Healthcare Accounting & Tax Services in Australia

Our Australian healthcare accounting services are designed for a variety of providers within the local health ecosystem:

• Private Medical & Dental Clinics: GP, specialist, and dental practices that need to manage a mix of Medicare bulk-billing, private patient gap payments, and claims from funds like Bupa, Medibank, and HCF.
• Allied Health Professionals: Physiotherapists, chiropractors, psychologists, and other specialists who need to manage patient billing under different funding models, including NDIS.
• Cosmetic & Elective Surgery Clinics: Practices that must correctly apply GST to services that are not classified as medically necessary.
• Digital Health & Telemedicine Startups: Platforms that need to navigate the GST implications of digital service delivery and establish compliant billing systems for a national user base.

From the moment you receive your provider number, specialized healthcare accounting is vital. It becomes mission-critical when:

• You Start Billing Medicare or Private Insurers: This initiates the complex revenue cycle of claims submission, benefit assessments, rejections, and patient co-payments, which requires expert management.
• You Hire Clinical & Administrative Staff: This triggers PAYG withholding and superannuation obligations, often under specific health industry awards.
• You Face a Medicare or Insurer Audit: Both government and private payers can audit your billing and clinical records. Clean, compliant financial records are essential for passing these inspections.
• You Need to Manage Practice Cash Flow: With insurance payment cycles varying significantly, proactive cash flow forecasting and management of accounts receivable is crucial for practice stability.
• You Plan to Expand or Sell Your Practice: Potential buyers or partners will conduct deep due diligence on your billing efficiency, collection rates, and overall profitability.

Investing in professional healthcare accounting is an investment in maximizing your collections and ensuring compliance. The cost reflects the high degree of specialization required.

• Small Practice / Solo Practitioner: AUD $1,200 - $2,500 per month. This covers specialized bookkeeping, payroll, BAS preparation, and monthly financial reporting.
• Medium-Sized Clinic (multiple providers): AUD $2,500 - $6,000 per month. This service level adds more detailed revenue cycle analysis, denial management reporting, and provider productivity tracking.
• Larger Practices & Health-Tech Companies: Custom pricing from AUD $6,000+, which can include full-scope virtual CFO services for strategic planning and financial modelling.

The Australian healthcare industry has significant financial and regulatory risks:

• Medicare Billing Errors: Incorrectly using MBS item numbers can lead to audits, repayment of benefits, and in serious cases, accusations of fraud.
• GST Errors: The GST rules for healthcare are complex. Incorrectly applying GST to an exempt service (or vice-versa) can lead to significant penalties from the ATO.
• **Revenue Leakage:** Failure to properly manage insurance claim rejections and patient follow-ups can lead to a significant portion of earned revenue never being collected.
• AHPRA Compliance: The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has strict guidelines on advertising and business practices. Poor financial management can reflect badly on a practitioner's professional conduct.

Healthcare professionals are experts in clinical care, not in the complexities of medical billing, superannuation, and Australian tax law. Hiring a full-time practice manager with deep financial expertise is a significant expense that is often beyond the reach of a growing practice.

Outsourcing your accounting to YourLegal provides a cost-effective solution, giving you access to a team that specializes in the Australian healthcare market. We understand the revenue cycle, the nuances of dealing with Medicare and private insurers, and the financial reporting required by regulators. We implement robust systems to track your claims, analyze rejections, and provide you with clear insights into your practice's financial performance. This allows you to focus on delivering excellent patient care, confident that your financial operations are optimized for maximum collections and full compliance.