Australia Living In Australia

Accessing Healthcare for you and your family | Related Links

Australia has both public and private health care systems. The universal public health system is called Medicare, which is detailed below.

In summary of the following information, if you are a temporary resident in Australia, it is advisable to obtain private health insurance cover to safeguard against unforeseen medical expenses. Many of the plans available to temporary residents are excellent.

Link: List of Private Health Insurance Providers

Medicare

Medicare is Australia’s universal system for financing public hospitals and services provided by private doctors and some additional health costs.

What does Medicare cover?

Medicare rebates are linked to government-set Schedule Fees for medical and optometric services provided by private practitioners.

How does Medicare work?

Medicare rebates

Schedule Fees set by the Federal Government set guidelines for the costs of medical and optometrical services provided by private practitioners. However, practitioners have the right to set their own fees. Some choose to offer a bulk billing service whereby they bill the Federal Government directly for services rendered, while others charge a fee for service and it is the responsibility of the patient to claim a rebate from the Federal Government.

How does Medicare work - public hospital services?

Public hospital services and many community based heath services are provided by State and Territory governments. The Federal Government assists by providing funds from its tax revenue to supplement funds from State and Territory taxes and charges.

People may also elect to be private patients in public hospitals. This enables them to choose their own doctor. However, in this case they are charged for their hospital accommodation and associated costs and for the medical services provided by the private doctors who treat them.
Currently, around 40% of Australians take out private health insurance to help them with these costs.

Who pays for Medicare?

All taxpayers contribute to the cost of Medicare through general taxation. This is the main source of Medicare funds. In addition there is a Medicare Levy, graduated according to taxable income.

As a temporary resident doctor, can I access Medicare during my stay?

Medicare is the publicly funded national health insurance system. It ensures a high level of health care for all Australians regardless of their level of income. Medicare is not available for the benefit of temporary residents or overseas visitors, unless they are from countries with reciprocal health care agreements. Likewise, Australians visiting these countries are entitled to healthcare under their public health schemes. Agreements are currently in place with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Malta and Ireland.

Visitors from New Zealand & Republic of Ireland are entitled to:

Visitors from United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Malta and Italy are entitled to:

As the agreements vary from country to country, please refer to the following link for full details:

Medicare Australia

People who reside in Australia are eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:

Visitors and temporary residents from other countries do not have access to social welfare benefits or national public health cover, however a range of Private Health Insurance options are available. Please see the list of Private Health Insurance Providers at the end of this document.

Sponsors must ensure that medical or hospital expenses for a sponsored person arising from treatment administered in a public hospital are met, other than expenses that are met by health insurance or reciprocal arrangements.

Therefore, Sponsors can require sponsored employees to sign an agreement (usually included in letter of appointment) requiring the employee to maintain health insurance which is deemed acceptable to the Sponsor.

Private Health Insurance

What is the link between Medicare and private health insurance?

Medicare provides substantial health cover for everyone. Private health insurance is available for some things not covered by Medicare. Private health insurance is the major source of funds for private hospitals. These provide about 27% of hospital in-patient bed days.
What does private health insurance cover?

Cover available through private health insurance includes:

People with private health insurance cover retain all their Medicare entitlements and are able to use public hospitals either as Medicare patients or private patients.

However, privately insured patients gain quicker access to elective surgery. They also benefit from the convenience of being able to plan a hospital stay at a time that suits them and the choice of specialist for in-patient care. Health funds are allowed to negotiate special arrangements through which all costs of a hospital in-patient stay are covered including medical charges. This involves the private health funds having contracts with private hospitals to pay fixed prices for specified elements of treatment. Doctors would undertake not to charge fees over an agreed level.

There is no private insurance for out-of-hospital medical services. Medicare covers these, although the patient may have to make a payment from their own pocket if the doctors do not bulk bill.

For further information about your ability to access the health care system in Australia please visit:

Department of Health and Ageing

Private Health Insurance Providers

For further information regarding overseas visitors access to private health insurance, please consult the following sites:

IMAN (the International Medical Assistance Network) provide covers solely for Temporary Residents and Overseas Visitors Working in Australia.
Medibank Private
MBF and click on "Products" and select “Overseas Visitors”
HBA
Australian Unity

To our knowledge these are the only private health insurance agencies that specifically offer packages for overseas visitors or temporary residents, however your own research is always highly recomended.