If you’re a GP or specialist weighing up practice ownership, it’s one of the biggest decisions of your career. Both paths can work. But they carry very different costs, risks and timelines.
For most doctors in Australia, opening your own medical clinic is a better long-term option than buying a medical practice. You avoid paying for goodwill, you don’t inherit someone else’s outdated systems, contracts or compliance gaps, and you build the clinic around how you want to operate from day one. Buying an established practice gives you patients and cash flow sooner, but it often comes with hidden technical debt that takes months and significant money to fix.
At GPsupport, we’ve spent close to two decades helping Australian clinics set up, take over and modernise their practices. We’ve seen what happens behind the scenes of both options.
Here’s what we’ve learned, and why we think building your own usually wins.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying a Medical Practice?
Whether you’re browsing medical centres for sale or a retiring GP has approached you, purchasing a medical practice means paying for a business that already has patients, staff, premises and revenue. The biggest cost is usually goodwill: the value of the practice beyond its equipment and fit-out, based on its patient base, reputation and earnings.
Advantages of buying
- An existing patient base and billings from day one.
- Staff, rosters and supplier relationships already in place.
- A trading history that banks can lend against.
- An established location and local reputation.
Disadvantages of buying
- You pay for goodwill. GP practices are commonly valued at around 3 to 4 times earnings (EBITDA), according to Medical Republic. That’s a large upfront cost before you change a thing.
- Goodwill can walk out the door. Much of a practice’s value sits with the outgoing owner. If patients or doctors leave after the sale, the value you paid for goes with them. BOQ Specialist recommends the previous owner stays on for at least 6 to 12 months to support the handover.
- You inherit someone else’s decisions. Fit-out, layout, policies, culture and contracts were all built for the last owner, not you.
The hidden cost: technical debt
Technical debt is the cost of fixing outdated or poorly built systems you inherit. In a medical practice, it’s often invisible during the sale and expensive after settlement. In our experience, it commonly includes:
- Ageing on-site servers running clinical and practice management software that are near end of life.
- Unsupported software and hardware, from old Windows versions to out-of-warranty workstations.
- Patchy backups and weak cyber security. Health was the most breached sector in Australia in 2025, with 225 notifications to the OAIC (19% of all notifications).
- Locked-in phone, internet and IT contracts that don’t suit how you want to run the clinic.
- Compliance gaps against the RACGP Standards that need fixing before your next accreditation visit.
- Doctor contract structures that may carry payroll tax risk. State revenue offices have treated contracted GPs as employees in some cases, so get advice on this during due diligence (Findex).
None of this shows up in the asking price. But once you’ve paid for goodwill, you’ll often pay again to upgrade systems, refurbish the fit-out and migrate data, all while trying to keep patients and staff happy through the handover.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Opening Your Own Medical Clinic?
Starting your own practice means building a new clinic from the ground up: choosing the location, designing the fit-out, setting up the technology and hiring your team. You pay for what you need, and nothing you don’t.
Advantages of starting your own
- No goodwill to pay. Your money goes into assets you control, not into someone else’s patient list.
- No technical debt. Cloud-based clinical software, secure networks and modern phones from day one, with nothing to rip out or migrate.
- Built your way. You choose the location, layout, services, culture and billing model.
- Compliance built in. You can design policies and systems around the RACGP Standards from the start, rather than fixing gaps later.
- Room to grow. Scalable IT and a fit-out planned for extra consult rooms mean you won’t outgrow the clinic in two years.
Disadvantages of starting your own
- No patients on day one. You’ll need to build your patient base, and revenue grows gradually.
- Upfront costs. Most new practices need between $300,000 and $500,000 in startup capital. This typically covers the fit-out, medical equipment, IT systems and initial staffing.
- Working capital. You’ll be paying rent and wages before the practice is fully booked, so cash flow planning matters.
- Recruitment takes time. Attracting doctors and nurses to a new clinic needs a clear plan.
Is opening your own clinic really slower?
Not always. Most new practices take 6 to 12 months to set up, depending on premises, fit-out, staffing and approvals. But buying isn’t instant either. Between due diligence, finance, the handover period, refurbishments and IT upgrades, it can take just as long to have a practice running the way you want it.
When you start fresh, every month of that time goes into building your clinic, not fixing someone else’s. And with the right partner, the technology side can be ready in about a week.
Buying vs Opening a Medical Clinic: Side-by-Side Comparison
Buying gets you revenue sooner; starting your own gets you a clean, modern practice you fully control.
| Factor | Buying a medical practice | Opening your own clinic |
| Upfront cost | Purchase price, including goodwill (often 3 to 4 times earnings), plus upgrades | Typically $300,000 to $500,000 in startup capital; no goodwill |
| Patient base | Existing, but at risk during handover | Built from scratch |
| Cash flow | From settlement | Grows over the first months |
| Fit-out | Inherited; may need refurbishing | Designed for you |
| IT and systems | Often legacy servers, old software and locked-in contracts | Modern, cloud-ready and secure from day one |
| Compliance | Inherited gaps to fix before accreditation | Built around RACGP Standards from the start |
| Culture and staff | Inherited | Hired to your values |
| Typical timeline | Due diligence, finance, 6 to 12 month handover, then upgrades | 6 to 12 months to open |
| Long-term control | Limited by past decisions | Complete |
Figures are indicative and vary by location, size and services. Always get advice from a medical accountant and lawyer.
Should You Buy a Medical Centre or Open Your Own? Our Verdict
If you’re a doctor planning to own a practice for the long term, starting your own is usually the smarter choice.
Buying can make sense if you’ve found a well-run practice at a fair price, with modern systems, solid contracts and an owner willing to stay through the handover. That’s less common than it sounds.
For most doctors, the numbers and the headaches point the same way. Starting your own means:
- No goodwill to pay off.
- No technical debt to inherit.
- No refurbishments or system migrations in your first year.
- A practice built around your patients, your team and your way of working.
How GPsupport helps you open your own practice
Setting up a new clinic isn’t just an IT decision; it’s a strategic one. GPsupport has helped Australian GPs set up and run their clinics for over 10 years, and we support more than 100 clinics nationwide. When you open with us, you get:
- A clinic roadmap that saves you time and money.
- Cloud-ready IT, phones and internet set up in as little as a week.
- Data breach protection backed by our ISO 27001 certification.
- Accreditation and compliance readiness from day one.
- One point of contact for all your technology.
Not sure which path is right for you? Every doctor’s situation is different. Get in touch with our team for genuine, no-pressure advice on opening a medical practice in Australia, or download our New Practice Checklist to get started.