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Learn about visiting Australia and health insurance
Australia has some strict requirements when it comes to international visitors and health insurance. If you are planning a long term stay in Australia, it is absolutely essential that you hold appropriate health insurance from the moment you step off the plane – in fact, most VISA’s require it.
Short Term stay in Australia – just visiting for less than 90 days
If you are simply holidaying in Australia for less than 90 days and not working while you are here, you are just visiting Australia for a short term stay. In this case, it would be appropriate to take out a travel insurance policy. Travel Insurance is relatively inexpensive depending on the age of the travellers.
Travel insurance will cover you for most unforeseen medical expenses if something were to happen to you during your visit to Australia. If something is not covered, such as a pre-existing health condition, it’s important to make sure your international travel insurance policy covers you for medical repatriation, meaning the insurance company will pay for you to be flown back to your home country for medical care.
Travel insurance also covers you for things like loss of luggage, delayed or cancelled flights, theft of valuable goods and more. Simply search online for travel insurance in your country and fill in their online forms to get a quote. The forms usually require that you choose which country you are visiting and the length of your stay. They may also ask about what activities you plan to do while you are in Australia.
Long Term stay in Australia – visiting for more than 90 days with a VISA
Staying in Australia for longer than 90 days often requires you to apply for a particular VISA relevant to the reason you are going to Australia. There many different types of working and non-working VISAs. Some of the more common are a Holiday VISA, Student VISA, Spouse VISA, and Working VISA. This is just to name a few as there are many different types of Australian VISAs.
Most Australian VISAs do not include any medical benefits if something were to happen to you during your stay. The Australian medical system can be quite expensive compared to other countries. A simple visit to the doctor can cost $50-$100 AUD and a visit to the hospital for emergency medical attention will cost thousands of Australian dollars. The emergency ambulance transport to hospital alone is approximately $1000 for road transport and up to $20,000 for airlift transport.
Coming to Australia on a Working VISA 457, 482 or 485
If you are planning to work in Australia, then you would certainly be applying for a 457, 482 or 485 working VISA. These VISAs require that an approved health insurance policy be taken out as part of the application for the VISA itself. You can’t just take out any health insurance policy.
The type of health insurance policy required must specifically be an Overseas Visitors Cover for a working VISA. These can be quite expensive if you don’t know which Australian health insurance companies offer great value and cost-effective OVC health insurance.
Fill out the quote form above for a Working Visa quote, making sure you select Working VISA as the VISA type. An application for a health policy is approved upon payment and you can select any start date for either now or in the future on your planned entry into Australia. Successful applicants are sent an immediate email with the certificate required to send along with your VISA application.
Coming to Australia on a Non-Working VISA
There are many non-working VISA types when visiting Australia. These include bridging VISAs, skilled VISAs, student VISAs, Visitor VISAs, and a multitude of family VISAs too. If you’re not working while in Australia, you will require a Non-working VISA health insurance policy.
Although some of them do not require health insurance as part of the application for the VISA, it would be an incredible risk to not insure yourself against accidents or illnesses for your long stay in Australia. As mentioned before, the Australian healthcare system is quite expensive, even for the smaller things. A significant medical event could cost you anything from $10,000 to $100,000 Australian dollars. It’s just not worth the risk.
To get a quote for cost-effective Overseas Visitors health insurance with a reputable health insurance company, start a quote below and make sure you select a Non-Working VISA in the form.
