It is the last week of June and the bottom drawer will not close. This year's supplier invoices are wedged on top of last year's, the labels fell off long ago, and nobody can find the key. Paper has not left the Australian office; it has just stopped being planned for. Choosing filing cabinets comes down to four decisions: how many drawers, vertical or lateral, steel or a desk-matching finish, and where the cabinet will stand.
This guide works through each one with seven products from the filing cabinets range and the specs on their product pages.
Filing cabinets with 2, 3 or 4 drawers
A vertical cabinet is the familiar shape: narrow across the front, deep from front to back. The three steel verticals here are 460mm to 470mm wide and 620mm deep, so adding drawers costs height, not floor.
The GO Vertical Filing Cabinets 2 Drawer ($312) stands 705mm high, close to typical desk height, so it sits beside a workstation without blocking a window. It has riveted construction, anti-tilt locking and master key locking, and comes fully assembled with a 10 year warranty.
At 1015mm, the Mercury 3 Drawer Filing Cabinet ($342) is just over a metre high: every drawer is an easy reach and the top works as a sorting surface. Each drawer is rated to 30kg and has a label holder, with a 3 year warranty.
The Steelco 4 Drawer Vertical Filing Cabinet ($429) is 1320mm high and gives twice the drawers of a 2 drawer cabinet on almost the same footprint. Its drawers are rated to 35kg each on double extension ball bearing runners, with a 10-year warranty. The trade-off is reach: the top drawer suits taller staff, and a cabinet this height belongs against a wall.
Vertical or lateral filing
A lateral cabinet turns the drawer sideways: wide across the front, shallow from front to back. That changes where it can stand. A drawer on full extension runners comes out almost as far as the cabinet is deep, so a 620mm deep vertical needs about that much clear floor again, plus room for the person filing.
The Steelco 2 Drawer Lateral Filing Cabinet (from $749) is 915mm wide, 463mm deep and 710mm high. It suits the wall behind a row of desks, or a walkway where an open vertical drawer would block the path. Its full height box drawers are made for suspension files and rated to 60kg each, with a barrel exchange or digital lock.
For a shared team wall, the Steelco 3 Drawer Lateral Filing Cabinet (from $982) keeps the same 915mm by 463mm footprint at 1015mm high. Both laterals have an anti-tilt mechanism and a 10-year warranty.
The trade-off is price and wall length. In this guide a lateral costs more than twice as much as a vertical with the same drawer count, and it needs nearly a metre of wall. Choose vertical when wall is scarce and floor depth is not; choose lateral for the reverse.
Steel or a desk-matching finish
Steel is the workhorse. Every steel cabinet above lists an anti-tilt mechanism, ball bearing runners and AFRDI testing or approval, and all but the Mercury state a 10 year warranty.
A two-tone cabinet is chosen to match the furniture around it, which matters in a reception area or a manager's office. The Logan Filing Cabinet (from $270) is the desk-matching option here. It comes in 2, 3 or 4 drawer heights in White/Ironstone or Beech/Ironstone, to sit with Logan desks, pedestals and bookcases.
The Logan has 25mm tops and sides, shock absorbent PVC edges, adjustable feet, double extension runners and a lock fitted as standard. At 476mm wide and 550mm deep it is 70mm shallower than the steel verticals, and the 2 drawer is 715mm high. Its page lists no drawer weight rating, so for heavy daily filing compare the rated steel cabinets first.
A pedestal with a file drawer, and A4 or foolscap files
Not every desk needs a cabinet. For one person's active files, a mobile pedestal with a file drawer does the job under the desk. The GO Steel Mobile Pedestal ($197) has two personal drawers and one file drawer that takes foolscap folders side to side. It is 610mm high with a fifth wheel, an anti-tilt mechanism, a 100kg weight rating and master keyed locking, and it is delivered assembled.
Settle file size before you buy. Foolscap suspension files are wider than A4 ones, so the two need different rail spacing. The pedestal page names foolscap, and the Steelco lateral pages say suspension files without naming a size. Listed specs for the vertical cabinets give outside dimensions only.
Our guide to choosing under-desk mobile pedestals goes further on sizes and drawer layouts, and the pedestals and drawer units range has fixed and mobile versions.
Here is how the seven compare.
| Product | Type | Width x depth x height | Drawer rating | Lock | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GO 2 Drawer | Steel vertical | 460 x 620 x 705mm | Not listed | Master key | $312 |
| Mercury 3 Drawer | Steel vertical | 470 x 620 x 1015mm | 30kg | Barrel exchange | $342 |
| Steelco 4 Drawer | Steel vertical | 470 x 620 x 1320mm | 35kg | Barrel exchange | $429 |
| Steelco 2 Drawer Lateral | Steel lateral | 915 x 463 x 710mm | 60kg | Barrel exchange or digital | from $749 |
| Steelco 3 Drawer Lateral | Steel lateral | 915 x 463 x 1015mm | 60kg | Barrel exchange or digital | from $982 |
| Logan, 2 to 4 drawers | Two-tone vertical | 476 x 550mm, from 715mm high | Not listed | Fitted as standard | from $270 |
| GO Steel Mobile Pedestal | Mobile pedestal | 460 x 472 x 610mm | 100kg weight rating | Master keyed | $197 |
How much paper to keep on site in an Australian office
Many Australian offices sort their files around 30 June, when one financial year closes and a new set of folders starts. How long to keep records is a legal question, not a furniture one. The furniture question is where each kind of paper lives.
- Active files, opened most weeks: a pedestal or 2 drawer cabinet at the desk.
- Reference files, opened now and then: a shared 3 or 4 drawer cabinet, or a lateral on a team wall.
- Archive, kept but rarely opened: boxed, labelled and out of the working office.
An office move is the other time to count drawers. Cull first, because every drawer you empty is one you do not have to shift or find wall for. Then mark each cabinet on the new floor plan with its drawer open.
The GO and Steelco cabinets arrive assembled, and deliveries go to the ground-floor entrance. Plan the lift and the hands: the Steelco 4 drawer weighs 49.35kg and the 3 drawer lateral 58.65kg.
Filing cabinets — frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a vertical and a lateral filing cabinet?
A vertical filing cabinet is narrow and deep, and a lateral filing cabinet is wide and shallow. In this guide the steel verticals are up to 470mm wide and 620mm deep, while the laterals are 915mm wide and 463mm deep.
Do filing cabinets fit under a desk?
Most filing cabinets do not fit under a desk. The 2 drawer cabinets in this guide are 705mm to 715mm high, about level with a desktop, so they stand beside it. A mobile pedestal is made for the space underneath: the GO Steel Mobile Pedestal is 610mm high.
How much space do you need in front of a filing cabinet?
Allow the depth of the cabinet again for the open drawer, plus about 600mm for the person using it. That is roughly 1.2 metres in front of a 620mm deep vertical and a little over a metre in front of a 463mm deep lateral.
How do you stop a filing cabinet from tipping over?
Open one drawer at a time and keep the heaviest files in the lowest drawers. Every steel product in this guide lists an anti-tilt mechanism. Most of these product pages also carry a safety notice for home use: anchor the cabinet to the wall.
Shop the range
Browse the full filing cabinets collection for more drawer counts and colours, or the wider office storage range for cupboards and bookcases.
- GO Vertical Filing Cabinets 2 Drawer ($312): a desk-height steel cabinet for one person's active files, delivered assembled
- Mercury 3 Drawer Filing Cabinet ($342): a 1015mm high steel cabinet with 30kg drawers for a small team
- Steelco 4 Drawer Vertical Filing Cabinet ($429): the most filing on the smallest footprint, with 35kg drawers
- Steelco 2 Drawer Lateral Filing Cabinet (from $749): a shallow, desk-height cabinet for walkways and walls behind desks
- Steelco 3 Drawer Lateral Filing Cabinet (from $982): shared team filing in three 60kg drawers along one wall
- Logan Filing Cabinet (from $270): a two-tone cabinet in three heights to match Logan desks
- GO Steel Mobile Pedestal ($197): under-desk storage with one foolscap file drawer and two personal drawers
Metro delivery is a flat $75 per order, and prices include GST.
