Do I have to charge GST on group programs and workshops in my Melbourne practice?

It depends on who delivers the service and how. Under Subdivision 38-B of the GST Act 1999, services delivered by a recognised health professional in that professional capacity — physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, dietetics — are generally GST-free. Wellness classes, general fitness groups or lifestyle workshops that aren't delivered as a listed health service by a recognised practitioner often don't qualify and may need GST added. Check each new service line individually rather than assuming your whole practice is GST-free.

Are retail products like orthotics and braces GST-free?

Some are, some aren't. Schedule 3 of the GST Act lists specific medical aids and appliances that are GST-free, and the ATO maintains a detailed GST-free medical aids and appliances list. Custom orthotics dispensed as part of a professional consultation are usually treated differently to off-the-shelf supports sold at reception. Match each product against the ATO list before setting your price, because getting this wrong on your BAS is one of the most common errors we see in Melbourne allied health clinics.

Can I claim the cost of setting up a new service line, like equipment or a fit-out, as an immediate deduction?

Setup costs incurred in gaining assessable income are generally deductible under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997, but the timing depends on the asset. Equipment may qualify for instant asset write-off or standard depreciation under Division 40, while leasehold improvements are typically depreciated over time under Division 43. Talk to your accountant about the correct treatment before you commit to spending, and keep every invoice — your BAS agent needs the paper trail to substantiate the claim.

How do I keep NDIS billing compliant when I add a new service line?

NDIS supports are GST-free under section 38-38 of the GST Act when the participant has an NDIS plan in effect and the support is reasonable and necessary. New service lines — group therapy, telehealth, or assistant-led programs — must still be billed against the correct NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits line item and cannot exceed the published price cap for that support category. Mismatched line items are one of the fastest ways to trigger an NDIS payment review.

Should adding new revenue streams change how often I lodge my BAS?

Not automatically — your BAS cycle is set by your GST turnover and ATO registration, not by the number of service lines you run. But once your combined turnover from all services (including previously GST-free income that now includes GST-liable retail or wellness offerings) approaches the $75,000 GST registration threshold, you need to review your obligations. Many multi-service Melbourne practices move to monthly BAS voluntarily simply for better cash flow visibility, not because it's mandated.

Adding Additional Services to Grow Revenue in Your Melbourne Allied Health Practice

Published 2026-09-10By True Tally Bookkeeping7 min read

Why Melbourne Practices Are Diversifying Revenue

Walk down Church Street in Richmond or Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn and you'll pass three or four physio, podiatry or psychology clinics within a few hundred metres. The Melbourne allied health market is dense, room rents in the inner suburbs keep climbing, and one-to-one billable hours have a hard ceiling — there are only so many appointment slots in a working week.

Practices in Brighton, Camberwell, Essendon and the CBD are responding by layering additional, lower-marginal-cost services on top of their core consulting income. Done well, this smooths cash flow across quiet periods, reduces reliance on any single practitioner's calendar, and builds a revenue base that isn't capped by clinic room availability.

Done badly — without checking the numbers or the tax treatment first — a new service line can quietly bleed money for a year before anyone notices.

Popular Additional Services Melbourne Practices Are Adding

The services we see working well across Melbourne practices generally fall into a handful of categories:

Group programs: exercise physiology classes, pilates-based rehab groups, or falls-prevention sessions that let one practitioner bill multiple clients in the same time slot.
Telehealth consults: particularly valuable for practices with regional Victorian clients who can't easily get into the CBD or inner-east suburbs.
Retail and product sales: orthotics, compression garments, TENS units, resistance bands — items clients would otherwise buy elsewhere.
Corporate wellness contracts: ergonomic assessments or on-site sessions for Melbourne businesses in the CBD and Docklands looking after staff wellbeing.
Education workshops: paid group sessions on pain management, return-to-work planning, or parent education for paediatric clients.
Allied health assistant-led programs: supervised exercise or home-program follow-ups delivered at a lower hourly cost than practitioner-led sessions.

None of these are complicated to deliver clinically. The complexity is almost always in the numbers and the compliance — which is where practices trip up.

Getting the Numbers Right Before You Launch

Before you announce a new group program or retail line, work out its true cost — not just the obvious ones:

Practitioner or assistant wages, plus superannuation guarantee contributions currently sitting at 11.5% under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992
Room hire or equipment amortisation for the time the new service occupies
Admin and reception time spent booking, invoicing and following up
Marketing spend to get the new service in front of existing and new clients

Setup costs — new equipment, signage, a fit-out for a group therapy room — are generally deductible under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 where they're incurred in gaining assessable income, though the timing of the deduction depends on whether the item is depreciated under Division 40 or Division 43. Don't guess at this; get your accountant to confirm the treatment before you commit spend.

Run a simple break-even: how many participants or product sales per month does the service need to cover its direct cost before it contributes anything to overheads? If a Pilates rehab class needs eight paying clients to break even and you're consistently getting five, that's information you want after month one, not month twelve.

Not sure if a new service line is actually making money?

We build simple margin tracking into Xero for Melbourne allied health practices, so you can see exactly what each service line contributes — not just what your total revenue looks like.

Book a Free 20-Minute Melbourne Call

GST, Invoicing and NDIS Considerations

This is where most new service lines go wrong. Your core one-to-one consulting is very likely GST-free under Subdivision 38-B of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, because it's a listed health service delivered by a recogn