Healthcare Costs & Insurance

Australia's health system gives residents access to quality healthcare, at an affordable cost. The system consists of Government-funded public health cover and private health insurance.

On this page:
Public health cover
Private health insurance
Ambulance cover

Public health cover

The Australian Government has two national programs to reduce medical costs - Medicare, and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Medicare

Medicare is Australia's healthcare system. Through Medicare, eligible Australian residents receive free treatment a patient in a public hospital as well as receive reduced costs for out-of-hospital care.

Eligibility for Medicare

People who live in Australia can access the Medicare system if they:

• hold Australian citizenship
• have been issued with a permanent visa
• hold New Zealand citizenship.

If you are in Australia on a temporary visa, you are not eligible for Medicare, unless you are from one of the below countries that have a 'Reciprocal Health Care Agreement' with Australia.

• United Kingdom
• Malta
• Finland
• Sweden
• Norway
• Italy
• New Zealand
• Netherlands
• Ireland.

Services funded by Medicare include:

• consultation fees for doctors, including specialists
• tests and examinations by doctors needed to treat illnesses, including X-rays and pathology tests
• eye tests performed by optometrists
• most surgical and other therapeutic procedures performed by doctors
• some surgical procedures performed by approved dentists.

For more information and enrolment details contact Medicare.

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) ensures that prescription medicine is provided at affordable prices.

If you are eligible for Medicare and have enrolled, you are eligible for the PBS and the pharmacist will automatically reduce the cost of your medicine.

For more information, visit the Medicare website.

Private health insurance

There are three types of private health insurance in Australia - hospital cover, treatment cover (also known as extras cover) and ambulance cover. Most private health insurers offer single polices and combined policies.

Private health insurance in Australia is optional, but many people choose it to have further health coverage and options in addition to Medicare.

It is important to note that some private health insurance will not cover the full cost of the services you receive.

Private hospital cover

Private hospital cover means that you can choose your doctor, surgeon and hospital. Access to private hospitals can reduce the waiting time for elective surgery.

Treatment and extras cover

Private extras cover could include:

• dental treatment
• chiropractic treatment
• home nursing
• podiatry
• physiotherapy, occupational, speech and eye therapy
• glasses and contact lenses
• prostheses.

For temporary residents and migrants

Many private health insurers offer policies to people living in Australia on a temporary visa.

If your current health fund is a member of the International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP), you may be able to transfer to an Australian fund, without penalty, and with a similar level of cover. To check if your health fund is a member, visit the IFHP website.

Choosing private health insurance

There are many private health funds and different insurance policies available. Membership and prices vary between funds and policies.

For more information about private health insurance policy, visit PrivateHealth.gov.au.

Lifetime Health Cover

If you are moving to Australia permanently you need to be aware that the Australian Government has recently introduced Lifetime Health Cover. Lifetime health cover only applies to registered Australian funds.

Under this new health cover, the cost of private health insurance goes up for every year you are uninsured after you turn 31 years old. People who decide not to purchase private health will pay a higher premium of two percent per year for every year that they haven't joined since they turned 30.

However, if you are a new migrant, this rule does not apply to you, as long as you get private health insurance within one year of arriving in Australia, or by the month of July following your 31st birthday (whichever comes first).

Ambulance cover

Ambulance costs for one trip can range from A$600 to more than A$5500, if an air ambulance is necessary. To avoid this cost, you can become a member of Ambulance Victoria, which will cover ambulance service costs throughout Australia. Membership costs A$60 for single and A$120 for families for one year.

If you have private health insurance it may cover part or all Ambulance costs - please check the full details of your policies for coverage.

For more information and to organise your membership, visit the Ambulance Victoria website.