Medical equipment finance: funding chairs, imaging and clinical gear for your practice

Clinical equipment is expensive, essential and frequently due for an upgrade. Medical equipment finance spreads that cost across the years the equipment is used to treat patients, so a practice can keep cash for wages, rent and the slow weeks. Health professionals also tend to be well regarded by lenders, which often makes this one of the smoother forms of equipment finance to arrange.

What equipment can a practice finance?

Practice type	Commonly financed equipment
Dental	Chairs and delivery units, OPG and cone-beam imaging, intraoral scanners, autoclaves
General practice	ECG machines, spirometers, examination couches, vaccine fridges, sterilisers
Specialists and imaging	Ultrasound, X-ray, endoscopy towers, surgical lasers
Allied health	Shockwave and laser therapy units, rehab equipment, treatment tables
Optometry	Retinal cameras, OCT scanners, refraction units, edging equipment
Cosmetic and skin	Laser and light-based devices, treatment chairs

Practice computers, servers and booking systems are often covered more naturally under technology equipment finance.

Why do lenders like medical practices?

Health professionals usually have strong, steady earning capacity and a clear career path. Lenders know that, so they often:

• accept lighter documentation from established practitioners;
• lend to practitioners early in their careers on the strength of qualifications and registration;
• consider funding higher-value equipment without asking for property security.

That isn’t automatic. The practice still needs to show it can carry the repayments, and the equipment’s resale market still matters. Highly specialised devices with few potential buyers are assessed more cautiously.

What do lenders check?

• Qualifications and registration of the treating practitioner.
• Practice billings: bank statements, BAS, or financial statements depending on the size of the deal.
• Time in practice, whether as an owner, partner or associate.
• The equipment: supplier quote, new or refurbished, and its resale market.
• Credit, including any ATO debt, which is considered case by case.

If you’re weighing up a new chair or scanner now, check your practice’s options in about a minute without any hit to your credit file.

What paperwork helps a practice application?

For most equipment purchases, have the supplier’s quote, recent practice bank statements, your latest BAS and evidence of registration ready. Larger deals may also need financial statements and a summary of the practice’s existing commitments. If you’re an associate moving into ownership, a letter confirming your earnings history helps the lender understand your track record.

Regulatory checks worth making before you buy

Lenders fund the equipment; it’s on you to make sure it can lawfully be used. The TGA explains that medical devices must generally be included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods before they can be supplied in Australia, unless exempt or excluded. It also notes that unique device identification requirements start from 1 July 2026, beginning with higher-risk class IIb and III devices. When buying from overseas or second-hand, confirm the device’s status with the supplier before you sign.

Lease or loan: which suits medical equipment?

The business.gov.au comparison is a good neutral summary: buying can save money over the long term and lets you sell the item later, while leasing smooths payments and makes upgrades easier but can cost more overall, and fast-depreciating technology may be hard to resell.

For practices, that often plays out like this:

• Buy with a chattel mortgage for long-life items such as chairs, sterilisers and treatment tables.
• Lease with a finance lease or rental for imaging and diagnostic gear where software and hardware move quickly.

What does it cost?

Pricing reflects your practice, your history, the equipment and the term. Compare offers on:

• The total repayable, including any residual or balloon.
• Establishment and documentation fees.
• Upgrade or early payout terms, important for technology you expect to replace.
• What’s bundled in, such as service and maintenance on some rentals.

On the tax side, the ATO confirms the $20,000 instant asset write-off is law and permanent from 1 July 2026 for small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million. It can apply to individual items below the threshold, such as a steriliser or vaccine fridge, though not to a major imaging system. Your accountant can advise.

Illustrative example

Illustrative example: A two-chair suburban dental practice wants to add a third surgery and a cone-beam scanner. The chair, delivery unit and cabinetry hardware come to $90k, and the scanner to $150k. The principal has owned the practice for seven years with steady billings. The chair package is financed under a chattel mortgage because the practice will keep it for many years, while the scanner goes on a finance lease with an upgrade option. The plumbing and building work for the new surgery is funded separately through fit-out finance.

For more on funding the practice itself, see dental practice finance and medical centre finance.

Setting up a new practice versus upgrading an existing one

The two situations are assessed quite differently.

Upgrading an established practice is usually straightforward. The lender can see years of billings, the practice’s bank account and how existing commitments are handled. A replacement chair or a second ultrasound often goes through on light paperwork.

Opening a new practice is a bigger ask, because there’s no practice history to look at yet. Lenders rely on the practitioner’s track record, qualifications, a realistic business plan and, often, a contribution from the owner. Equipment, fit-out and working capital for the first months of trading tend to be arranged together, sometimes with property security to tie it all up. If you’re buying an existing practice rather than starting fresh, business acquisition loans explains how goodwill and patient lists are treated.

Mistakes practices make with equipment finance

• Financing tech over too long a term. You don’t want to be paying for a scanner after it’s been replaced.
• Accepting supplier finance without comparing. It’s convenient but not always the best overall deal.
• Forgetting installation costs. Shielding, plumbing and electrical work for imaging can be substantial and usually aren’t part of an equipment loan.
• Not checking device status on overseas or second-hand purchases.

Ready to equip your next surgery or treatment room?

If there’s equipment your patients or your team need, a short enquiry is the first step. It takes about a minute, and no credit check is done when you first get in touch. We don’t push your details out to a stack of lenders, so your front desk won’t be fielding calls; a real person considers your practice, the equipment and your plans, and phones you directly. Please complete the form accurately, including billings, time in practice and whether you own property, so we can suggest the right option first up.

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