How much money do you actually need to start a private practice in Australia?
It’s one of the first questions that comes up when you start thinking about going out on your own, and it’s not always easy to find a clear answer. Most of what’s out there sounds a bit like general advice. Have some savings, keep your costs down, and make sure you’re financially prepared. It’s all fair enough, but it still leaves you wondering what it actually looks like in real numbers.
This post walks you through the costs to expect before you open, your ongoing expenses, and a few things worth keeping in mind to make your practice financially sustainable from the start.
Key takeaways
- Before you open, most of your spending comes down to the essentials you need to practise, plus a few early decisions that set you up properly.
- Your core monthly costs are usually manageable, often around $525 to $825 before rent and marketing.
- Room rental and marketing are where things can really vary, and will shape your overall spend the most.
- It usually takes a few months for income to build, so giving yourself some breathing room early on really helps.
- Small changes in how you run your day, like tightening your schedule or reducing no-shows, can add up more than you’d expect.
<div id="section-1">What you need to spend before you open</div>
Before your first client walks through the door, there are a handful of setup costs to work through. Some are non-negotiable compliance requirements, and others are investments that are easy to skip over but worth taking a look at.
AHPRA registration
If you're not already registered, this comes first. Annual fees for 2025/26 vary by profession, around $473 for psychologists, $211 for physiotherapists, and $132 for occupational therapists, just to give you a sense of the range.
You can check the full fee schedule here.
Professional indemnity insurance
This is a non-negotiable. Every AHPRA-registered practitioner must have cover in place before they practise.
A combined professional indemnity and public liability policy averages around $20 to $30 per month for most allied health professions, though it varies by profession and level of cover. The Psychology Board requires a minimum of $2 million cover per claim.
Business name registration
If you're trading under anything other than your own legal name, you'll need to register it with ASIC. It costs $45 for one year or $104 for three years.
Your ABN is free through the Australian Business Register.
Trade marking your practice name
This is the one most people skip, and it can be a costly mistake later. Registering a business name with ASIC doesn't give you exclusive rights to it, but a trade mark through IP Australia does.
A standard single-class application starts from $250, and registration takes at least seven months to process. You don’t need to wait for your trade mark to register before you start practising under your name, but if you've spent years building a reputation under it, a dispute over it will cost you far more than the initial paperwork would.
If you’d rather not navigate the process yourself, specialist IP attorneys can handle the application for you. It’s an added cost, but it can save you time and reduce the risk of a rejected application.
Room rental deposit
This is one of those costs that can look completely different from one practice to the next. You might be working from home, renting a room by the day, sharing a space with other practitioners, or taking on a more permanent consulting room.
If you are renting, some spaces will ask for a bond or deposit upfront, while others may require your first month’s rent before you open. The amount will depend on the type of space, location, how often you’re using it, and what’s included in the agreement, so it’s worth getting a clear picture of those upfront costs early.
Some options will also ask you to sign a lease for 2 or even 3 years minimum. Our recommendation is to find somewhere with a shorter commitment, such as 30 days to 6 months, so you’re not locked in and have the flexibility to change and evolve as your needs do.
A professional website
Your website is usually the first impression a potential client or referrer will have of your practice. It doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need to clearly explain what you do, who you work with, how to book, and comply with AHPRA's advertising guidelines.
Whether you go DIY or work with a developer, treat it as a real investment rather than an afterthought. It's working for you around the clock, even when you're with clients.
A professionally designed and written website will typically cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 for design, build, and copywriting (the industry term for the words on the page). That's a wide range, and the quality varies accordingly, from a template-based build at the lower end to a fully custom, considered site at the higher end.
<div id="section-2">Other one-off set-up costs</div>
There are a handful of other one-off costs that are easy to overlook when you're budgeting for the bigger expenses above. Based on general start-up numbers we track for practices, you might also see:
- Professional logo: around $800 - 2,000
- Professional photography: around $600 - 1,200
- Signage design: around $500
- Stationery design: around $300-$500
- Email setup and signature design: around $300
- Domain name registration/s: around $50
- Printer and shredder: around $200 - $400 combined
- Initial Google Ads set-up: around $600
Furniture and signage printing are worth budgeting for too, though costs can vary widely depending on your space and what you need. You don't necessarily need everything on day one, but these smaller costs can add up quickly if you want a polished, professional presence from the start. If you're comfortable on a computer and using AI tools, or you have a friend or family member who is, you can DIY a good chunk of these (logo, stationery, email signatures) for a fraction of the cost.
Rough startup total
Covering the non-negotiable basics, such as AHPRA registration, your first year of insurance, and business name registration, you're looking at somewhere from a few hundred dollars to around $900 before you've spent anything on a website, software, room rental, or branding.
From there, your total depends heavily on how much you choose to invest upfront. If you add a professionally designed and written website, logo, photography, signage, stationery, email set-up, and some initial marketing, your total start-up spend could land from around $7,000 to $17,000, including those initial registration and insurance costs. And that's before you've factored in any room rental deposit, upfront rent, or furniture costs.
That doesn't mean every practice needs $10,000 to get started. A simpler DIY set-up could cost considerably less, while someone wanting a more established brand and online presence from day one will naturally spend more.
<div id="section-3">Month-to-month expenses</div>
Now you’ve got your start-up costs sorted, it’s time to look at what you’ll be spending month to month. Some of this will become clearer once you’re up and running, and there will almost always be a few things you didn’t expect, so it’s worth allowing a bit of buffer early on until you get a proper handle on your numbers.
Room rental
If you don't already have a space to practise from, room rental is likely to be one of your higher ongoing costs. What you pay can vary considerably depending on your location, how often you need the room, the type of space you choose, and what's included in the agreement.
Some practitioners rent by the day or session, while others take on a more permanent room. It's worth looking closely at what's included in the rate, as things like internet, utilities, reception support, and cleaning may be charged separately. If you're starting part-time, a more flexible arrangement can also help keep your early overheads down.
Practice management software
Practice management software will usually become one of your regular monthly costs once you're up and running. Popular options for Australian practitioners include Zanda from $14.50 per month, Halaxy with a free core system and paid extras, and Cliniko from $45 per month.
Most platforms offer free trials or introductory plans, so it’s worth comparing a few before deciding what fits your practice.
Insurance
Professional indemnity and public liability are usually billed annually, but they work out at around $20 to $30 per month for most allied health professions.
Bookkeeper, accountant or admin support
This one feels like a luxury early on, but it really isn't. Getting your GST, BAS and business structure right from the start saves a lot of pain later. If your practice has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more, GST registration and Business Activity Statements are mandatory.
For a small practice, you might spend around $150 per month combined on bookkeeping and accounting support, depending on what you need. If you also use a virtual PA or admin support service to help with things like enquiries, bookings, payments, insurance or rebate claims, budget another $200-$500 per month on top of that.
Marketing
A modest but consistent marketing budget goes a long way. A Psychology Today listing (the most widely used therapist directory in Australia, and often the first result in local Google searches) costs around $25 per month and is a good starting point for getting visible online.
If you're time poor or want to build momentum early, it can also be worth setting aside a dedicated marketing budget from the start. What that looks like will depend on the channels you use, how competitive your local area is, and how much you want to manage yourself. We generally recommend allowing between $800-$1500 per month for Google Ads, with more room in the budget if you're also investing in SEO, content, or support from a marketing agency.
For source data on typical Google Ads spend in healthcare, see this benchmark report: Google Ads Cost Benchmarks for Health.
CPD and supervision
Continuing Professional Development is mandatory for AHPRA-registered practitioners. It's worth setting aside around $200–$400 per month to cover this as a real ongoing expense, depending on profession, format, and supervision requirements. On top of that, budget another $40–$50 per month for professional body membership fees.
Miscellaneous
Phone, internet, any printing or stationery, subscriptions, and similar small consumables like tissues and sanitiser add up to more than most people expect. Budget around $100–$150/month.
Rough monthly total
Factoring in software, insurance, CPD and supervision, professional memberships, everyday expenses, and basic bookkeeping and accounting support, a sole practitioner keeping things relatively simple will usually be looking at around $525 - $825 per month before room rental and marketing are added. If you bring in a virtual PA or admin support, allow another $200 - $500 on top.
<div id="section-4">What to expect when first starting out </div>
In the early stages, it can be hard to know exactly what your costs will look like or how much revenue will come in. Here’s what we recommend:
Plan for a slow start
Most new practices are quieter than expected in the first three to six months; it’s just the reality. Referrals take time, word of mouth takes time, and your online presence takes time to build. The practitioners who are most successful during this period are the ones who planned for it.
This can be a bit of an adjustment if you're coming from a government role or a group practice, where new clients tend to show up without much effort on your part. In private practice, that pipeline doesn't build itself, and you'll need to put real effort into marketing to keep clients coming through the door.
Having three to six months of personal living expenses set aside before you launch gives you the breathing room to build properly, rather than scrambling from week three.
Consider the transitional approach
Starting one or two days a week (or even weekends or after hours) while keeping your current role is one of the most financially sensible ways to begin. It takes longer to build momentum, but it removes the pressure that leads to underpricing, taking on the wrong clients, or burning out before the practice has found its footing.
Factor in the quiet periods
School holidays, Christmas, and public holidays will typically reduce your bookings. It's also worth factoring in your own holiday time, plus sick days and other time off, when you're projecting how many weeks you'll actually be seeing clients across the year.
Take the time to set your pricing right
Many practitioners set their fees too low, often because putting a number on their own expertise feels uncomfortable when they're coming from a salaried role. But underpricing doesn't just affect your income; it affects the sustainability of your practice and your ability to keep showing up for clients over the long term.
The Australian Psychological Society recommends $318 for a standard 45 to 60-minute session in 2025/26, though in practice, the most common fee we see psychologists charging is closer to $250 per session.
It's also worth building in a yearly adjustment, say 3–4%, so your fees keep pace over time rather than falling behind. Set this up as an automatic increase written into your terms of engagement or invoices from the start, typically applied on 1 January or 1 July, so it's expected rather than a surprise for existing clients.
Look at the operational side of your practice
Shortening the gap between sessions from 30 minutes to 20 minutes might not sound like much, but over the course of a year, it can add up to around $30,000 in extra revenue. It’s not about charging more or overhauling your marketing; it’s just a small adjustment to how your day is set up.
The same goes for something as simple as SMS reminders. No-shows happen, but they’re not inevitable, and a consistent reminder can change how often this occurs. For a small monthly cost, most practice management systems can help you recover what could be another $10,000 a year that might otherwise be missed. A clear cancellation fee policy, backed up by your terms of engagement, does similar work, protecting your income and encouraging clients to actually show up or give you enough notice to fill the spot.
These changes cost little to nothing to put in place, and the revenue they protect adds up fast, so they're worth doing from day one.
<div id="section-5">So, what's the actual number?</div>
For a sole allied health practitioner starting from scratch in Australia, a realistic starting point is around $7,000 to $17,000 before you open your doors. That covers registration, insurance, your business name, a trade mark application, a professional website, branding (logo, photography, signage and stationery), and some initial marketing set-up. Where you land in that range mostly comes down to your website. A template build keeps you at the lower end, while a fully custom site pushes you towards the top. This doesn’t include any room rental deposit, upfront rent or furniture.
Once you’re up and running, your core fixed costs will usually sit around $525 to $825 a month, before room rental and marketing come into the picture.
Marketing and room rental pricing varies a lot depending on your location, working arrangements, and how much you want to push growth early on, so they'll sit on top as a separate, more variable chunk of your budget.
These are all rough estimates, and your real numbers will look different depending on your profession, where you're based, and the choices you make along the way. No two practices are the same, and that's okay. What matters most is going in with a realistic picture rather than an overly optimistic one.
