Industry guide
Business finance for medical practices
Medical practices have predictable Medicare and patient billings and low default rates, which puts them in a lending category of their own. The main decisions are about equipment, premises and buying in.
Medical practice finance is lending for GP and specialist practices, covering diagnostic equipment, consulting-room fit-outs, practice purchases and the commercial premises a practice trades from.
Lenders treat medical practices as premium credit. Billings are recurring, demand is non-discretionary, and practitioner incomes are stable, so the panel offers longer terms, higher amounts and lighter documentation than a comparable business in another sector would receive. Some lenders will fund a doctor buying into a practice with limited security beyond the equity being acquired, on the strength of the profession alone. That advantage is real, and it is worth using deliberately rather than accepting the first offer from a practice bank.
The spending pattern is lumpy. A practice runs for years with modest costs, then faces a consulting-room expansion, an ultrasound or imaging purchase, a full fit-out on relocation, or the chance to buy the building it occupies. Medicare bulk-billing arrangements pay on a short cycle, so day-to-day cash flow is rarely the issue — it is the capital events. Structuring those over sensible terms, and deciding whether to own the premises through a self-managed super fund, is where most of the value sits.
The cash-flow pattern we plan around
Steady weekly Medicare and patient billings on a short settlement cycle, punctuated by large one-off capital events such as fit-outs, equipment or a practice purchase.
What medical practices typically fund
- Diagnostic and imaging equipment
- Consulting-room fit-out and expansion
- Buying into or acquiring a practice
- Purchasing the practice premises
- Practice management software and IT
Documents lenders usually ask medical practices for
- ABN, AHPRA registration and practice structure details
- Two years of practice financials or personal tax returns
- Equipment quote, contract of sale or fit-out schedule
Finance options for medical practices
Medical equipment finance for medical practices
Ultrasound machines, ECG and spirometry equipment, sterilisers and examination furniture are all funded against the equipment itself, and lenders extend longer terms to medical practices than to most industries because clinical gear holds value and practitioner income is stable. Five to seven years is common.
Fit-out finance for medical practices
A consulting-room fit-out involves compliant treatment rooms, reception and waiting areas, cabinetry, plumbing to basins and specific lighting and privacy requirements. Almost none of it can be removed and resold, so lenders assess fit-out finance on the practice rather than on the assets.
Commercial property loan for medical practices
Many practices reach a point where paying rent on a purpose-fitted clinic stops making sense. A commercial property loan funds the purchase of the premises, typically with a 20–30% deposit, and lenders view a medical tenancy favourably because the tenant is stable and the fit-out is hard to walk away from.
Business acquisition finance for medical practices
Buying a practice or a partnership share is assessed mainly on the billings being acquired and the incoming doctor’s registration and earnings history. Lenders on our panel active in medical acquisition will lend against goodwill — unusual in commercial lending generally, and a direct reflection of how recurring medical income is.
Unsecured business loan for medical practices
An unsecured facility is the fast option for the smaller things: a locum bridge, a software migration, a hiring push, or an unexpected compliance cost. Approval can come the same week with light documentation, which suits a practice that does not want to disturb an existing property facility for $80,000.
SMSF commercial property loan for medical practices
Practitioners frequently buy their clinic premises inside a self-managed super fund and lease it back to the practice at market rent. Done properly this puts rent into your own retirement savings rather than a landlord’s, and the property sits in a concessionally taxed environment.
Assets we finance for medical practices
Lenders active in this space
Macquarie, NAB, Westpac, Metro Finance — among others on our panel of 18+. Your broker checks fit before anything is submitted.
Key terms
Medical equipment finance
Medical equipment finance is secured lending for clinical equipment such as ultrasound machines, imaging systems and examination fit-outs, generally offered to registered practitioners on longer terms and lighter documentation than standard commercial equipment finance.
Practice purchase finance
Practice purchase finance is lending used to buy an existing medical practice or a partnership share in one, assessed on the practice’s billings and the incoming practitioner’s registration and earning history.