What an AI receptionist costs a clinic group in Australia
An AI receptionist for an Australian clinic costs $49 to $999 a month on a subscription, priced by calls answered, against $58,000 to $70,000 a year for a medical receptionist. Lyngo, Laneway, Aeva and Salutant book straight into Cliniko, and Salutant also covers Halaxy. Marshall Tech builds custom setups for clinic groups from $6,000 AUD + GST.
Book a call nowUpdated by Nick Hugh, Founder & Principal AI Engineer
$49
Lowest published plan a month
$58k+
Medical receptionist salary a year
24/7
Call cover at every site
How much does an AI receptionist cost for a clinic in Australia?
Clinic AI receptionists in Australia cost $49 to $999 a month, priced by the number of calls answered. Lyngo charges $139 to $880 a month plus GST for 45 to 500 calls, and Laneway charges $249 to $999 for 75 to 450 calls. A group with several busy sites usually lands on a high-volume or multi-location plan.
Compare the costsWhich AI receptionists book straight into Cliniko, Halaxy and Nookal?
Lyngo, Laneway, Aeva and Salutant book directly into Cliniko, and Cliniko lists Lyngo and Aeva in its connected apps directory. Salutant is the main published option for Halaxy group practices. Lyngo, Laneway and Salutant also book into Nookal, while GP clinics on Best Practice or Pracsoft use Healthengine's Helen.
See the providers side by sideIs an AI receptionist safe for patient calls?
An AI receptionist is safe for patient calls when it handles bookings and admin and hands anything clinical to a person. Set a fixed rule that urgent symptoms get your emergency message or a transfer, tell callers they are speaking with an AI on a recorded line, and confirm where recordings are stored, because health information is sensitive information under the Privacy Act.
Read the privacy checklistIs an AI receptionist cheaper than a human receptionist?
For after-hours and overflow calls, an AI receptionist costs a fraction of a staffed seat and answers every site at once.
| Option | Typical cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| In-house medical receptionist | $58,000 to $70,000 a year plus super | One person, staffed hours, one call at a time |
| Remote human reception service | From about $5 a call | Staffed hours, messages for your team to action |
| AI receptionist subscription | $49 to $999 a month | 24/7, books into supported practice software |
| Custom AI receptionist build | From $6,000 AUD + GST, plus call costs | Your rules at every site, any platform with an API |
Subscription prices are each provider's published plans in AUD. Laneway charges no GST; most others add it. Sources: Lyngo AI, Laneway Reception, Salutant, SEEK, Employment Hero, checked 23 October 2026.
Clinic groups
Which AI receptionist suits your practice software?
Pick the AI receptionist by the practice software it books into, then compare price on your monthly call volume.
| Provider | Books into | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Lyngo | Cliniko, Nookal, PracSuite, Splose | $139 to $880 a month + GST |
| Laneway | Cliniko, Nookal | $249 to $999 a month |
| Salutant | Halaxy, Cliniko, Nookal | From $49 a month + GST |
| Aeva AI | Cliniko | On request |
| Healthengine Helen | Best Practice, Pracsoft (GP clinics) | On request |
| Marshall Tech custom build | Any practice software with a booking API | From $6,000 AUD + GST per project |
Integrations and prices change often, so confirm both on a test call before you sign. Sources: Lyngo AI, Laneway Reception, Salutant, Cliniko, checked 23 October 2026.
How do you choose an AI receptionist for a multi-site clinic group?
Choose on booking depth first. The right AI receptionist reads live availability in your practice software and books, moves and cancels real appointments during the call, using the same rules your front desk follows. Then check how it handles each site, urgent calls and patient data, and who looks after it once it is live.
- Booking depth. Ask the vendor to book, move and cancel a real appointment type on a test call. Some products only take a message for your team to enter later.
- Your booking rules. New and returning patients, appointment lengths, practitioner preferences, notice periods and cancellation policy all need to carry over.
- Every site on one setup. Each location keeps its own hours, practitioners and phone number, with answered calls and bookings reported per site.
- The clinical line. Urgent symptoms trigger a fixed protocol you write, such as your emergency message or a transfer to the on-call clinician.
- Patient data. Know where recordings and transcripts are processed and stored, who can access them and how long they are kept.
- Who runs it. A self-serve subscription relies on your team to review transcripts and tune answers. A managed setup puts that work on someone accountable.
How do you roll an AI receptionist out across several clinics?
Roll an AI receptionist out one site at a time. Measure where calls are missed, write the call rules, connect your practice software, pilot at the busiest clinic for two weeks, then add the other sites once bookings are accurate. Most clinic groups start with after-hours and overflow calls so the front desk keeps every call it can answer.
- Measure missed calls per site. Pull two weeks of call logs from your phone system to see which clinics and hours lose the most calls.
- Write the call rules. Set booking rules per appointment type, approved answers to common questions, the urgent call protocol and transfer numbers for each site.
- Connect the practice software. Link Cliniko, Halaxy or Nookal through the vendor's connected app or API, and test bookings against one practitioner's diary first.
- Pilot one clinic. Forward after-hours and overflow calls at one site for two weeks and review every transcript and booking.
- Roll out site by site. Add the remaining clinics once booking accuracy holds, and track answered calls and new bookings per site each week.
What does Australian privacy law require for AI patient calls?
Every health service provider in Australia is covered by the Privacy Act 1988 whatever its turnover, and health details given on a call are sensitive information. Before an AI receptionist goes live, a clinic should tell callers the call is recorded and answered by AI, know where recordings are processed and stored, and complete a privacy impact assessment.
The OAIC's guidance on commercially available AI products asks organisations to do due diligence on any AI product before using it, build human oversight into the process and take a privacy by design approach. Ask every vendor for its data processing locations, retention period and security certifications in writing, and update your privacy policy to explain that calls are answered by AI.
Call recording rules differ between states, so the safest setup announces recording at the start of every call at every site.
Related guides
Sources
- Pricing and plans, Lyngo AI, checked 23 October 2026
- AI receptionist comparison for clinics, Laneway Reception, checked 23 October 2026
- AI receptionists for Australian practices compared, Salutant, checked 23 October 2026
- Connected apps: artificial intelligence, Cliniko, checked 23 October 2026
- Medical receptionist salary, SEEK, checked 23 October 2026
- Medical receptionist salary guide, Employment Hero, checked 23 October 2026
- Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products, OAIC, checked 23 October 2026
- Guide to health privacy, OAIC, checked 23 October 2026
Written by Nick Hugh, Founder & Principal AI Engineer at Marshall Tech, and updated on . Prices and integrations are checked against each provider's published pages on the date shown. To see Marshall Tech guides first in Google AI answers, add Marshall Tech as a preferred source.
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Questions we get asked
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Yes. Most clinic AI receptionists, including Lyngo, include unlimited practitioners and locations and route each caller to the right site's diary. Marshall Tech builds custom setups for groups that need different rules, hours or practice software at each site.
Yes. Marshall Tech sets every AI receptionist it builds to introduce itself as the clinic's AI assistant and to announce that the call is recorded, which keeps the clinic transparent with patients and in line with its privacy policy.
Subscription products such as Lyngo and Laneway can be live within a day of connecting Cliniko or Nookal. A custom Marshall Tech build for a clinic group, with rules for each site and a two-week pilot, usually goes live in four to six weeks.
An AI receptionist covers after-hours, overflow and peak-time calls, so your front desk can focus on the patients in the clinic. Most clinic groups keep their reception team and use the AI to answer the calls that would otherwise reach voicemail.
A custom build makes sense when your group runs practice software without a connected AI app, needs different rules at each site, or wants the same assistant to handle intake and recalls. Marshall Tech AI Delivery projects start from $6,000 AUD + GST.