Often, yes, if the room has suitable drainage, ventilation and space, but it's more than a fit-out. A shower area has stricter waterproofing requirements than a laundry, and the home still needs laundry facilities somewhere else. Whether a building permit is needed depends on the work; a building surveyor can confirm.
Homeowners often look to convert a laundry to a bathroom or toilet because laundries already have water and drainage. The question is whether they have enough of both, in the right places, and what happens to the washing.
A conversion affects two rooms, so it's worth involving laundry renovation specialists in Geelong early to plan where the laundry will go.
What the room needs to become a bathroom
A bathroom needs drainage suited to a toilet and shower, hot and cold water where the fixtures will go, adequate ventilation, and enough space for the fixtures and circulation.
- Drainage: a toilet and shower need different drainage from a trough and washing machine
- Water supply: hot and cold water to each new fixture
- Ventilation: a window or mechanical exhaust suited to a bathroom
- Space: room for the fixtures you want, plus clearances to use them
- Floor: its type and condition, because the wet-area treatment will change
Why adding a shower changes the waterproofing
A laundry floor must be water resistant as a minimum, but a shower area must be waterproof. The shower floor must be waterproof, and the shower walls must be waterproof to at least 1,800 mm above the floor substrate.
These requirements come from Part 10.2 of the ABCB Housing Provisions (ABCB), which applies under NCC 2025 in Victoria from 1 May 2026 (HIA). A laundry floor only needs to be water resistant as a minimum, so the step up is significant.
Where the laundry goes afterwards
A house must have at least one washtub, with space in the same room for a washing machine (BCA requirement, as summarised by the SA Government). If the laundry becomes a bathroom, those facilities have to be provided somewhere else.
A kitchen sink or bathroom basin doesn't count as the laundry washtub (ABCB). Common options are a laundry cupboard elsewhere in the home, or keeping the laundry within the new bathroom as a shared bathroom and laundry. How the requirement applies to your alteration is a question for a building surveyor.
Permits and who signs off
Whether a laundry to bathroom conversion needs a building permit depends on the scope, so ask a building surveyor early. Several Victorian rules apply regardless.
- Domestic building work valued over $10,000 needs a registered builder (Building and Plumbing Commission).
- Plumbing needs a licensed plumber, with a compliance certificate for work valued at $750 or more (BPC).
- Electrical work needs a licensed electrician.
Questions to answer before committing
- Can a toilet and shower drain from this room, and where would the waste run?
- Is there space for the fixtures you want, with comfortable clearances?
- How will the room be ventilated?
- Where will the washtub and washing machine go?
- Does the work need a building permit?
If the answers point to yes, both parts of the job, the new bathroom and the relocated laundry, need planning together. Our laundry renovations in Geelong cover the laundry side, and our bathroom renovations cover the bathroom itself.
Related guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I convert my laundry room to a bathroom in Australia?
Often, yes, if drainage, ventilation and space allow. A shower area must be waterproof, and the home still needs a washtub and washing machine space elsewhere.
How do you convert a laundry room into a bathroom?
Confirm drainage, ventilation and space; check permit needs with a building surveyor; plan where the laundry goes; then waterproof the shower area to bathroom requirements before tiling and fit-out.
Is it easy to convert a laundry room to a bathroom?
It's more involved than it looks, because the drainage, waterproofing and ventilation step up to bathroom requirements and the laundry has to be rebuilt somewhere else.
How much does it cost to convert a laundry room to a bathroom?
There isn't a reliable published figure for this conversion, because it combines a new bathroom with a relocated laundry. It needs to be priced from the specific room.
Thinking of turning your laundry into a bathroom?
We'll look at drainage, ventilation and where the laundry could go, and plan both rooms together.
Discuss your conversionSources
- ABCB Housing Provisions, Part 10.2 Wet area waterproofing
- Australian Building Codes Board: can a sink replace a laundry tub?
- SA Government advisory notice: laundry facilities in residential buildings (cites the BCA)
- Building and Plumbing Commission: engaging a builder
- Building and Plumbing Commission: plumbing insurance and compliance certificates
- HIA: NCC 2025 adopted in Victoria from 1 May 2026
General information, not advice for a specific property. Requirements depend on the building, the work and the current NCC edition.