Starting your new medical practice is just a few clicks away.
Starting your own medical practice is a rewarding but challenging journey. From the business basics to Medicare compliance requirements, it’s hard to know where to begin.
The Complete Medical Practice Startup Checklist
Covering 15 phases from business planning to post‑launch optimisation, our comprehensive checklist brings together everything you need to build a compliant, scalable practice.
Learn how to...
- Plan your service model, financials and ideal patient profiles
- Decide whether to offer telehealth, face-to-face care, or both
- Set up your business structure, banking and legal foundations
- Select the right practice management software to scale with you
- Choose the perfect practice location for your ideal patients
- Navigate PRODA, HPOS, HPI‑I/O, NASH, MHR and secure messaging
- Build strong patient workflows and streamlined staff processes
- Leverage a growing suite of cutting-edge AI tools for healthcare
A complete new practice roadmap tailored for Australian healthcare
Your checklist is just the beginning. Alongside the download, you’ll receive a series of emails breaking down every phase of opening a medical practice, with deeper insights, tips and expert explanations.
End‑to‑end guidance, from ideation to launch (and beyond)
Covering digital health, compliance & Medicare claiming setup
Designed for scalability, from your first clinic to future locations
Strategically-structured, practical advice that is easy to follow
The questions new practice owners ask us most
How to open a medical practice in Australia?
Opening a medical practice in Australia involves several operational, regulatory and digital steps, and that’s exactly what the MediRecords Complete Medical Practice Startup Checklist breaks down.
At a high level, the process includes:
- Defining your business model: services, patient personas, competitors, and budget.
- Setting up your business foundations: choosing a structure, registering your ABN/ACN, banking, insurance and legal documentation.
- Securing your premises: site selection, accessibility, council approvals and fit‑out.
- Completing digital and compliance requirements: PRODA, HPOS, Provider Numbers, HPI‑I/HPI‑O, MHR registration, and NASH certificates.
- Configuring your software: claiming, secure messaging, ePrescribing, AIR access and other national services.
- Preparing your people and operations: HR, policies, workflows, appointment processes and accreditation pathways.
- Launching and optimising your practice: testing claiming, onboarding patients, and refining the experience.
The MediRecords Complete Medical Practice Startup Checklist walks through this step‑by‑step so you always know what to do next, and in what order.
Do you have to be a doctor to own a medical practice in Australia?
No, you don’t need to be a doctor to own a medical practice in Australia. Many clinics are owned by non‑clinicians, corporate groups or investors.
However, you do need:
- Registered practitioners to provide the clinical services.
- Clear governance structures to support safe, compliant care.
- A strong understanding of Medicare, digital health requirements and operational standards, all of which our checklist is designed to help clarify.
Your ownership model (sole trader, company, partnership or trust) will influence your obligations, but non‑clinician owners are common and fully permitted.
How much does it cost to set up a medical practice in Australia?
Costs vary widely depending on your location, size, fit‑out and service model. However, most new practices can expect expenses across:
- Fit‑out & equipment: construction, furnishings, clinical tools
- Technology: PMS, hardware, networking, cybersecurity, telehealth
- Compliance & professional services: legal, accounting, accreditation prep
- Insurance: professional, cyber, public liability, workers comp
- Staffing: admin, nursing, provider start‑up costs
What are the best practice management software options for medical clinics?
The “best” platform depends on your model, but modern Australian practices should look for more than basic appointment and billing tools.
Your software should support the entire digital health ecosystem, including:
- Interoperability: seamless integration with PRODA, HPOS, MHR, secure messaging, ePrescribing, AIR and digital health standards.
- Patient engagement: online bookings, forms, recalls, reminders, apps and communication tools.
- Secure online payments: integrated EFTPOS, online card payments and automated reconciliation.
- A growing ecosystem of AI‑powered tools and connected partner products: dictation, clinical assistance, telehealth, workflow automation and more.
- Scalability: multi‑location support, user roles, audit logs, strong data security and cloud‑based access.
MediRecords’ Complete Medical Practice Startup Checklist highlights these requirements so you can choose a platform that both supports launch and enables long‑term growth.
MediRecords is a trusted partner to Australian health providers, corporate enterprises, and government organisations.
MediRecords goes beyond traditional practice management
Our platform brings together powerful tools for clinicians, rich digital experiences for patients, and enterprise‑grade infrastructure for organisations that need interoperability and reliability.
Care
Discover our cloud-based, core clinical software system already loved by practices across Australia.
Evolve
Access our growing suite of AI tools to save time and help you deliver better care.
Connect
Supercharge your practice with FHIR, APIs, BI dashboards, and data migration.
Engage
The Engage portal gives patients secure access to online bookings, results, consent, tasks, and more.