Finance options for health and allied health practices

Health practices are built on trust — your patients trust your skills, and over time the practice builds a steady, predictable income. That predictability is one of the best things you can bring to a funding conversation.

Where practices feel pressure is on the big one-off costs: a treatment room fit-out, imaging or dental equipment, a new location, or buying into a practice. This page helps GPs, dentists, physiotherapists, psychologists, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists and other allied health owners work out which funding fits which need.

How does money move through a health practice?

• Steady appointment income. Patients book, attend and pay, often through a mix of private fees, health funds and government schemes.
• Claims that lag. Income from insurers, workers’ compensation schemes and plan managers can arrive days or weeks after the appointment.
• High fit-out standards. Clinical rooms need plumbing, lighting, cabinetry and compliance items that cost more than a standard office.
• Expensive equipment. From treatment tables to imaging, clinical equipment is a significant investment.
• Practitioner arrangements. Contractor and service-fee structures affect how income shows up in the practice’s accounts.

Which option suits which practice need?

What you need	Tends to suit	Why
Clinical or diagnostic equipment	Loan matched to equipment life	Pays back over years of use
New rooms or a full fit-out	Property-secured or larger loan	Larger amount, long payback
Buying into a practice	Property-secured loan	Significant amount; history helps
Smoothing claim lag	Line of credit	Draw while claims are pending, repay when paid
Opening a second location	Property-secured or larger unsecured loan	Allow time for patient numbers to build
Clearing a tax bill	Case by case	Lodge on time regardless

If you’re planning new rooms, our fit-out and premises guide covers budgeting and timing.

What do lenders look at for a health practice?

• Bank statements showing consistent patient income.
• Practitioner structure. Whether practitioners are employees, contractors or service-fee arrangements.
• Lease details. Remaining term and options — clinics invest heavily in their premises.
• Lodgements. BAS and tax returns up to date.
• Quotes and agreements for equipment, fit-out or a practice purchase.
• Property, if you’re offering security for a larger amount.

Want to see what your practice could access? Start a quick enquiry — it takes about a minute and there’s no credit check at that first step.

Should you lease or buy clinical equipment?

It depends on how long the equipment stays useful, how quickly technology moves in your field and your tax position. business.gov.au’s guide to leasing or buying equipment sets out the trade-offs. A few coaching questions:

1. How long will you use it? Long-life equipment often suits buying with a loan.
2. Will it be outdated soon? Fast-changing technology can suit shorter commitments.
3. What does your accountant say? The $20,000 instant asset write-off applies to eligible assets for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million, and it can change the after-tax picture.
4. What else is on your books? Sometimes one facility covering equipment and fit-out is simpler than several.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only. A physiotherapist has run a two-room clinic for four years with steady bookings and a waiting list. She wants to lease the tenancy next door, fit out two more treatment rooms and a small gym, and bring on two contractors.

Her funding plan shows a property-secured loan as the strongest match because she owns her home with good equity and the fit-out is substantial. An unsecured option ranks second, sized on her clinic’s deposits. Her prep checklist includes the fit-out quote, the new lease, six months of statements and her last two tax returns.

What should a practice owner have ready?

• Photo ID and ABN (plus ACN if the practice is a company)
• Last six months of business bank statements
• BAS lodged and recent tax returns or financial statements
• Your lease and remaining term
• Quotes for fit-out or equipment, or the practice purchase agreement
• Property details if you’re offering security

Buying into a practice: what to think through

Many practitioners borrow for the first time when buying into an existing practice or a partnership. It’s a big step, and the questions go beyond finance:

• What exactly are you buying? Goodwill, equipment, patient records, the lease, or a share of a company or trust.
• How will the income be shared? Understand the service fee, profit share or distribution arrangements.
• Will patients stay? Transitions work best when the outgoing practitioner stays involved for a period.
• What’s in the agreement? Restraints, exit terms and what happens if things don’t work out.
• What does your accountant say? Structure affects tax and how funding is set up.

Lenders will usually want the sale or buy-in agreement, the practice’s recent financials and your own details. Because amounts are often significant, property security is common — but a practice with strong trading history can support part of the amount on its own track record.

Growing a practice without over-stretching

Adding rooms or practitioners is exciting, but fixed costs arrive before new patient income does. Stagger the investment where you can — fit out one room, fill it, then the next — so each step is funded by the one before.

Practice owners: let’s fund the next room, the next machine or the next step

You’ve built a practice patients rely on. We’ll help you find funding that fits the way it earns and the investment you’re planning — and we’ll be straight with you about what’s realistic.

It takes about a minute to enquire and there’s no credit check at that stage. We don’t distribute your details to a line-up of lenders; a real person reads your enquiry and calls you. Please answer accurately — especially your monthly deposits, what the funding is for and any property — so we can match you properly the first time.

Check your practice’s options →