Most doctors who ask us about private practice aren't unhappy with medicine. They're tired of the system around it: the rosters, the bed pressure, the meetings, the sense that the work you trained for keeps getting squeezed. Private practice can fix a lot of that. It can also bring a whole new set of problems you didn't have before. The trick is knowing which trade you're making.

What you gain

Control over your time. You decide your session times, how long appointments run and how many patients you see. For a lot of doctors, especially psychiatrists, being able to give each patient the time they need is the main reason to make the move.

Earning potential. Income in private practice is tied to what you bill, so it can be well above a public salary once you're established. The key words are "once you're established". Building a referral base takes time, and the first year can be lean.

Clinical focus. Without the competing demands of a busy public service, you can shape your work around the patients and conditions you're most interested in.

What you give up

Guaranteed income and paid leave. In the public system you're paid whether the clinic is full or not, and you get paid annual leave, sick leave and professional development support. In private practice, a week off is a week without billing.

A team around you. Public services come with registrars, nurses, allied health and colleagues down the corridor. In private rooms you may be making difficult calls on your own, so think about how you'll get peer support.

Someone else doing the admin. Rooms, staff, billing, Medicare, insurance, IT, privacy obligations: it's all yours now, or it's your money paying someone else to handle it.

Questions worth asking yourself

  • Do I have a referral base, or will I need to build one from scratch?
  • Could I cover my costs for six to twelve months while the practice grows?
  • Do I want to run a small business, or just practise medicine?
  • Will I join an established group practice, or set up on my own?
  • How will I keep my professional development and peer review going?

You don't have to choose all or nothing

Plenty of doctors move gradually. A fractional public appointment alongside a few private sessions a week gives you a steady income while the private side grows. Visiting Medical Officer (VMO) arrangements, where you're contracted by a hospital rather than employed by it, are another middle ground. Joining an established private group is often easier than starting solo, because the rooms, staff and referrers are already there.

Locum work can also be a useful test. A few months in a private setting will tell you more about whether it suits you than any amount of planning.

Where we can help

We talk with doctors about this decision all the time, and we know which private groups and hospitals are looking, and what they're offering. If you're weighing it up, a confidential conversation costs you nothing. You can see the kinds of roles we recruit for on our psychiatry and GP recruitment pages.