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Running your own medical practice is an exciting yet challenging venture. Practitioners who have their own practice must navigate various administrative and legal complexities, one of them being their medical practice structure. As medical legal advisors, we’ve seen how the right structure can help practitioners avoid legal headaches, and how the wrong structure can create them.
Read MoreClosing a medical practice in Australia is a significant decision for a medical practice owner. It creates a myriad of legal, financial, and operational considerations and can be tricky to navigate. Whether you're retiring from practice, relocating, experiencing illness or transitioning to another phase of your career, it's critical to approach the process with diligence and care.
Read MoreOften medical practices hire doctors as independent practitioners because it is thought to be more flexible, for both the practice and the doctor. However, with ongoing changes to the law around independent contractors and tenant doctors, an independent practitioner can in many cases be considered an employee.
Read MoreSpecific, tailored and carefully drafted legal agreements are essential to ensure proper protection of your medical or allied health practice. Increasingly, websites from non-lawyers (e.g. business coaches or professional associations) are purporting to offer “cheap, fast and convenient” templated legal documents.
Read MoreAround one in four employees work as ‘casuals’ in Australia, therefore it’s no surprise that many medical or allied health practices engage their support staff (or even their professional staff) as casuals. The recent amendments to the Fair Work Act (‘FW Act’), which came into effect on 26 August 2024, brought some notable changes relating to casual employment, including (but not limited to):
Read MoreMany practices are now facing the reality that they must pay payroll tax. In recent years, we have seen a shift from payroll tax rarely, if ever, being payable on payments to independent doctors, to it arguably becoming more likely than not. Despite the overall outcome, one benefit for practices that does stem from the Rulings issued by the State Revenue Offices, is increased clarity.
Read MoreOne of the most transformative developments in recent years is the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), and the impact that it can have (and is currently having) in the medical field is profound. AI tools like Heidi and their competitors offer substantial benefits, from optimising operational efficiency to enhancing diagnostic accuracy.
Read MoreAs specialist lawyers for medical practices and allied health clinics, we often get queries from physiotherapy businesses regarding their liability to pay superannuation and other entitlements to contracted physiotherapists, and the distinction between employees and contractors more broadly. Misclassifying workers and incorrectly assessing liabilities are key areas of concern for clinics and the process of engaging independent contractors involves navigating a complex legal landscape.
Read MoreReferral fees, also known as commission arrangements, are common in various industries, including healthcare. However, an arrangement where one healthcare professional pays another for referring patients, can raise significant legal and ethical concerns. In Australia, practices like this are generally prohibited due to the potential conflict of interest they create, compromising the integrity of patient care. In this article, we explore the obligations of health practitioners and the legal and ethical implications of such arrangements in Australia’s healthcare sector.
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