Chiropractic and osteopathic services - issued 2012

Industry overview

Businesses in this industry use specialised treatment techniques to manipulate the spine, joints and soft tissues in the body and to treat musculoskeletal problems and other functional disorders of the body.

These benchmarks do not apply to physiotherapy services.

Performance benchmarks

These performance benchmarks are developed using information reported on income tax returns and activity statements for the 2009-10 year. Performance benchmarks are updated annually.

To review a comparison of previous years benchmarks, refer to previous year.

These benchmarks show a number of different financial ratios of business income to business expenses, to help businesses compare their performance against similar businesses in an industry.

The key benchmark ratio for this industry is total expenses to turnover. This ratio is likely to be the most accurate predictor of business turnover.

Businesses operating outside the key benchmark may be contacted by us. During an audit, if a business does not have records to support their reported income and expenses, we may use benchmarks and other information available to assess the profits of the business.

For information about calculating benchmarks, refer to Small business benchmarks.

Key benchmark ratio	Annual turnover range
	$65,000 - $200,000	$200,000 - $600,000	More than $600,000
Income tax return
Total expenses/turnover	45% - 61%	62% - 76%	72% - 82%
Average total expenses	53%	69%	77%
Activity statement
Non-capital purchases/ total sales	31% - 49%	38% - 52%	41% - 56%

Benchmarks are published as a range representing the ratios reported by businesses grouped either side of the average. Publishing benchmarks as a range allows for variations across financial years, regions and business models.

The following benchmarks are made available as a guide for businesses to review their performance and business practices against other similar businesses.

The following expenses are not reported by every business, so one or more of these benchmarks may not apply to an individual business.

Benchmark ratio	Annual turnover range
Income tax return	$65,000 - $200,000	$200,000 - $600,000	More than $600,000
Labour/turnover	14% - 28%	18%- 32%	24% - 36%
Rent/turnover	11% - 18%	8% - 12%	6% - 8%
Motor vehicle expenses/turnover	3% - 5%	2% - 3%	1% - 2%