Setting up your new specialist practice? Congratulations! By now you have probably realised there is a lot to juggle: from licensing and layouts to billing and branding. As a practice consultant, I’ve helped many doctors navigate this journey. Here are the essentials and a few traps to watch out for, so you can hit the ground running and avoid early pitfalls.

Before you see your first patient, there’s a checklist of legal and regulatory must-dos:

• Before you see your first patient, there’s a checklist of legal and regulatory must-dos:
• Set up your business model. There are many factors to choosing the correct structure and early advice from your financial advisor or tax agent is invaluable.
• Get your ABN, register your business name, and purchase your domain
• Register for a new Medicare provider number for your new location.
• Link your provider number for electronic claiming via PRODA and HPOS — this can take time, so plan ahead. If you are already using any hospital provider numbers for billing through other rooms, plan for a changeover period.
• Register or update bank account details for Medicare payments.
• Apply for or update your Minor Location ID (Minor ID) so your practice location is recognised by Medicare in your new software.
• Apply for a Healthcare Provider Identifier–Organisation (HPI-O).
• Don’t forget state-based health service notifications or registrations
• You’ll also need proper insurance, privacy compliance (e.g. hosting patient data on Australian servers), and to follow advertising rules under AHPRA.

Location matters – for patients and your bottom line. Look for:

• Easy access and parking
• Good signage and natural light
• Enough space for consult and procedure rooms

Get the lease reviewed by someone who understands medical tenancies — hidden clauses and personal guarantees can be traps. Make sure you understand strata shortfalls if and if the lease agreement includes this or if this is an additional annual budget consideration. And those “fit-out incentives”? They often just mean higher rent later. Sometimes a few months’ rent-free is a better deal.

• Build a realistic budget for both startup costs and ongoing expenses. This can feed into discussions about partner buy-in.
• Choose your billing model and set your private fees.
• Set up electronic claiming and Medicare integration
• Ensure your software is registered and linked correctly for Medicare Online, ECLIPSE, and ePrescribing
• Build a budget with breathing room for delays in first payments and that allows days for setup and staff training without patients booked.
• Don’t forget the ongoing costs: wages, software, utilities, consumables, and insurances

Your team is your practice. Hiring one receptionist or a whole team? Either way, clear role descriptions, onboarding processes, and workplace policies are key. You may need to consider outsourcing to an HR or recruitment specialist.

• Ensure staff are trained in your chosen software and Medicare claiming
• Follow Fair Work, superannuation, overtime, and workplace safety laws
• Invest in onboarding and a positive work culture.
• A practice manual helps document practice intellectual property, improve compliance, and reduce errors

Develop a professional brand – logo, website, signage, social media, templates – but stay compliant with AHPRA’s advertising guidelines. Consider your letter templates when choosing your logo and colours and make sure your designer has clear instructions that will meet your different template requirements.

• Unclear lease or business terms that tie you in too long or put your personal assets at risk
• Underestimating setup time — especially with Medicare registrations and tech integration
• Cost blowouts from fitout or staffing before revenue starts flowing
• Misaligned partnerships — have written agreements for decision-making and profit sharing
• Long domain names – don’t underestimate the power of a short URL to reduce email errors

Starting or transitioning your practice is a big task, but careful planning pays off. If you’re unsure where to begin, we can help. From Medicare registrations to choosing practice software, from IT reviews to staff onboarding, we’ve got the experience to make your practice launch smooth and sustainable.