Finance built around practice cash flow
Equipment finance for medical, dental, veterinary and allied health practices.
Practice-friendly structures with deferred starts and terms matched to equipment life. Your broker explains the tax treatment and total cost first.
What is a medical equipment finance?
Medical equipment finance is asset-backed lending for clinical and diagnostic equipment such as dental chairs, imaging systems, ultrasound units and aesthetic lasers. Lenders treat healthcare practices as low-risk borrowers, so pricing and documentation requirements are often more favourable than for other industries.
Lenders like healthcare. Practice revenue is recurring, largely insulated from economic cycles, and underpinned by professional qualifications that cannot easily disappear. That translates into practical benefits: higher low-doc limits than a comparable trade business, sharper rates, and lenders willing to fund a graduate practitioner with limited trading history but a strong professional record.
Clinical equipment has its own funding quirks. Installation, commissioning, training and software licences are often a large share of the total invoice, and not every financier funds the non-hardware portion. Delivery lead times of three to six months are common on imaging and surgical equipment, so structures with deferred first payments — starting repayments once the equipment is installed and billing — are widely available and worth asking for.
Structure choice usually turns on replacement cycles. A dental chair may serve fifteen years and suits a chattel mortgage with ownership. A diagnostic imaging system tied to a technology roadmap may suit an operating lease so the practice is not left holding obsolete hardware. Your broker prices both and shows the after-tax difference rather than assuming ownership is always better.
Medical equipment finance at a glance
| Amount | $10,000 – $2,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Term | 12–84 months |
| Rate type | Fixed |
| Indicative rates (Q3 2026) | 6.6% – 13.5% p.a. · see rate history |
| Security | Secured by the asset |
| Repayments | Monthly |
| Typical speed | 24–72 hours for low-doc within practice limits |
| Best for | Medical, dental, veterinary, allied health and specialist practices acquiring clinical equipment |
| Consider something else if | Non-clinical business costs such as goodwill or working capital, which need different products |
| Tax | Interest and depreciation on clinical equipment are generally deductible. Confirm the treatment with your practice accountant. |
Advantages
- Healthcare borrowers attract sharper pricing and higher low-doc limits
- Deferred first payments align repayments with installation
- Installation, training and software can often be included
Trade-offs
- Specialised equipment has a narrow resale market
- Technology obsolescence risk on diagnostic and imaging systems
- Not every lender funds the non-hardware portion of the invoice
How to apply for a medical equipment finance
- 01
Quote and timeline
Supplier quote including installation and training, plus the expected delivery and commissioning dates.
- 02
Choose ownership or rental
Your broker compares chattel mortgage against operating lease based on the equipment’s replacement cycle.
- 03
Settle with a deferred start
The financier pays the supplier; repayments can be timed to begin once the equipment is billing.
Documents lenders commonly ask for
- AHPRA registration and practice ABN
- Supplier quote with installation and training itemised
- Practice financials or bank statements depending on the amount
What people finance with a medical equipment finance
Lenders we compare for this
Macquarie, Westpac, Angle Finance, Flexicommercial, Metro Finance and others on our panel. See the full panel.
Estimate your repayments
- Number of repayments
- 48
- Total interest (est.)
- $13,564
- Total repaid (est.)
- $88,564
This calculator provides an estimate only and does not account for fees, charges or the specific terms a lender may offer. It is not financial advice or an offer of finance.
Key terms
What is medical equipment finance?
Medical equipment finance is asset-backed lending used by healthcare practices to acquire clinical, diagnostic and treatment equipment. The equipment secures the facility, structured as a chattel mortgage, finance lease or operating lease over one to seven years.
Can a new practice finance equipment?
Often yes. Lenders weigh professional registration, specialty and employment history heavily for healthcare borrowers, so a newly established practice with a well-credentialled principal can access equipment finance that a comparable non-medical startup could not.
What is a deferred payment structure?
A deferred payment structure delays the first repayment for an agreed period, commonly three to six months, so repayments begin once the equipment is installed, commissioned and generating billings rather than at the point of order.