Health Practice Manager

A Health Practice Manager oversees the administrative, financial, and operational functions of a medical, dental, allied health, or community health practice in Australia. They manage staff scheduling, patient record systems, billing and claims processing, compliance with health regulations, and budget control to ensure the practice runs efficiently and delivers compliant care. The role bridges clinical operations and business management, reporting to practice principals or healthcare service directors.

Roster clinical and administrative staff using practice scheduling software, managing leave approvals and coverage for clinician availability. Process and reconcile patient billing claims via Medicare, private health insurance, and out-of-pocket payments using practice management systems. Maintain compliance with AHPRA registration requirements, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission standards, and state health legislation relevant to the practice type. Implement and monitor infection control protocols, sterilisation procedures, and occupational health and safety policies aligned with Safe Work Australia and relevant health sector standards. Manage practice finances including accounts payable and receivable, GST reconciliation, and lodging BAS with the ATO. Recruit, induct, and supervise administrative and support staff, managing performance and professional development. Audit patient record accuracy and privacy compliance under the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and state or territory health records laws. Liaise with Medicare, private insurers, and regulatory bodies to respond to audit queries, claim disputes, and compliance notifications.

The standard entry pathway requires a diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

The role is heavily compliance-driven, so you're constantly tracking shifting regulations (AHPRA, NDIS, state health laws) and your mistakes can expose the practice to fines or loss of accreditation. Staff turnover in admin roles is high, so you're regularly recruiting and training. Remote work is rare because you need to be onsite managing rosters, billing disputes, and regulatory audits.

Most practices are in metro areas where patient numbers and multi-clinician practices justify dedicated managers. Regional practices often ask clinicians to handle admin, so fewer standalone roles exist outside cities. Jobs concentrate wherever there are larger medical, dental, and allied health clusters. Work-from-office is the norm; remote roles are uncommon.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 5122, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Medical Administrator: what carries over
• Health Information Manager: what carries over
• Clinical Coder: what carries over

• Appointment Schedulingcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Health Record Administrationcore
• Health Terminology Literacycore
• HICAPS and Medicare Claiming Systemscore
• Invoicing and Accounts Receivablecore
• Medicare and DVA Billingcore
• Medicare Compliance Knowledgecore
• Policy Interpretationcore
• Practice Management Software (e.g., Best Practice, MedicalDirector)core
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Telephone Triagecore
• Complaint Handling
• Electronic Document Management
• Onboarding New Clients
• Report Writing
• Team Collaboration
• Time Management and Prioritisation
• Workflow Queue Management

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Health Practice Manager workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026