Health insurance in Australia

Whether you’re visiting Australia to see the wallabies or for work, you want to be properly insured during your stay. Especially if you’re staying for a longer period of time. We’ll explain how the healthcare system works in Australia. Then, you can apply for your Australia healthcare insurance.

Australia has a public health care system: Medicare. This is funded by the government. Residents pay for it via a tax surcharge (Medicare levy).

If you have a low income, you do not have to pay the tax surcharge. If you have a high income and don’t have any private insurance, you pay a higher surcharge.

There’s a separate system for covering the cost of medication: Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). This is an Australian government programme that fully or partially reimburses the cost of most medicines.

If you’re staying in Australia with a permanent residence permit, you will be covered by Medicare. During a short stay in Australia, you are eligible for both Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Medicare is also available for Dutch students coming to Australia on a student visa. In addition, as a student, you are required to take out Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). You can do this via your educational institution in Australia. For more information, take a look at the website of the Australian government.

If you’re a Dutch citizen with a permanent residence permit for Australia, you are eligible for the reimbursement of:

• The costs of a general practitioner and medical specialist, in full or partially
• The cost of treatment and stay in a public hospital
• The partial cost of certain medications

If you’re only staying in Australia temporarily, your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), will entitle you to necessary medical care, for example, in the case of illness or an accident. Your ailment or complaint must have arisen during your stay in Australia, and the treatment can’t wait until you return to the Netherlands.

Medicare is not a replacement for travel insurance with medical cover or additional healthcare insurance. In particular, Medicare offers very limited cover for travellers without permanent residency. For example, it does not reimburse the cost of treatment or stay in a private hospital.

Other costs not covered by Medicare include:

• Maternity care
• Transport by ambulance
• Dentist
• Physiotherapy
• Prosthetics
• Glasses
• Contact lenses
• Hearing aids

Medicare only refunds medical care in Australia and a limited number of other countries. If you travel outside Australia, you will probably not be insured.

If you have a permanent residence permit, report to a Medicare office after arriving in Australia. It takes about 10 days for your application to be processed.

If you’re staying in Australia temporarily, for example on holiday, then a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you limited entitlement to medical care from Medicare. You can apply for an EHIC via your Dutch health insurer. After arriving in Australia, report to a Medicare office with your EHIC.

Dutch national health insurance refunds emergency care worldwide. However, you will never be refunded more than what the treatment would cost in the Netherlands. Repatriation due to illness or an accident is not covered by Dutch national health insurance.

If you are no longer eligible for Dutch national health insurance, or if you would like supplementary insurance to Dutch national health insurance or Medicare, you can take out a private healthcare insurance for Australia. This enables you to tailor your insurance to your specific needs during your stay in Australia:

• Determine the duration
• Choose how extensive your healthcare insurance needs to be
• Get a discount if you have Dutch national health insurance
• Take out additional insurance, such as household contents,
• accident or third-party liability insurance
• If something happens, our help centre is available 24/7

If you want to arrange your healthcare insurance for Australia in advance, you can calculate your premium easily online. Once everything is correct, you can take out your insurance straight away.

If you have any questions about your healthcare insurance for Australia, check out Healthcare for temporary stay in Australia on the website of the Australian government.

Or you can contact us. Our team will be pleased to help you