June 8, 2026 Community & Social Infrastructure

What Goes Into an NDIS Provider Commercial Mortgage

Buying the premises your NDIS service already operates from is a defining step for any provider. At Ardent Capital Group we speak with allied health and disability service owners about this kind of commercial property purchase, so this guide walks through how a lender views the building, the deposit you would plan for, and the structures that keep your service and your asset working together.

Ardent Capital Group is a specialist in commercial mortgages for NDIS provider premises operators across Australia. Our team can help you move from tenant to owner, and give you clear lending advice on structure and strategy.

Funding scope: Access finance from $100,000 to $10,000,000+, structured for owner-occupiers and multi-site operators.
Track record: Over $500,000,000 facilitated across a decade for 1,000+ Australian borrowers.
Coverage: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and surrounding regional centres.
Sector focus: Allied health hubs, day program centres, therapy clinics, plan management and support coordination offices.

Reasons to own your premises

Premises drive service delivery. NDIS operations rely on compliant access, specific room layouts and specialised equipment installation. Fit-outs are not generic office partitions. Think therapy rooms with acoustic treatment, widened corridors, accessible bathrooms and showering, ceiling or mobile hoists, secure storage, sensory spaces, therapy gyms, and accessible parking. When you invest in this build, ownership gives you the longevity and control to protect it.

Location is sticky. Participants and carers value routine, transport links and predictable parking. Staff recruitment often clusters around a known site, so shifting an established centre risks attrition and re-fit costs. Owning the address you have already built a community around keeps that value with you.

The sector shows resilience. Revenue is supported by NDIS plans and service agreements, diversified across participants and services. Owner-occupiers can usually secure sharper pricing and terms than pure investors, and repayments build equity in a core asset over time.

Key drivers for ownership:

Control of fit-out and compliance: Build once to standard, avoid landlord constraints and repeated make-good costs at lease end.
Long-term cost management: Replace escalating rent with repayments that retire debt and build equity.
Client and staff retention: Keep proximity to public transport, hospitals, schools and community hubs that anchor your participant base.
Asset protection and succession: Hold the property in a structure that supports future growth, partner changes or sale of the trading entity.

Buying will not suit every provider, and that is worth naming plainly. If you expect to relocate within a short horizon, if your service mix is still evolving, or if capital would do more inside clinical staff and systems, leasing may serve you better for now. A short remaining lease, uncertain zoning, or buildings that cannot cost-effectively reach accessibility and safety standards also weaken the case. The decision sits with you, and we are glad to talk it through either way.

How the finance works for an NDIS provider

Deposit and LVR: Commercial premises of this kind commonly gear up to 80 per cent for owner-occupiers, so the deposit can start from around 20 per cent. Owner-occupiers and stronger asset positions sit at the upper end of that range.
Loan term and structure: Terms commonly run 10 to 15 years with the banks and 25 to 30 years with non-bank lenders. Repayments can be principal and interest for steady amortisation, or interest only for a defined period if cash flow needs priority during fit-out, recruitment or site consolidation.
Security and serviceability: The property is the primary security. Lenders assess business financials, stability of NDIS-derived income, margins after clinician costs, occupancy costs, and debt service coverage. They review historicals and forecasts, along with director statements of position and any additional property offered.
Owner-occupier treatment: Lenders generally favour owner-occupiers because the building and the business are aligned and vacancy risk is lower. We position an owner-occupier file to the lenders that read this security most favourably; the pricing, LVR and terms remain each lender's decision.

How the purchase is usually structured

Many NDIS providers hold the premises in a separate entity, often a company or a unit or discretionary trust, and lease it back to the trading business at a commercial rent. A lender reads that inter-entity rent as part of the serviceability line, and the arrangement keeps the property separate from trading risk while supporting partner changes or a future sale of the operating entity. We arrange the borrowing around that structure, and your accountant confirms the trust deed, lease terms and ownership detail before settlement.

An SMSF is another arrangement lenders see for premises of this kind. NDIS provider premises commonly qualify as business real property, so the fund can hold the building in a bare trust under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement and lease it back to your trading entity in writing, at market rent supported by an independent valuation. This class of security typically gears from 65 to 80 per cent inside an SMSF, and cross-collateral is not available inside super, so the fund needs its own deposit for the purchase. We arrange the borrowing side of an SMSF purchase for premises like this; your accountant and an SMSF specialist confirm the fund's contribution position and the ownership detail before contracts are signed.

What underwriters focus on

Business financials: Profitability, cash flow stability, clinician utilisation, revenue mix across participants, plan management and direct billing processes.
Serviceability: Debt service coverage, sensitivity to NDIS price changes, wage pressures and occupancy costs post-purchase.
The property and valuation: Zoning for medical or community services, accessibility compliance, parking ratios, ground-floor preference, lift access, proximity to transport and hospitals.
Deposit and equity position: Cash on hand, retained profits, and the ability to leverage your equity in residential or other commercial property where appropriate.
Lease and occupancy: For partial owner-occupation or existing tenants, review of heads of agreement, lease terms and market rent.

A specialist broker who understands NDIS revenue patterns, compliance-driven fit-outs and lender appetite for owner-occupier health and community assets makes the process clearer and better matched.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario that shows the kind of situation we can assist with, and how the thinking might run.

Profile: A Brisbane multi-disciplinary NDIS provider with two leased sites, group programs and therapy rooms, revenue around $4,200,000 and an EBITDA margin near 16 per cent.
Objective: Buy a 1,100 sqm ground-floor strata aggregation near a hospital precinct for $3,100,000, with a fit-out estimate of $480,000, replacing current rent of $228,000 a year.
Options we would map:
- 75 per cent LVR over a 20-year principal and interest term, with a fit-out facility drawn in stages and interest only during the build.
- An owner-occupier file taken to the lenders that gear this security toward 80 per cent, with a separate working capital line for the recruitment ramp.
- Releasing equity from the directors' other property to reduce the cash deposit, paired with a lower LVR on the new premises.
- SMSF acquisition noted as a possible future step rather than part of this purchase, given timing and contribution limits.
Structures weighed: The property held in a unit trust with a corporate trustee and leased back to the trading company at market rent, or company title held alongside a silent partner.
How we would approach it: We would map the ranges, structures and repayments, shortlist the lenders that suit an owner-occupier NDIS file, and set out the documentation pathway. The figures above are illustrative, not confirmed outcomes, and the decision would stay with the client.

Beyond the mortgage: NDIS provider finance

Asset finance for NDIS-specific equipment: Ceiling and mobile hoists, therapy tables, sensory integration equipment, accessible vehicles for community access, IT and clinical software. This sits outside the mortgage as NDIS equipment finance, matched to the working life of each item.
Fit-out and refurbishment finance: Accessible bathrooms, ramps and lifts, acoustic treatment, privacy screens, therapy room partitions and nurse call systems.
Working capital loans: Bridge staffing and onboarding cycles, manage seasonal participant utilisation, and absorb NDIS price update transitions with working capital for an NDIS provider.
Business overdraft: Cushion claim timing and cash flow gaps between service delivery and remittance.
Refinancing and debt consolidation: Reprice legacy facilities, tidy director guarantees and improve coverage for planned expansion.
Construction and renovation: Build new clinical spaces, extend group program areas or reconfigure for sensory rooms and gyms.
Business or premises acquisition finance: Buy in a partner, acquire a competitor's book, or purchase adjacent strata to expand an established site.

These facilities interact. Owning the premises can free equity for growth, while a refinance can consolidate costs and improve serviceability across your borrowing.

Working with an NDIS provider finance specialist

Ardent Capital Group specialises in commercial mortgages for NDIS provider premises. We arrange and structure finance around how you plan to hold and occupy the property, then match that structure to lender credit appetite.

We service Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and regional areas. We have facilitated over $500,000,000 in funding across a decade for over 1,000 borrowers. We focus on optimal financial outcomes without noise. We handle an NDIS property loan end to end, from lender selection through to settlement.

Common questions

How much deposit do I need to buy an NDIS provider premises? Plan for a deposit from around 20 per cent, since commercial premises of this kind commonly gear up to 80 per cent for owner-occupiers. Where you hold equity in other property, that can reduce the cash you need at settlement.

Can I include fit-out costs in the commercial mortgage? Many lenders will fund part of a healthcare or community-services fit-out where it is fixed to the property, with separate equipment finance for movable items like mobile hoists or therapy devices.

Will lenders count NDIS revenue when assessing serviceability? Yes, with scrutiny on historical billings, spread across participants, clinician utilisation and margin. Lenders review plan management processes, debtor days and sensitivity to pricing updates.

Is buying through an SMSF suitable for NDIS provider premises? Commercial premises often qualify as business real property. An SMSF can hold the building and lease it to your trading entity at market rent, subject to lending caps and liquidity requirements. We structure the finance; your accountant and financial adviser confirm the super and tax detail.

What property features improve lender appetite and valuation for NDIS use? Ground-floor access, accessible parking, DDA-compliant amenities, lift or ramp access, appropriate zoning, proximity to hospitals or transport, and high-quality acoustic and privacy fit-out all support value.

Owner-occupier or investment structure, which makes more sense? Owner-occupier usually attracts better pricing and higher LVRs. Investment structures can suit growth or passive income objectives. The right call depends on tax, partners and long-term plans.

How fast can a purchase settle and what documents are needed? Term sheets often issue within days once financials, BAS, aged receivables, director statements and a contract of sale are on hand. Valuation and legal work set the settlement timing, typically four to eight weeks depending on complexity.

Ardent Capital Group is a specialist in commercial mortgages, and our team can talk your NDIS premises purchase through with you.

Written by

Nick Chong

Managing Director, M.AppFin, Dip. Mortgage Mgmt

Nick holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics, a Master of Applied Finance and an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning. He founded Ardent Capital in 2016 after more than a decade in financial planning and mortgage broking. For the past ten years he has led a team of finance specialists, mortgage advisers, brokers and credit analysts, all working to secure optimal outcomes for clients and always acting in their best interests. The team brings both a qualitative and a quantitative approach to every deal.