A DHA healthcare facility licence can transfer as part of a business sale, but it is a regulated process, not an automatic one. This guide explains what transfers, what the buyer must satisfy, and how dormant licences differ.
Yes. A DHA healthcare facility licence can transfer as part of a business sale, but the buyer must satisfy DHA requirements on ownership, management and clinical governance, and the facility must remain compliant with the standards in force at the time of transfer. It is a regulated approval, not a paperwork formality.
Two things buyers routinely underestimate. First, specialty approvals attach to the facility, not the owner — which is why a licence with broad approved scope is worth materially more than the same premises with a narrow one. You inherit approved scope rather than re-applying for it. Second, facilities licensed under earlier DHA frameworks often hold approvals and layout configurations that would not be granted to a new applicant today, so an older licence can carry scope that is effectively impossible to reassemble from scratch.
DHA assesses the incoming owner on ownership structure, management and clinical governance. A clinic can be owned by a non-clinician, but the facility must appoint a licensed medical director and maintain the clinical governance structure DHA requires. Foreign ownership is permitted, including 100% in most structures, though ownership rules interact with licensing — confirm the structure before making an offer.
A dormant licence may carry reactivation conditions, so establish in due diligence what DHA requires to bring it back into active status. Licence status and any reactivation conditions should be the first item you confirm in the information pack — a non-trading facility is priced as an asset and licence sale precisely because the licence, fit-out and equipment remain in place even though there is no active operation.
Licence transfer runs alongside the company transfer and tenancy assignment at completion, after terms are agreed. Most transactions complete in three to six months from signed NDA, depending on how straightforward the licence and tenancy transfers are. MedGrowth manages the DHA liaison, scope review and inspection readiness as part of our setup and licensing work.
Yes. A DHA healthcare facility licence can transfer as part of a business sale, but it is a regulated process rather than an automatic one. The buyer must satisfy DHA requirements on ownership, management and clinical governance.
Yes. Specialty approvals attach to the facility, not the owner, so they stay with the licence when the business is sold — which is why a licence with broad approved scope carries more value than the same premises with a narrow one.
A dormant licence may carry reactivation conditions. Establish in due diligence what DHA requires to bring it back into active status; it should be the first item you confirm in the information pack.
No. A clinic can be owned by a non-clinician, but the facility must appoint a licensed medical director and maintain the clinical governance structure DHA requires.