Fit-out Finance for Medical and Dental Practices: What It Covers, What It Costs and How to Structure It

Fit-out finance for a medical or dental practice pays for the rooms, surgeries, joinery, plumbing, electrical and IT that turn a bare tenancy into a clinic. Through Emu Money it runs from 6.59% for $5,000 to $2,000,000 over 1 to 7 years as equipment or asset finance; items that become fixtures may need extra security.

Why a fit-out is financed differently from equipment

A dental chair can be repossessed and resold; a plumbed surgery, a shielded X-ray room and built-in cabinetry cannot. Once fit-out works are fixed to a leased building they generally become part of the premises, so a lender that finances them is lending against something it cannot readily take back, and Emu Money's equipment finance page notes that fit-out finance may require additional security for items that become fixtures.

That changes three things: the security a lender asks for, the term it will run, and how much of the budget it treats as equipment. The loose equipment in a fit-out (chairs, sterilisers, imaging, IT) is financed on the asset itself; the fixed works are financed against the practice's assets or other security, or on an unsecured loan at a higher rate. This page is general information; your accountant confirms the treatment for your entity.

What fit-out finance covers

A medical fit-out has three layers, and each is financed and taxed differently. Splitting the quote into these layers before you apply saves time with both the lender and the accountant, because both need the split.

A landlord contribution changes the split. If the lease carries a fit-out contribution or a rent-free period, a lender will read it to see what the landlord pays for, what you pay for, and what you must remove or restore at the end (the make-good clause). The glossary entry on fittings covers the fixtures-versus-fittings distinction, and why an attached item used in the business can still be plant for tax.

What a medical or dental fit-out costs in 2026

Published estimates from fit-out contractors and industry guides put medical fit-outs at roughly $1,400 to $3,500+ per square metre in 2026, with most clinics landing between $1,500 and $3,000 before GST. The same estimates put a 100 to 200 square metre general practice at roughly $180,000 to $450,000, a 120 to 180 square metre dental clinic at $250,000 to $600,000, specialist suites of 80 to 150 square metres at $150,000 to $380,000 and an allied health practice of 80 to 130 square metres at $110,000 to $280,000.

Dental and imaging fit-outs cost more per square metre than general practice, one contractor's guide says, because of the services and compliance work involved; in a dental surgery that means chair plumbing, suction and compressed-air lines, radiation shielding and the sterilisation room. An industry guide puts equipment at roughly 20% to 40% of a clinic's total budget. A shell tenancy costs more than a former medical suite, and older buildings can need compliance upgrades before the fit-out starts.

Treat every figure above as a planning range, not a quote. Get fixed-price quotes from at least two medical fit-out contractors for the fixed works and supplier quotes for the equipment, so the budget is itemised by the three layers in the table, and budget the soft costs separately: design fees, permits, accreditation and a make-good budget are easy to leave out of a per-square-metre estimate.

The finance routes compared

Equipment and asset finance. Through Emu Money it runs from 6.59% for $5,000 to $2,000,000 over 1 to 7 years, secured on the equipment, with same-day approvals available for straightforward applications. Shop fit-outs are listed among the eligible assets, with the same fixtures caveat.

Practice term loan. Through Emu Money, a secured business loan from 7.59% for the fixed works, secured against the practice's assets or other security, over 3 months to 5 years; the medical practice loans page covers it, and it is often the simplest way to finance a fit-out that is mostly fixed works.

Unsecured business loan. Through Emu Money from 9.95% for $5,000 to $500,000 over 3 months to 5 years with no asset security, at a higher rate than secured finance; it suits a smaller fit-out or a start-up with nothing to pledge.

How a draw-down fit-out facility works

Some specialist medico lenders publicly offer fit-out finance with terms up to 10 years, in lease or chattel mortgage structures, as a draw-down facility that pays suppliers and tradespeople progressively during the build with no repayments during the draw-down stage, subject to credit approval. For a six-month build with a dozen invoices that is the structure to hold any offer against.

On mainstream equipment finance through Emu Money's panel the funds are paid directly to the vendor at settlement, so a fit-out with several equipment suppliers can mean several contracts and several settlements, with the fixed works on a separate term loan. Ask how many settlements the lender will run before you sign the build contract.

What lenders look for

The lease first. Expect a lender to read it for the remaining term against the finance term, the landlord's consent to the works and the make-good clause, because a fit-out you must strip out in three years is poor security for a seven-year loan.

Then the practice. An established practice typically shows two to three years of financials and its billing mix; a start-up is assessed on you, typically with a business plan, projected billings and a fit-out budget, and lenders typically treat a start-up file more conservatively than an established practice's. Fixed-price quotes itemised by layer, and evidence of your own contribution, shorten those conversations.

Line the paperwork up in the order the build needs it: current registration, the signed lease, the landlord's consent, the quotes, then, if you bill Medicare, the provider number for the new location.

Tax: depreciating assets, capital works and GST

The loose equipment is depreciated, and under the instant asset write-off a small business with aggregated turnover under $10 million can generally deduct the full cost of each eligible asset costing less than $20,000 in the year it is first used or installed ready for use. A $16,000 steriliser qualifies on that basis, while a $60,000 chair is depreciated over time instead: in the small business pool at 15% in its first year and 30% a year after that under simplified depreciation, or over its effective life otherwise. On a chattel mortgage a GST-registered practice can generally claim the GST on the price in its next BAS.

The fixed works are different. Leasehold improvements that are capital works, such as walls, plumbing, wiring and built-in joinery, are generally claimed at a statutory rate of 2.5% or 4% a year, depending on the type of works, when construction began and how they are used, and the ATO says they cannot be claimed over their effective life or the term of the lease. Plant inside the fit-out, even when attached, is generally a depreciating asset instead, which is why the split matters: a $200,000 fit-out on a five-year lease is generally deducted at 2.5% or 4% a year on its structural share, a far slower write-off than the equipment gets.

Interest on the finance is generally deductible for the business share, and borrowing costs such as establishment and valuation fees are generally claimed over five years or the loan term, whichever is shorter. This is general information, not tax advice: the split between depreciating assets and capital works, the GST treatment and the timing all depend on your entity and how the quote is itemised, so have your accountant review the quote before you sign the finance.

Start-ups and practice build loans

A start-up fit-out has no trading history behind it, so a lender assesses it on you and prices it on the application rather than at the product floors: the equipment on equipment finance, the fixed works on a secured term loan where security exists or an unsecured loan where it does not. Emu Money's unsecured business loans page notes that unsecured rates for start-ups typically start from around 12%. Some specialist medico lenders publicly advertise practice build loans of up to 100% for property, construction and fit-out with staged payment support, subject to credit approval.

Buying the premises changes the picture, because the fit-out then improves your own building. A commercial property loan through Emu Money runs from $100,000 to $10,000,000+ over 1 to 30 years with standard loan-to-value ratios of 65 to 80%, and the practice loans page covers keeping the property, the practice and the fit-out in separate facilities. The medical professionals hub covers the rest of the section.

How to compare fit-out finance

1. Split the quote into equipment, fixed works and soft costs. Each is financed and taxed differently, and a lender prices each layer differently.
2. Match the term to the lease. A lender will usually want the finance to end before the lease does.
3. Ask what security the fixed works need. Practice assets, property or other security, or none; the answer decides between asset finance, a term loan and an unsecured loan.
4. Count the settlements. One draw-down facility, or one term loan plus several equipment contracts; know which before the build starts.
5. Compare total cost, not the rate. Establishment fees, the term and the residual on any lease can matter more than the headline rate.

Emu Money compares equipment and asset finance, practice term loans and unsecured loans across 50+ lenders in one application, with no impact on your credit score at the comparison stage, and our finance specialists can walk you through the mainstream options against any specialist quote. Subject to lender approval, terms, and conditions apply.

This page is general information only and is not financial advice.