bedroom a new apartment may have in NSW or Victoria, takes a queen with 73.5 cm on each side and 97 cm at the foot. A king leaves 58.5 cm on each side, just under 60 cm. The robe needs space on top. Pick your bed and type your room's size to check yours.
| Bed | Size in cm | Also called | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 92 × 188 | S | Kids' rooms; 188 cm long |
| Long Single | 92 × 203 | Single Extra Long, SXL | A single, 15 cm longer |
| King Single | 107 × 203 | Jumbo Single, KS | 15 cm wider than a single, and 203 cm long |
| Double | 138 × 188 | D | Only 188 cm long, like a single |
| Queen | 153 × 203 | Q | The most popular size for couples |
| King | 183 × 203 | K | IKEA's King is 180 × 200 |
| Super King | 203 × 203 | No short label at Amart | Some lists give 204 × 204 |
These are mattress sizes; the frame and bedhead add more. Every size and the room each bed needs: bed sizes Australia.
Room sizes in Australia
We found no official survey of typical Australian room sizes: the ABS figures count bedrooms, not their size. So this table gives the smallest size the rules allow, and the rule's name.
| Room | Smallest allowed (m², W × L) | Rule | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main bedroom | Apartments: 10 m² and at least 3 m wide, such as 3 × 3.33 m (NSW); 3 × 3.4 m, 10.2 m² (Victoria). Houses: none | NSW Apartment Design Guide 4D-3; Victoria Planning Provisions Clause 58.07-1, Standard D26 | The robe comes on top in both states. NSW guidance: a main bedroom robe at least 1.8 m long, 0.6 m deep and 2.1 m high |
| Other bedrooms | Apartments: 9 m² and at least 3 m wide, so 3 × 3 m (NSW); 3 × 3 m (Victoria). Houses: none | Same as above | NSW guidance: every bedroom has room for a robe at least 1.5 m long |
| Living room | Apartments, NSW: 3.6 m wide for a studio or one bedroom, 4 m for two or three bedrooms. Victoria: 3.3 m wide and 10 m² for a studio or one bedroom, 3.6 m and 12 m² for two or more | NSW Apartment Design Guide 4D-3; Victoria Standard D26 | NSW measures the living or living/dining room; Victoria leaves out the dining area and kitchen |
| Kitchen | No floor area set | NCC: ceiling at least 2.1 m | Open plan, NSW: no part more than 8 m from a window. Victoria: up to 9 m deep if the kitchen is furthest from the window and the ceiling is at least 2.7 m |
| Bathroom and laundry | No floor area set | NCC: ceiling at least 2.1 m | The NSW minimum apartment sizes include one bathroom; each extra bathroom adds 5 m² |
| Hallway | No width set in these rules | NCC: ceiling at least 2.1 m | A queen or king mattress has to turn through it: check the door widths too |
| Ceiling height | 2.4 m in bedrooms and living rooms; 2.7 m in NSW apartment buildings | NCC Housing Provisions 10.3.1 (houses) and Volume One F5D2 (apartments); NSW Apartment Design Guide 4C-1 | 2.1 m in kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and corridors; NSW apartments 2.4 m in rooms that are not habitable. A sloping ceiling needs 2.4 m over at least two thirds of the floor |
| Apartment by bedrooms | Studio 35 m², one bedroom 50 m², two bedrooms 70 m², three bedrooms 90 m² | NSW Apartment Design Guide 4D-1 | Each bedroom after the third adds 12 m² |
| House | No minimum | NCC: heights, not areas | The average new house finished in 2020/21 was about 229 m², about 24.7 squares (CommSec, from ABS data) |
The NSW figures are design criteria for new apartment buildings. A design that falls short has to show the space still works, with furniture drawn at its real scale. Victoria's Clause 58 covers apartment buildings of seven storeys or more in residential zones, and apartments in commercial and other listed zones. We did not check the other states' and territories' rules; the NCC heights apply everywhere.
How floor area is measured in Australia
- Squares. Some builders still give a house size in squares as well as m². One square is 100 sq ft, about 9.29 m², so a 229 m² house is about 24.7 squares.
- What a square count includes. On one builder's plan we read for a new four-bedroom house in NSW, the 141.35 m² "gross area" adds the ground floor, garage, alfresco and porch together, and is given as 15.2 squares. Ask for the living area on its own.
- Strata plans. In NSW, the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 puts a lot's boundary at the inner surface of the walls, and at the top of the floor and the underside of the ceiling, unless the plan notes otherwise. So a lot's floor is measured inside its walls.
- Apartment rules measure the room you can use. The NSW and Victorian bedroom minimums leave out the wardrobe. NSW apartment sizes are internal areas.
- Ceilings. The NSW guide measures from finished floor to finished ceiling. Under the NCC's sloping-ceiling rule, any part lower than 1.5 m is not counted as floor area.
Common mistakes
- Taking 6.5 m² as the law. Some websites give 6.5 m² as Australia's minimum bedroom size. We found no Australian rule with that number; it matches the 70 sq ft quoted from US building codes. The NCC sets no floor area for a bedroom.
- Comparing squares with square metres. 25 squares is about 232 m², and the count may include the garage and the alfresco.
- Counting the robe as bedroom. If a built-in robe takes part of a 3 × 3 m room, that room is under the NSW and Victorian minimums for a new apartment.
- Expecting a rental to meet a size rule. Tenants Victoria told the ABC that the Residential Tenancies Act sets no minimum room size.
- Assuming the ceiling height. 2.4 m is the NCC minimum in a bedroom; new NSW apartments need 2.7 m. Measure before you buy a tall wardrobe.
See your rooms at true size
In Flatwalk you draw or photograph your home's floor plan and walk through it in 3D. Furniture from real shops stands at its true size, so you can see whether a queen and a robe both fit a 3 × 3 m room, and the tape measure reads any gap in centimetres.
What it does not do: Flatwalk does not check your plan against the NCC or your state's apartment rules, and your plan is only as true as the numbers you gave it. Measure the real room with a tape measure.
Also for Australia: bed sizes and door widths.
What Flatwalk does that older planners skip
Lights
Add ceiling lights, lamps and LED strips and see each room in the evening, not only by day.
Your home in its city
Give the address and the street and buildings around you appear in 3D where the map has them.
Sun for your address
See where the sun falls by date and hour, before a new piece sits in it all summer.
One piece, in your own room
Through the live camera or in a photo of the room, stand it on your own floor at its true size before you buy.
Detail
Doors, windows, kitchens, wardrobes and bathrooms built piece by piece, so new furniture meets what is really there.
Made for a thumb
Tap a piece and its choices appear: move it, turn it, replace it with another.
Swipe for more. Every picture is the app itself.
One home, free
Most people plan one home. For that, Flatwalk costs nothing: no trial clock and no card. Drawing your home, furniture at its true size, the tape measure, lights, sun and walking are all part of it, and each AI tool gives one free try. A membership is for people who want more homes or more AI.
Questions people ask
What is the minimum bedroom size in Australia? There is no national minimum: the NCC sets ceiling heights, not floor areas. New apartments in NSW need a main bedroom of 10 m² and other bedrooms of 9 m², each at least 3 m wide; in Victoria, 3 × 3.4 m and 3 × 3 m. The wardrobe comes on top.
What is the average bedroom size in Australia? We found no official survey of it; the ABS figures count bedrooms, not their size. As a yardstick, a second bedroom in a new NSW or Victorian apartment must be at least 9 m², such as 3 × 3 m.
What is the standard ceiling height in Australia? The NCC minimum is 2.4 m in bedrooms and living rooms, and 2.1 m in kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and hallways. New NSW apartment buildings need 2.7 m in habitable rooms.
What is the minimum apartment size in NSW? Under the Apartment Design Guide, 35 m² for a studio, 50 m² for one bedroom, 70 m² for two and 90 m² for three. Each extra bathroom adds 5 m², and each bedroom after the third adds 12 m².
What size bedroom do you need for a queen bed? For the bed and walkways alone, about 2.73 × 2.53 m with 60 cm on each side and 50 cm at the foot. A 3 × 3 m room fits a queen with 73.5 cm on each side; the robe needs space on top.
Flatwalk lets you place real furniture at its true size in a 3D plan of your own home, free for one home. It is coming soon to Google Play; join the waiting list at flatwalk.app.
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