Finance question
Can a radiology practice finance an MRI machine?
Often yes, but an MRI is treated as a business case as well as a machine. Published guides put MRI scanners at $150,000 to $3 million, and a lender will want referrer relationships or a radiologist contract, a view on Medicare eligibility and a costed plan for the room. Shielding and site works have little resale value, so they are usually funded with your own money or property, subject to lender assessment.
Get your free rate quote
Tell us a few details and we will come back with your indicative rate. No obligation.
Thanks, we are on it
Your enquiry is in. Our team will be in touch shortly with your indicative rate and next steps.
The short answer
The magnet is financeable, the room is the harder part
Lenders like imaging equipment at the small end and treat the big end as a project. A cone beam unit or digital X-ray has a known resale market and sits inside a practice with revenue. An MRI or CT is different. The lender is underwriting a revenue plan as well as a machine, so it asks for referrer relationships or a radiologist contract, the supplier's quote, a site survey and the room costs together.
Price is the first number to pin down. Our imaging machine cost guide cites a national buying guide that puts MRI at $150,000 to $300,000 entry-level, $500,000 to $1.5 million mid-range and $2 million to $3 million or more high-end. Bairnsdale Hospital in Victoria bought an MRI unit for $1.5 million in October 2025, within a $2.7 million imaging upgrade. The same guide puts the annual MRI service contract at $10,000 to $100,000, which at the top figure on a $1.5 million machine is about 6.7 per cent of the purchase price, by the guide's arithmetic. Shielding, structural work and power upgrades are quoted per site and are not published.
Medicare matters too. A Department of Health notice says the requirement for MRI equipment to hold a Commonwealth licence is to be removed from 1 July 2027, with conditions such as an accredited imaging practice and the machine within its applicable life age. It predates those dates, so check the current page before you buy, especially a used machine. Ventas is a broker across 40+ lenders, not a single bank, and there is no upfront fee to you. The lender pays us on settlement.
Do you qualify?
What a lender looks at on an MRI purchase.
Referrers or a contract
Existing billings, referral relationships or a signed radiologist contract.
A clean quote
Supplier, model, age, ARTG listing, installation and service terms.
A costed room plan
Shielding, power and fit-out, and who pays for each.
Security behind the loan
Property, cash or other assets to cover what the machine cannot.
Why the room costs sit apart from the scanner
The machine resells
Equipment finance is valued on what the scanner would fetch second-hand.
Shielding does not
Lead lining, joinery and site works add little resale value.
Property can cover the gap
A loan secured on a home or practice premises can fund the rest.
A worked example
A radiology practice buys a mid-range MRI at $900,000, with $40,000 for installation and calibration and $260,000 for shielding, power and room works. The cash needed is $1,200,000. Equipment finance at an assumed 80 per cent of the machine price covers $720,000. The practice funds the other $480,000 from cash or a loan secured on property. Illustrative only.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does an MRI machine cost in Australia?
One national buying guide puts entry-level units at $150,000 to $300,000, mid-range at $500,000 to $1.5 million and high-end at $2 million to $3 million or more. Prices are quoted, not listed, and room works come on top.
Can I finance a refurbished MRI?
Sometimes. Older refurbished units usually mean shorter terms or more of your own funds. We found no published Australian dealer price for a refurbished MRI, so work from a written supplier quote.
Does the lender fund the shielding and installation?
Rarely in full. Shielding, joinery and site works have little resale value, so they are usually met from your own funds or a loan secured on property. Ask the supplier to itemise them.
What does a lender need to see?
The supplier quote, whether the machine is new or refurbished, the site survey and room costs, how the practice will use it, and the security you can offer.