Private Health Insurance
If you are on a temporary or provisional visa, you may need to have private health insurance to cover medical and hospital expenses while you are in Australia. Check your visa conditions to find out whether health insurance is required.
Permanent residents can also choose to take out private health insurance. Depending on your policy, it can provide greater choice of hospital and doctor, as well as cover for services such as dental, optical and physiotherapy.
There are 2 types of private health insurance:
- Hospital cover helps cover the cost of treatment when you are admitted to hospital.
- General treatment cover, sometimes known as ancillary or extra cover, helps cover services such as dental, optical and physiotherapy.
Many health funds offer combined policies that cover both hospital and general treatment services.
There are a number of private health cover insurance companies in Australia like Medibank and Bupa. The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman can give you more information.
You can find more information at these websites:
- PrivateHealth.gov.au – information about private health insurance in Australia
- Private Health Insurance Ombudsman – information and assistance about private health insurance
- Services Australia – information about health care and Medicare for migrants and visitors