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Structure your medical practice and its service agreement

We document the arrangement between your practice and its doctors so their liability does not become yours.

A practice that provides rooms, staff and systems to independent doctors is in a commercial relationship that needs writing down. Get it wrong and you can find yourself answering for another practitioner’s clinical obligations, or arguing about how the service fee should be treated. The document is what keeps the two practices separate.

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The practices stay separate

The agreement records that the practitioner runs their own practice, which is what keeps their clinical obligations away from you.

Classified correctly

The contractor and employee distinction addressed, because that is where payroll tax and superannuation exposure sits.

Ready for the exit

Patient records, restraints and notice dealt with before a practitioner gives notice rather than after.

What a practice services agreement is doing

A practice services agreement is the contract between a practice owner and an independent practitioner. The practitioner uses the practice’s rooms, staff and systems for a service fee. It records that the practitioner runs their own practice and that the owner supplies services to it.

That distinction carries the weight. It is what separates the owner from the practitioner’s clinical obligations. It is also what the ATO and the state revenue offices look at when deciding how the arrangement should be treated. Without it, the relationship is whatever the facts suggest, which is rarely what either party intended.

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Is this doctor a contractor or my employee?

It turns mainly on control over how the clinical work is done. A doctor who works to your direction looks like an employee. One who runs their own practice and sets their own terms looks like a contractor. Getting it wrong reaches payroll tax, superannuation and liability, so it is worth deciding before the arrangement starts.

Can we use a standard template?

Rarely well. Templates miss the provisions that matter in a practice and use terms that do not match your actual arrangement. They also skip the regulatory and liability issues specific to medicine. A purpose-drafted agreement costs more once and settles more.

Who owns the patient records?

It depends on the arrangement and should be stated in the agreement. Generally the practice holds the records it creates, while practitioners have obligations of their own about access and continuity of care. Leaving it unstated is what turns a departure into a dispute.

Can we stop a practitioner setting up nearby?

A restraint can be enforceable if it goes no further than is reasonably necessary to protect the practice’s legitimate interests. Distance, duration and what it actually restrains all matter. A restraint drafted too widely is often worth nothing, so it is worth drafting carefully.

The document is what keeps the two practices separate

Clinical liability, the service fee, the patient records and the restraint are all decided by what the agreement says, and only when someone leaves.

Two practices under one roof, or one practice with an unclear owner

Most practices start with an arrangement that suited the first doctor, and then keep using it. More practitioners join on variations of the same terms. The documents stop describing what actually happens.

The risk is not theoretical. If the arrangement looks like employment, the consequences reach payroll tax, superannuation and leave. If it looks like a single practice, the owner may be exposed to a practitioner’s clinical liability.

We will advise on the right legal structure for each practitioner relationship in the practice.
We will draft a practice services agreement for your independent practitioners.
We will draft employment contracts where the relationship is genuinely employment.
We will advise on partnership and shareholder arrangements where the practice is co-owned.
We will review or update your existing agreements and constitutional documents.

When a new doctor is joining and you want the arrangement right

A doctor is joining your practice and you need the arrangement structured properly. You want to be clear you are not carrying their professional liability and that the service fee is treated as you intend. You also want both of you protected if it does not work out. You are not certain which kind of agreement you need, or what it has to say.

What's included in your medical practice structure service

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Practice structure advice.
Practice services agreement drafting.
Employment contract drafting where required.
Partnership or shareholder documentation where required.
Review of existing agreements and company constitution.

The arrangement is tested when a practitioner leaves

Practices rarely examine these agreements while everyone is getting along. The document sits in a drawer and the arrangement runs on habit.

Then a practitioner gives notice, and the questions arrive together. Whose patients are they. Can they set up two streets away. Who holds the records, and who is entitled to a copy. Was that person a contractor for payroll tax or not. Every one of those has an answer in a properly drafted agreement, and no clear answer without one.

From an inherited template to documents that fit the practice

We start with how the practice actually runs. Who directs the clinical work, who holds the patient relationship, how the fee is calculated, and what happens to records and patients when someone leaves.

Then we prepare the documents that match. A practice services agreement for independent practitioners. An employment contract where the relationship really is employment. Partnership or shareholder documents where the practice is co-owned. Where the existing paperwork no longer describes the practice, we say so and replace it.

How the documents get done

From an inherited template to documents that fit the practice.

How the practice runs

We work out who directs the clinical work, who holds the patient relationship and how the fee is set.

Draft the agreements

We prepare the practice services agreement, employment contracts and ownership documents the practice needs.

Sign and review

We see the documents executed and set a point to review them as practitioners come and go.

Practice structures and service agreements for medical practices

The commercial and regulatory side of running a practice is not what anybody trained for. It usually gets attention only when a practitioner leaves or a revenue office writes.

We document practice arrangements so the structure on paper matches what actually happens in the rooms. That includes the contractor and employee distinction, which is where the payroll tax and superannuation exposure sits. It also includes the restraint and patient record provisions that matter when a practitioner goes. Where you already have agreements, we will tell you which no longer describe the practice.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

Get the arrangement documented before the doctor starts

It is far easier to agree these terms before a practitioner starts than to raise them afterwards. Tell us how the practice runs and who is joining, and we will tell you which agreement you need and what it has to cover.

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