Dental practice setup checklist for Victoria

Use this as a planning framework.

Requirements vary with the practice, premises, services, equipment and ownership structure. Confirm your obligations with the relevant authorities and appropriately qualified advisers before committing to a site, contract or purchase.

Define the practice you are building

Make the operating model clear before committing to premises, equipment or a large fit-out.

Define the patient groups, clinical services, opening hours and intended referral model.
Estimate the number of surgeries required at opening and the capacity needed over the next three to five years.
Identify your point of difference and how it will influence location, design, technology, staffing and marketing.
Set measurable first-year objectives for patient growth, utilisation, revenue, team capacity and owner workload.

Establish the business and advisory team

The ownership structure affects contracts, taxation, finance, insurance and regulatory applications.

Engage an accountant and commercial lawyer before finalising the entity, shareholder arrangements or lease.
Register the company or business structure, ABN, business name, tax registrations and banking arrangements as applicable.
Check the proposed business name, domain and branding before investing in signage or marketing; business-name registration does not itself create trade mark rights.
Confirm who is authorised to sign the lease, finance documents, supplier contracts and regulatory applications.

Test feasibility and secure funding

Build the budget around the full cost of reaching stable operations, not only construction and equipment.

Prepare establishment, equipment, fit-out, professional-fee, technology, recruitment and launch budgets.
Model revenue conservatively and include working capital for the period before the practice reaches break-even.
Allow contingencies for building variations, authority delays, equipment lead times and postponed opening dates.
Compare lending, equipment finance and lease terms with advice from your accountant and finance specialist.

Complete premises due diligence before signing

A suitable-looking tenancy is not necessarily suitable—or approved—for a dental practice.

Ask the local council whether the proposed use, development, signage and parking arrangements require planning approval.
Have the lease and disclosure documents reviewed, including permitted use, make-good, incentives, services, assignment and fit-out obligations.
Confirm power, water, drainage, ventilation, structural loading, plant space, communications and access for dental equipment installation.
Review accessibility with the architect, building surveyor and a DDA/access consultant where appropriate.
Make key commitments conditional on required approvals and satisfactory technical investigations where your advisers recommend it.

Design, approvals and fit-out

Clinical workflow, compliance and future capacity should be designed together.

Appoint healthcare-experienced architectural, engineering, building-surveying and construction advisers.
Map the patient journey, staff movement, clean and contaminated instrument flows, storage and accessibility before finalising plans.
Coordinate planning and building permits, landlord approvals and any other authority requirements.
Document equipment service requirements and radiation-shielding inputs early enough to be incorporated into construction documentation.
Maintain a single programme covering design decisions, approvals, procurement, construction, commissioning and opening dependencies.

Plan equipment and radiation requirements

Radiation licensing and room design must be coordinated before equipment delivery.

Prepare an equipment schedule covering dental chairs, sterilisation, imaging, plant, laboratory, emergency and office equipment.
Confirm installation, servicing, warranty, training, software and consumable requirements with each supplier.
Check with suppliers and appropriate advisers that medical devices are lawfully supplied in Australia and meet applicable TGA requirements.
In Victoria, obtain the appropriate Radiation Management Licence before taking possession of dental X-ray equipment, including intra-oral units, OPG or CBCT equipment.
Prepare the required Radiation Management Plan and supporting documents, and confirm that each person who will use a radiation source holds the required use licence.
Determine personal radiation-monitoring requirements and arrange an appropriate dosimetry service where required.

Confirm practitioner, billing and insurance arrangements

Check every registration and policy against the services, people, entity and premises involved.

Verify current Ahpra registration, endorsements and scope requirements for each practitioner.
Arrange provider numbers, claiming facilities and payment systems where relevant to the services being delivered.
Confirm professional indemnity arrangements for practitioners and appropriate cover for the business, premises, contents, cyber risk, public liability and interruption risk.
Review contractor and service-agreement structures with legal and accounting advisers rather than relying only on labels such as “contractor”.

Build clinical governance and infection-control systems

Policies must match the actual rooms, equipment, team responsibilities and daily workflow.

Document infection prevention, instrument reprocessing, environmental cleaning, waterline management and waste procedures.
Create clinical governance, consent, record-keeping, incident, emergency and complaints processes.
Assign responsibility for audits, equipment testing, maintenance records, stock control and policy review.
Train the team and test workflows in the completed premises before treating patients.

Configure technology, records and privacy

Technology decisions affect the patient experience, clinical safety, reporting and business continuity.

Select and configure practice-management, imaging, accounting, payroll, communications and online-booking systems.
Design access permissions, multi-factor authentication, backups, recovery testing, device management and secure offboarding.
Prepare privacy governance, collection notices, a privacy policy, access and correction processes, retention arrangements and a data-breach response plan.
Test integrations, templates, recalls, reporting, claiming, EFTPOS, phones and internet before launch.

Recruit and prepare the team

Recruitment timing should align with training, commissioning and the expected appointment book.

Define the initial organisation structure, responsibilities, staffing levels and recruitment sequence.
Prepare employment contracts, position descriptions, onboarding, payroll, superannuation and rostering processes with appropriate advice.
Confirm applicable awards, classifications, minimum rates, allowances and working-hour rules.
Assess whether WorkCover registration is required and establish workplace health and safety processes.
Schedule systems, equipment, emergency, privacy and infection-control training before opening.

Prepare the brand and patient communications

Marketing should explain the practice clearly without outrunning operational readiness or advertising obligations.

Finalise the brand, signage, website, location information, phone numbers and online listings.
Review all advertising for compliance with the National Law, including website, social media, promotions and third-party listings.
Build a realistic pre-opening and post-opening marketing plan aligned with available appointments and team capacity.
Prepare referral, recall and patient-communication processes with clear ownership inside the practice.

Commission, test and open

Treat opening readiness as a formal project stage rather than the final construction date.

Track approvals, licences, occupancy requirements, insurance, equipment commissioning and supplier sign-offs in one readiness register.
Run complete test appointments from booking through arrival, treatment, imaging, sterilisation, payment and follow-up.
Confirm emergency equipment, first-aid arrangements, utilities, security, cleaning, waste and critical consumables.
Use a controlled opening schedule and review operational, financial, patient and team indicators frequently during the first 90 days.

Further information

Official sources

Sources and links were reviewed on 2 September 2026. Requirements can change; always check the current information published by the relevant authority.