The short answer
Australian dental practice consulting is usually priced one of three ways: hourly or day rates for project work, a monthly retainer for ongoing coaching or management support, or a fixed-scope engagement. Retainers are the most common model for established practices. Ask what you are actually buying — hours, deliverables, or decisions — and what the exit looks like, because the range in the market is very wide and price tells you little about fit.
There is no published rate card for this market, and quoted numbers vary enormously because the work varies enormously. A one-day systems review and an eighteen-month leadership engagement are both sold as consulting.
The three models you will meet
- Project or day rate. You buy a defined piece of work — a review, a systems build, a training day — for a fixed fee. Clear scope, clear end, limited change.
- Monthly retainer. You buy ongoing access, usually a scheduled session plus support between them. This is the common model for established practices, and where most of the real change happens.
- Programs and memberships. You buy a curriculum and a cohort. Lower cost, but the content is designed for the average practice rather than yours.
What actually moves the number
- Who does the work — the founder personally, or a junior consultant working from their framework.
- Whether the engagement includes working with your team, or only with you.
- Frequency and length, and whether anything happens between sessions.
- Whether the scope is one problem or the whole business.
Questions worth asking before you commit
- Who will I actually be working with, every session?
- Is this a fixed program, or built around what my practice needs?
- What happens between sessions, and what do you expect from me?
- How do we know it worked, and how does it end?
The honest answer for a Swift engagement
Swift Transformations is private one-to-one advisory delivered personally by Rhea Jain, scoped to the practice in front of her, so the cost depends on the scope and cadence we agree. That is settled openly in the complimentary advisory session before anything is committed — no program fee, no obligation, nothing quoted before we both understand the problem.
Where this gets solved
Consulting vs private advisory →Written by
Rhea Jain, founder of Swift Transformations Pty Ltd and owner-operator of a multimillion-dollar Australian dental practice, with a BSc in Psychology and a Master of Human Resource Management.
Last reviewed .