Clinic Admin works inside Cliniko, Nookal, and Splose every day. We are platform agnostic and hold no affiliate relationships with any software vendor in this comparison. This guide is updated periodically as platforms evolve.
Choosing practice management software is one of the most consequential decisions an allied health practice makes. It touches every workflow, every patient interaction, every dollar billed. And yet most comparison content online is either vendor produced, affiliate driven, or written by people who have never actually worked inside these platforms day to day.
Our team uses Cliniko, Nookal, and Splose across dozens of allied health practices every week. We see the strengths and frustrations first-hand. This comparison is written from that operational perspective rather than a marketing one.
We do not recommend any specific platform. The right choice depends entirely on your practice size, discipline mix, billing requirements, and appetite for complexity. What we can do is lay out the facts clearly enough that you can make that decision with confidence.
Cliniko
Founded 2011, Melbourne · 65,000+ practitioners · Private, founder owned, never raised capital
Cliniko is the default for a reason. The interface is genuinely intuitive, every feature is included at every price point, and the company has held its prices steady since 2011. That fifteen-year price freeze is not a marketing gimmick. It reflects a deliberate philosophy about fairness that extends to donating 2% of all revenue to charity, having passed $3 million AUD in total donations by late 2025.
The platform scores 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra with ease of use rated 4.9. Support is 24/7, human-only, via chat and email. Cliniko deliberately tested and then publicly rejected AI for its support operations. That kind of opinionated product philosophy is either refreshing or frustrating depending on what you need.
The trade-offs are real. Medicare and DVA claiming requires Tyro Health, a third-party integration with its own fees. NDIS support relies on workarounds using patient cases and custom billable items rather than native tooling. Patients cannot self cancel or reschedule online bookings. And the deliberately anti-AI stance means you will need third-party apps for clinical documentation automation. Cliniko prices in USD, so Australian practices pay more than the headline figure suggests.
Halaxy
Founded 2012, Melbourne · 45,000+ practitioners · Private
Halaxy's pitch is genuinely unusual. The core platform is free. Not a trial, not a limited tier. Free with unlimited practitioners, unlimited locations, and unlimited appointments. Revenue comes from a credits system where each credit costs roughly AUD $0.15 to $0.22 and is consumed by SMS, Medicare claiming, telehealth, and AI Scribe usage.
The breadth of native features is the deepest in this comparison. Halaxy processes Medicare rebates, DVA, ECLIPSE, TAC, WorkCover, and Comcare claiming natively. NDIS plan management with funding period tracking is built in. Over 700 clinical tools and templates cover 90+ healthcare professions. Heidi Health AI Scribe launches directly inside clinical notes. The platform also offers a patient portal with two factor authentication, a built-in CRM, and e-prescriptions via eRx.
The downsides centre on predictability and perception. The credit-based model makes monthly costs hard to forecast for high volume practices. Competitor Zanda has publicly challenged Halaxy's privacy policy, arguing that if you are not paying for the product you are the product. Halaxy denies these claims. Regardless of who is right, the debate creates perception risk worth acknowledging. Review data is more scattered than competitors, and users report mixed customer support experiences alongside the comprehensive feature set.
Nookal
Founded 2010, Oxenford QLD · Primarily AU/NZ/UK · Private
Nookal keeps things simple. One plan, $55 AUD per practitioner per month, all features included, unlimited admin staff, unlimited locations. The pricing model is the most transparent in this comparison and 60% of its Capterra reviewers identify as physiotherapists, confirming its stronghold in that discipline.
Direct Medicare and DVA claiming is native at approximately 30 cents per successful claim. NDIS support includes budget tracking, plan management, and bulk invoicing. Nookal integrates with both Heidi Health and its own Clinical AI scribe for voice-to-text dictation, and an Innovation Hub provides early access to features like AI letter generation. New Zealand practitioners benefit from strong ACC claiming support. The platform holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification, one of the stronger security credentials among all platforms reviewed.
The most significant gap is the missing patient portal, the platform's most requested feature, announced for early 2026 but repeatedly delayed. The mobile app was last updated in 2020 and is essentially abandoned. Reporting functionality, while adequate, is frequently cited as a limitation compared to competitors. Nookal scores 4.6 out of 5 on Capterra from the largest review sample of the primary three platforms at 89 reviews.
The challengers
Australian-critical features compared
The features that matter most to Australian allied health practices. Select platforms to compare side by side.
| Feature | Cliniko | Halaxy | Nookal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicare claiming | Via Tyro | Native (credits) | Native (30¢) |
| DVA claiming | Via Tyro | Native (credits) | Native |
| NDIS support | Workaround | ✓ Native | ✓ Native |
| AI Scribe | Third party | ✓ Heidi | ✓ Heidi + native |
| Xero | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ One way |
| MYOB | — | — | ✓ Export |
| Patient portal | — | ✓ | Coming 2026 |
| Open API | ✓ | ✓ FHIR | ✓ |
| HealthLink | — | ✓ | — |
| AU data hosting | ✓ AWS | ✓ AWS | ✓ AWS |
Select 2 to 4 platforms to compare. Tap platform buttons above to toggle.
Monthly cost by practice size
Drag the slider to see how base subscription costs compare at your practice size. Remember that some platforms add per-claim, per-SMS, or credit-based charges on top.
Approximate AUD base subscription costs. Excludes SMS, claiming fees, and add-ons. Cliniko and Jane priced in USD, converted at ~1.55. *Halaxy base is free but credits apply for SMS, claiming, and telehealth.
What matters for your discipline
A physiotherapist, a podiatrist, and an exercise physiologist walk into a software demo. They all need different things. Here is what actually matters for each, based on what we see operationally across the practices we support. These are observations, not recommendations. Your practice is unique and your decision should be based on your own evaluation.
The question we hear most often from practices we work with — including clinics like Optimise Health in Toowoomba — is not “which platform is best?” It is “which platform will our team actually stay in?” The honest answer is that the best platform is the one your admin and clinical teams will use fully, rather than half-adopting and working around. That is usually decided by fit and training, not by the feature matrix.
Which platform fits your practice?
Answer eight questions about your practice and we will show you which platforms appear to align with your stated needs. This tool is illustrative only. It uses a simplified model and does not account for every factor relevant to your decision. It is not a recommendation. Always verify current information directly with vendors and conduct your own due diligence before choosing any platform.
How many practitioners work in your practice?
Security and compliance
All seven platforms store Australian patient data on Australian servers. The differentiator is the level of independent security verification each has obtained.
What it comes down to
No single platform dominates on every dimension. Cliniko wins on simplicity and trust. Halaxy wins on feature breadth and per-practitioner cost at scale. Nookal wins on physio-specific workflows and independently verified compliance. Splose wins on AI capability and NDIS depth. Zanda wins on entry price and native Medicare claiming. Coreplus wins on Australian digital health integration. And Jane wins on interface design, though at the cost of Australian relevance.
The gap between platforms is narrowing. The National Allied Health Digital Uplift Plan, released in December 2025, sets a five-year roadmap for digital connectivity. Sixteen software vendors are working on My Health Record integration expected by mid-2026. That will create a new differentiator around which platforms connect to Australia's national health record infrastructure.
AI is the most visible battleground, but actual practitioner adoption of advanced AI features remains low. The AHPA Digital Transformation Survey of nearly 2,500 allied health professionals found that 70% recognise the value of digital health data, but the gap between recognition and daily use is still wide. The platforms investing most aggressively in AI are betting on where the market is heading, not where it is today.
Frequently asked questions
›Which platform is best for a solo physiotherapist?
›Which platform handles NDIS billing best?
›Can I claim Medicare directly without a third-party service?
›Which platform works best with Xero?
›What about MYOB?
›Is Halaxy really free?
›Which platform has the best mobile app?
›How does Clinic Admin work with these platforms?
We know allied health like the back of our hand.
To us, every practice management system is a native tool. Our team works inside Cliniko, Nookal, and Splose every day — across dozens of Australian allied health practices — to deliver the kind of administration results that clinic owners tell us they could not replicate in-house.
Book a ConversationSources & further reading
Pricing, feature descriptions, and review ratings throughout this guide were gathered in April 2026 from the following primary sources. Platforms change frequently — always verify directly with each vendor before making a decision.
- Vendor websites: Cliniko, Halaxy, Nookal, Splose, Zanda, Coreplus, and Jane App.
- Third-party review platforms: Capterra, G2, GetApp, and Trustpilot — published ratings current at April 2026.
- Australian health system: Services Australia Medicare and DVA claiming documentation; NDIA on NDIS provider requirements; My Health Record; and the National Allied Health Digital Uplift Plan (December 2025).
- Security credentials: ISO 27001 (Zanda), SOC 2 Type 2 (Nookal, Jane), AWS infrastructure controls (Cliniko, Halaxy, Splose, Zanda, Coreplus). Verify current status directly with each vendor.