What it costs to buy a physio or allied health clinic in Australia

Australian physiotherapy clinics are listed from about $150,000 for a small owner-run practice to $2m plus for a multi-site business; most single-site clinics with two to four practitioners trade between $350,000 and $900,000. Brokers price at 2 to 3.5 times adjusted EBITDA for a single site and 3.5 to 5 times for multi-site groups. Owner dependency sets the multiple.

A physio, chiro, osteo or podiatry clinic is priced on the profit it makes after the owner is paid a market wage, and on how much of that profit walks out the door when the owner does. That is why a six-room Melbourne practice billing $600,000 with $300,000 of owner profit and a two-room suburban clinic billing $250,000 sit in completely different brackets, even though both are physiotherapy. Room count, practitioner mix, payer mix (private, NDIS, WorkCover, DVA) and lease terms all move the number. This guide sets out what is listed right now across the main Australian marketplaces and specialist brokers, the multiples valuers actually use, and how buyers fund the purchase.

What physio and allied health clinics sell for

The table below is a survey of live and recently sold listings across AnyBusiness, Bsale, businessforsale.com.au, BusinessesForSale and the specialist health practice brokers in late September 2026. Where the broker has not published a price we show the turnover or profit disclosed instead, because that is what the price is built from.

Three things stand out. First, the cheap end is a fitout and a lease, not a business. The $149,000 to $199,000 listings are turnkey franchise clinics or a multi-room tenancy sold walk-in walk-out; you are buying the rooms and building the patient book yourself. Second, the specialist brokers (Healthcare Practice Sales, Practice4Sale, Medical Business Brokers) rarely publish a price. Their pages show price as equipment only or on application, and most adverts are already marked sold. Third, where turnover and price are both disclosed the ratio is tight. The northern Tasmania clinic asks $875,000 on $250,000 net, or 3.5 times, and 1.35 times revenue. The South East Queensland group asks $3.5m on $1.09m adjusted EBITDA, or 3.2 times, and 1.06 times revenue. Those two ratios are the ones to carry into the next section.

One listing shows why you read the numbers before the headline. The Shepparton practice advertises $408,000 profit against a $425,000 price, which is about one times earnings and does not reconcile with the market. Either the profit figure is before practitioner wages, or the sale is for part of the business.

Chiro, osteo and podiatry: the same maths, smaller numbers

Chiropractic, osteopathy and podiatry practices sell on the same earnings logic as physio but the pool of buyers is thinner, because the buyer usually has to hold the same registration as the seller. That compresses prices at the top end and leaves plenty of stock under $500,000.

The Erina podiatry practice is the cleanest comparable on the list: $299,000 asked on $301,000 of turnover, which is one times revenue and, at a typical 30 to 40 per cent owner margin, roughly 2.5 to 3 times owner earnings. That is exactly where Miro Capital places a solo podiatry practice (1.5 to 2.5 times seller discretionary earnings) and a small two to four podiatrist group (2.5 to 4 times EBITDA). Miro's worked examples put a solo practice on $160,000 of owner earnings at $240,000 to $400,000 and a small group on $300,000 of adjusted EBITDA at $750,000 to $1.2m. IBISWorld sizes the chiropractic and osteopathic services industry at $1.8bn in 2026 with an average profit margin of 18.4 per cent, the margin a valuer expects before believing a bigger one.

How the price is set: EBITDA multiple, not turnover

Sellers talk about turnover. Valuers, lenders and the buyers who actually settle talk about adjusted EBITDA, which is profit after every practitioner including the owner is paid a market wage. The published ranges below are the ones Australian advisers are using in 2026.

Miro puts most independent physio sales in Australia between $300,000 and $2m and most podiatry sales between $200,000 and $1.8m, which matches the listings above. The proper method behind all of these shortcuts is capitalisation of future maintainable earnings: RSM's allied health guidance starts from listed health company multiples (Healthia is the largest physio operator, per IBISWorld) and then discounts for size, control and practice-specific risk.

The turnover ratios in the first table (1.06 to 1.35 times revenue) are a by-product, not a method. A clinic billing $600,000 with 50 per cent owner margin (the sold Melbourne listing) and one billing $600,000 with 15 per cent margin are $200,000 or more apart in price. If a broker quotes you a price as a multiple of turnover, convert it back to EBITDA before you go any further, because that is the number the lender will use.

What moves the price up or down

Two clinics with the same EBITDA can be $300,000 apart. These are the items valuers and brokers weight, in rough order of impact.

• Owner dependency. The biggest driver. Miro's podiatry example shows a practice moving from 1.8 times to 2.8 times earnings, about $160,000 on a $160,000 SDE practice, by cutting the owner's clinical load from 70 per cent to 40 per cent over two years. A clinic where employed practitioners hold their own patient relationships holds its multiple; a clinic that is one practitioner and a receptionist does not.
• Payer mix. NDIS, WorkCover, TAC and DVA revenue is priced at a premium because it is contracted and predictable. The regional Victoria listing leads with NDIS and TAC in the headline for that reason. Miro's podiatry benchmark is DVA at 25 to 35 per cent of revenue and aged care contracts worth $80,000 to $120,000 a year as evidence of a stable base. Check the provider registrations transfer with the entity and are not held personally by the seller.
• Employed versus contractor practitioners. Employment contracts with restraints demonstrate that revenue stays. Contractor models where each practitioner could leave with their book are discounted.
• Rooms and capacity. Six rooms with two practitioners, as in the Melbourne listing, is priced on what it bills now and marked up modestly for capacity. Capacity is only worth paying for if you can recruit into it, and regional recruitment is the hard part.
• Lease. The northern Tasmania clinic advertises $6,000 a year rent as a headline feature. You want five plus five years remaining with assignment consent; under three years is a discount item, and a sublease from a medical centre (as in the Sydney $1.95m listing) needs the head landlord's consent.
• Equipment and fitout age. Reformers, trapeze tables, treadmills, shockwave and ultrasound units are $5,000 to $40,000 each to replace. Our medical practice fitout cost guide has current per-room fitout pricing to sanity check the equipment schedule.
• Referral base. A spread across GPs, surgeons, insurers and sporting clubs beats one GP next door sending most of the patients.

On due diligence, insist on three years of practice management reports (Cliniko, Nookal, Halaxy) showing active patients, new patients a month and rebooking rate, then reconcile billings to the BAS. If the practice is inside a medical centre, or the sale includes GP rooms, read our guide to buying a medical practice, because Medicare billing and room income are valued differently.

What you pay on top of the price

The asking price is rarely the cheque. Budget for the following and expect the lender to ask you to show it.

• Stock at valuation, written as plus SAV on the regional Queensland listing. Consumables and retail lines run $5,000 to $25,000 on a mid-sized clinic.
• Transfer duty. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory charge duty on the transfer of business goodwill and assets; New South Wales and Victoria do not on a pure business sale. On a $600,000 Queensland practice that is in the order of $17,000 to $22,000, so confirm with your accountant before you sign.
• Legal, accounting and valuation. $10,000 to $25,000 for contract review, financial due diligence and an independent valuation if the lender wants one.
• Working capital. HICAPS and private billing settle fast, but NDIS and WorkCover invoices can run 30 to 60 days. Lenders like to see $30,000 to $80,000 of working capital on a two to four practitioner clinic, in cash or as an overdraft.
• Deferred equipment. If the treatment tables or reformers are past their life, price the replacement now on a separate equipment finance facility rather than adding it to the goodwill loan.

Financing a physio or allied health clinic purchase

The 100 per cent practice loans you read about are written for doctors, dentists and vets. BOQ Specialist publishes up to 100 per cent of the purchase price with terms to 15 years and interest only to three years for those three professions. NAB Health and Credabl publish the same headline for medical, dental and veterinary practices. Allied health buyers can borrow against goodwill, but lenders typically advance 50 to 70 per cent of a supported valuation, so plan on a 30 to 50 per cent deposit from savings, home equity or a vendor loan unless property is offered as security.

Most allied health deals are structured in layers. Goodwill goes on a business acquisition loan, priced on the adjusted EBITDA and the buyer's own clinical income. Fitout and equipment being replaced at settlement go on equipment finance secured on the gear. Where the clinic sits in a freehold the buyer is also acquiring, the property is funded separately at property-backed rates and the business loan covers only the goodwill. Vendor finance of 10 to 20 per cent with the seller staying on for a year is common at the $500,000 to $1m level.

Start at allied health finance, then business acquisition finance. To get a number from us, send the asking price, three years of profit and loss, the practitioner count and whether they are employed or contracted, the payer mix, the lease term and whether you own property. Finance is subject to lender assessment.

This is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Figures are indicative market data from the sources listed, not Ventas offers, and move with the market. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a professional. All finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This article is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Ventas Asset Lending is a finance broker, not a lender. Approvals are subject to lender assessment. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a qualified professional, including your accountant for any tax questions.