Setting up a new medical practice: A step-by-step guide
Are you a medical professional thinking about setting up your own practice?
Whether your dream is to build something from scratch or purchase an existing business, the process can be every bit as daunting as it is exciting, especially as you enter the complex world of planning a compliant medical fitout in Sydney.
Medical practices are held to high Australian regulatory standards, shaping every decision you’ll make while setting up your new medical practice.
As experienced healthcare fitout specialists, we’ve helped to support over 100 successful practice fitouts at every stage of their setup – all the way from concept to completion.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the end-to-end process of setting up a medical practice in Australia, from the pros and cons of ownership to planning for compliance and accessibility, and why design is vital to your long-term success.
Why set up your own medical practice?
With over 7,000 accredited general medical clinics across Australia, and approximately 50% of dentists owning their own dental practices, a significant portion of the nation’s healthcare professionals choose to pursue practice ownership.
The services a practice can provide (from dental to physiotherapy, dermatology to women’s health) are as varied as the reasons someone may have for wanting to become a practice owner.
However, while owning a practice can come with significant reward, there are also some potential pitfalls you must weigh before deciding on your best path forward.
- Full control to build a service that reflects your values
- The ability to design a schedule that suits your lifestyle
- Power to regulate the number of patients seen in a day
- Potential for increased financial rewards as an owner than as an employee
- Significant set-up investment with no guaranteed return
- Full managerial responsibility and the increased administrative duties that come with it
- Likelihood for larger workloads and longer hours in the beginning
Setting up a new medical practice checklist
You don’t need to be a doctor to own a practice in Australia, but any non-clinician owners will need to establish clear government arrangements for internal clinical decision making, as only registered healthcare practitioners are able to provide medical treatment.
Either way, the decision to own your own practice, whether you want to buy an established one or start your business from scratch, should only be made after careful consideration.
The cost of setting up a medical practice in Australia is a significant financial investment, ranging anywhere from $150,000 to over $1,000,000. Additionally, there are a number of state, territory, and industry-specific regulations you must follow before you can open the doors to your patients.
The success of your new business is your responsibility, and while there are a series of recommended steps for how to set up a medical practice, you should always adjust your process to suit the unique goals and values of your healthcare service.
Plan your business
While your practice is grounded in healthcare, it is still a business, and you’ll need a comprehensive business plan at least 12–24 months before opening.
You can approach this several ways, but as a general rule, your plan should answer a few key points to ensure the short- and long-term success of your new medical practice.
Structure – do you want to take over an existing practice, or do you want to buy and start your own? Will you be operating as a sole trader, in a partnership, a company, or trust?
Goals – what do you want to achieve in your first month, first 6 months, and in 5 years?
Location – where do you want to set up your practice, and do you want to be near other health providers or facilities?
Audience – do you have a target demographic or patient base?
Speciality – will you be setting up a general practice, private practice, dental practice, or specialised medical practice?
Premises – are you intending to own or rent your practice’s premises?
Budget – have you calculated both your initial and ongoing expenses, accounting for staff, rent or mortgage repayments, practice fitout, staff salaries, and insurance costs?
Financing – have you secured funding for your practice, such as bank loans, self-funding, or private investment?
Liabilities – if you’re purchasing an existing practice, have you identified and valued its assets, responsibilities, and financial obligations?
Register your new medical practice
All medical and dental practices in Australia must be registered according to your chosen operational structure, following a similar process across the healthcare board:
Register your business/trading name with the ASIC (if the business is not in your personal name)
Obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN) from the ATO, or an ACN (if you set up a company through ASIC)
Register for Goods and Services Tax (if your anticipated GST turnover is likely to exceed $75,000)
However, as a significant number of medical services are GST-free, it’s recommended that you seek professional advice when navigating tax and registration.
Obtain insurance
Insurance is necessary for all medical practices in Australia, and it is highly recommended that you seek a tailored insurance plan to suit the unique structure and needs of your practice.
At a minimum, you’ll need to be covered for accident, medical indemnity, and protection, but you should also explore insurance coverage for:
Medical malpractice to protect you from any future liability claims
Property and contents to cover the assets and equipment in your practice
Workers’ compensation to protect any staff members employed at your clinic
Cybersecurity to ensure you’re protected against potential data breaches or interruptions
Establish management and software
In order to run a successful medical or dental practice for years to come, you need to future-proof your technology. This includes everything from your software to specialised equipment, and you can save yourself a significant IT headache in 5–10 years time by getting on top of your tech from the start.
You can do this by:
Choosing a reliable clinical information system (CIS) for your practice to manage billing, scheduling, telehealth, and Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Ensuring all software and data encryption adhere to Australian privacy, data security, and compliance laws, supporting comprehensive data protection and risk management
Streamlining and integrating patient records with essential Medicare and My Health Record services
If you’re setting up a new general practice, you should consider getting RACGP Standards accreditation. It isn’t a mandatory requirement in every case, but it can go a long way towards supporting the operations, quality of care, and reputation of your practice within your local community.
Design your practice layout
Whether you’re designing a new dental clinic or medical practice, there are a few things you will need to consider when designing your space for fitout:
Overall layout and flow
Furniture and facilities
Equipment (clinical and non-clinical)
Lighting, climate control, and ventilation
Emergency exits
Waste management and sustainability
Purchasing an existing medical or dental practice can mean that you’ll only need to refresh the premises, updating its design and equipment to meet your freshly implemented standards.
If you’re buying and setting up a brand new space, you have the opportunity to design and create something truly bespoke.
However, it’s crucial to note that any construction or renovation project must meet key healthcare fitout compliance criteria before you can open the doors to your new practice.
To help minimise the risk of failed inspections, additional work costs, or denied accreditations when designing a medical or dental fitout in Sydney, you must consider:
Local government planning regulations
Development Application (DA) or Complying Development Certificate (CDC) statutory approvals
National Construction Code (NCC) and Building Code of Australia (BCA) standards
Disability and DDA compliance in healthcare fitouts
State health regulations
Industry-specific standards
Accessibility and OH&S requirements
A professional fitout service can help you navigate the complex world of local government planning regulations and optimal layout guidelines, all the way from design and approvals to fitout and handover.
Book a consultation with a healthcare fitout specialist like Akord Projects today and start your journey towards a space that’s not only functional and visually appealing, but fully compliant from the very start.
Onboard staff
From specialist GPs or dental professionals to administrative staff, registrars, and practice nurses, every member of your team is fundamental to your practice's long-term success.
While the process of hiring and onboarding employees is primarily the same for both medical and dental clinics, the core staff required for opening will differ depending on the type of practice you’re setting up:
- General practitioners
- Practice nurses
- Medical assistants
- Practice manager
- Medical receptionists & administrators
- Dentists & dental specialists
- Dental hygienists & oral health therapists
- Dental assistants
- Practice manager
- Dental receptionists & administrators
When hiring and training staff for your new practice, it’s recommended that you:
Identify the necessary roles to achieve optimal patient care according to your practice goals
Verify appropriate qualifications and compliance according to standards set by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), and Working with Children check requirements
Provide comprehensive training to all members of staff in your practice’s software, regulations, processes, and Medicare billing procedures
If you’re setting up a new dental practice, you must also ensure you follow National Safety and Quality Health Services standards, and that all dentists are registered with the Dental Board of Australia.
Set up billing
You should have a solid grasp of your intended billing structure from the initial business planning stage of setting up your new medical practice, and whether you intend to offer a mixed billing, private billing, or bulk-billed service.
Patient fees will make up the majority of your practice’s income, and you need to balance recovering the cost of your services with what’s fair for your patients to pay.
When calculating your rates, it can help to consider:
The time that your staff will spend on non-billable tasks
The combined cost of wages, utilities, consumable equipment, insurance, and marketing
Any additional service fees (such as writing scripts, referrals, reports, and summaries)
The number of patients your staff can reasonably see in one day
Your local market, from direct competition to another practice’s fees
In addition, every medical practice in Australia must provide patients with transparent and timely information regarding its billing model, consultation fees, and out-of-pocket treatment costs.
There are also several legal and reputational factors to consider when setting up your new practice’s billing structure, and key steps you can take to ensure compliant billing that minimise any future audit risk. These include:
Streamlining your billing, invoicing, and payment processes with the appropriate management software (as underbilling just one in 100 patients can significantly decrease your daily revenue)
Familiarising yourself and your team with any billing codes, rebates, benefit forms, or bulk billing options associated with Medicare billing, public or private insurance, and the Health Insurance Act
Market your new medical practice
While an existing medical practice can rely on its existing reputation and patient pool, setting up a new medical practice means you will need to start marketing before your doors even open to secure cashflow and minimise any initial losses.
To get your new practice in front of your local community as soon as possible, you can:
Create a website to showcase the unique value and services you offer
Invest in SEO and content to demonstrate your expertise and appear higher in local search results
Build a social media profile to reach, engage, and build trust with potential patients
However, it is crucial to remember that in order to build compliant marketing processes, there are certain AHPRA advertising guidelines that all medical or dental advertising must comply with.
As a general rule in your medical or dental marketing, you should never:
Make misleading claims
Use specialist titles without proper accreditation
Promote sales or discounts without clear terms and conditions
Fictionalise testimonials
Medical & dental practice set up timeline
While there is no set timeline for setting up a new medical practice, as most adapt to fit your individual circumstances and established practices require less set-up time than new practices, general estimates suggest:
- Plan your business
- Register your business
- Consider your services and operations
- Plan and implement your fitout
- Advertise for staff
- Identify equipment needs
- Secure software and IT systems
- Hire staff
- Begin advertising your services
- Launch your website and bookings
- Train staff
- Secure insurance
Design your new practice with a professional fitout specialist
With over 20 years of experience delivering high-quality care and craftsmanship in healthcare fitouts across Australia, we know that a clinic’s true long-term success is not measured only by its efficiency and cost, but by its patient satisfaction.
A well-designed and compliant space should elevate the experience of walking through your doors, carefully balancing regulatory frameworks with function and aesthetic appeal.
If you’re ready to build an elegant, fully-compliant space that extends well beyond your walls and floors, contact us today.
