How to Sell a Healthcare Practice in Australia

Selling Your Healthcare Practice in Australia

Selling a healthcare practice is one of the most complex and consequential transactions an owner-operator will undertake. Healthcare M&A has its own rules: licensing requirements, Medicare billing arrangements, practitioner retention dynamics, and regulatory approvals add layers of complexity absent from standard business sales. Amafi advises healthcare practice owners across Australia on sell-side transactions, helping them navigate the regulatory and commercial complexity that characterises Australian healthcare M&A.

The market for Australian healthcare practices has transformed significantly since 2020. Private equity investment has accelerated across GP, allied health, dental, specialist, and aged care sectors, and PE-backed roll-up platforms now dominate the buyer landscape for mid-market practices. This is good news for sellers — more capital, more buyers, and more competitive pricing than the market has ever offered. But it also creates complexity: sophisticated institutional buyers have acquisition teams, playbooks, and legal resources far beyond what most practice owners encounter in any other transaction of their lives.

“Healthcare practice owners are in a stronger position than they realise,” says Daniel Bae, Founder and CEO of Amafi, who has advised on over US$30 billion in transactions. “But they need a process that creates real competition. A single-buyer direct approach is almost always a worse outcome — you have no leverage, no alternative, and no way to know whether the offer you received is close to market.”

How Healthcare Practices Are Valued in Australia

Healthcare practice valuations in Australia are primarily based on EBITDA multiples, with significant variation by specialty, payer mix, site structure, and key-person dependency.

GP Clinics and General Practice

Australian GP clinics typically sell at 3-6x EBITDA. The wide range reflects several valuation drivers:

Billing model. Mixed-billing or private-billing GP practices command premiums over bulk-billing practices. Mixed-billing practices generate higher revenue per consultation and have demonstrated patient willingness to pay above Medicare rebates — a signal of practice quality and patient loyalty that buyers value.

Site structure. Multi-site GP groups that have demonstrated the ability to operate without founder involvement trade at the upper end of the range or above. Single-site owner-operated practices face heavier discounting for key-person risk.

Practitioner quality and retention. A roster of experienced, full-time GPs with long patient relationships and no near-term retirement risk is a material positive. High practitioner turnover or heavy reliance on locums creates valuation risk.

Bulk-billing future exposure. Legislative changes to Medicare have created uncertainty around bulk-billing economics for practices with high bulk-billing rates. Buyers price in regulatory risk for heavily bulk-billing practices.

Allied Health Practices

Physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and allied health groups typically sell at 4-7x EBITDA. Growth rates in allied health — driven by NDIS, mental health funding, and workforce return-to-work programs — have made allied health acquisitions a priority for PE roll-up platforms.

NDIS-registered practices command particular attention from buyers, reflecting the scale of NDIS funding volumes and the predictable, government-backed revenue stream. Practices with clean NDIS compliance histories trade at premiums.

Dental Practices

Dental practices in Australia have experienced significant M&A activity and typically sell at 4-8x EBITDA. Brand-new or recently refurbished practices with strong patient files and modern equipment trade at the upper end. Practices with outdated equipment, declining patient numbers, or heavy reliance on the principal dentist trade at discounts.

The dental roll-up sector is mature and competitive, with numerous PE-backed platforms and corporate dental groups actively acquiring. This creates strong competitive tension in dental practice sales.

Specialist Medical Practices

Specialist practices — dermatology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, oncology, and others — can achieve 6-10x EBITDA when the practice has multiple consultants, strong referral networks, minimal key-person dependency, and owned premises. Specialist practices where the principal specialist accounts for a dominant share of revenue face material discounts.

For a broader overview of healthcare M&A dynamics across Asia Pacific, see our article on selling a healthcare business in Asia Pacific.

The Regulatory Dimensions of Healthcare Practice Sales

Healthcare practice transactions in Australia require managing several regulatory dimensions that are absent from standard M&A:

Medicare Provider Number Arrangements

Medicare billing rights are tied to individual practitioners, not to the practice entity. This means the “value” that buyers are acquiring — the billing capacity of the practice — is entirely dependent on practitioner retention. Sale agreements for GP and specialist practices include detailed practitioner service agreements, earn-out structures linked to billing continuity, and provisions governing AHPRA registration and Medicare billing arrangements during transition.

AHPRA Registration

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency governs registration for medical practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, and other allied health professionals. Buyers conduct AHPRA registration due diligence on all key practitioners. Undisclosed conditions, suspensions, or complaints can materially affect deal structure or price.

Aged Care and NDIS Accreditation

Aged care facilities and NDIS service providers hold accreditations from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission respectively. These accreditations are not automatically transferable on a change of ownership — buyers must apply for replacement accreditation, and the timing of approval can affect deal structure and closing conditions.

Practice Accreditation

GP clinics accredited through AGPAL or QPA hold accreditations that support Practice Incentives Program (PIP) payments. Maintaining accreditation through a change of ownership requires notification and potentially reaccreditation assessment. Buyers price in the risk of disruption to PIP payments during transition.

Who Buys Healthcare Practices in Australia?

PE-Backed Roll-Up Platforms

Private equity roll-up platforms are the most active buyer category in Australian healthcare M&A across all sub-sectors. These platforms — typically backed by Australian PE firms including BGH Capital, Pacific Equity Partners, Quadrant, and Riverside — have capital committed to building scaled healthcare businesses through successive acquisitions.

PE roll-up buyers offer high prices for quality practices, but their acquisition processes are sophisticated. They have experienced legal teams, forensic financial due diligence, and detailed post-acquisition integration playbooks. Selling to a PE roll-up without professional advisory creates a structural disadvantage for the practice owner.

For context on how PE roll-up strategies work across professional services sectors, see our analysis of PE roll-up strategy in accounting firms — the dynamics are similar across healthcare and professional services.

ASX-Listed Healthcare Groups

Listed healthcare operators including national GP network groups, aged care providers, and specialist platform companies are active acquirers of practices that expand their geographic footprint or service capability. Listed acquirers offer the advantage of public company financial strength and certainty of payment, but may offer lower prices than PE buyers constrained by capital costs.

National Healthcare Networks

Branded healthcare networks — operating under national franchise or affiliation structures — acquire practices that can be converted to the network model. Network acquirers offer brand affiliation, shared services, and procurement savings, but often structure acquisitions as revenue-sharing arrangements rather than full buyouts.

Individual Medical or Allied Health Professionals

Single-site practice sales — particularly GP clinics and allied health practices with revenue below A$1-2M — are often acquired by individual practitioners or small partnership groups. These buyers have more limited capital access than institutional buyers, which constrains price, but offer cultural and operational continuity advantages.

Running a Structured Sale Process

The process for selling a healthcare practice follows the same broad structure as any M&A transaction, with additional regulatory preparation requirements.

Step 1: Pre-Sale Preparation (8-12 Weeks)

Healthcare-specific preparation includes:

Financial normalisation. Prepare EBITDA adjusted for owner-specific remuneration, irregular expenses, and any personal use of practice resources. For healthcare practices, this also includes normalising for any government grants, COVID support payments, or one-off billing events.

Regulatory readiness. Compile AHPRA registrations, Medicare billing records, accreditation certificates, and relevant government approvals into a structured package. Identify any outstanding compliance issues and resolve them before buyer due diligence begins.

Practitioner retention planning. Assess which practitioners are critical to the practice’s value and develop a plan for their retention through and after the transaction. Post-sale practitioner departure is the single most common cause of earn-out underperformance in healthcare transactions.

CIM preparation. Develop a detailed confidential information memorandum covering the practice’s financial performance, patient demographics, practitioner profiles, service mix, technology infrastructure, and growth opportunities.

Step 2: Buyer Outreach and Indicative Offers (8-12 Weeks)

A structured buyer process approaches PE roll-up platforms, listed healthcare groups, and relevant strategic buyers simultaneously under non-disclosure agreements. Simultaneous outreach creates competitive tension and prevents any single buyer from controlling the process.

Indicative offers are evaluated not just on headline price, but on deal structure: earn-out mechanics, practitioner retention obligations, upfront cash versus deferred consideration, and post-closing obligations on the selling principal.

Step 3: Due Diligence and Closing (10-16 Weeks)

Healthcare due diligence is intensive. Buyers conduct financial audit-level review of Medicare billing records, allied health funding claims, and accreditation compliance. Legal due diligence covers employment contracts, practitioner service agreements, property leases, and regulatory approvals. Regulatory due diligence covers AHPRA, accreditation bodies, and Medicare compliance.

The final sale agreement covers all deal terms, including earn-out metrics and measurement, practitioner service arrangements, regulatory approval conditions, and the seller’s post-sale transition obligations.

Amafi’s Approach to Healthcare Practice M&A

Amafi advises healthcare practice owners on structured sell-side transactions, applying the same competitive process discipline used in institutional M&A to mid-market practice sales. Our approach:

• Build a genuine competitive buyer list covering PE roll-up platforms, listed groups, and strategic acquirers
• Prepare documentation that meets the due diligence expectations of sophisticated institutional buyers
• Negotiate earn-out and practitioner retention terms that protect the seller’s economic interests
• Manage regulatory dimensions — Medicare, AHPRA, accreditation — as an integrated part of the process
• Success fee of 2% of enterprise value — no retainer, no monthly fees, no expense recharges

If you are considering a sale of your healthcare practice, book a valuation consultation to understand what your practice is worth and what a structured process looks like.

Related Reading

• Selling a Healthcare Business in Asia Pacific
• How to Sell an Accounting Firm in Australia
• Key Person Risk in M&A
• How Earnouts Work in M&A
• M&A Advisory Fees in Australia
• How to Choose an M&A Advisor