8501 visa condition

The 8501 visa condition means you need to get health insurance before you come to Australia. 8501-compliance OVHC starts from around $60 a month, but it does vary by visa type.

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Key takeaways

What is the 8501 visa condition?

This condition means you need to take out health insurance before coming to Australia. The Australian government's immigration website says that "you must have and maintain adequate health insurance for the whole of your stay in Australia" if you are subject to the 8501 visa condition.

Most Australian visas come with the 8501 visa condition.

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Expert insight: Why does condition 8501 exist?

"Most Australian visas come with the condition that the visa holder must maintain adequate health insurance. This is called condition 8501. Health insurance has been mandated by the Australian government to ensure that visa holders make appropriate arrangements to cover any medical or hospital care they may require while in Australia, so that they can pay for the care they require should they fall sick or get into an accident. This ensures the visa holder's access to healthcare while in Australia without the need to rely on public funding, or having to pay for the full cost of health care out of pocket."

Managing partner, Australian Migration Lawyers

What visas does the 8501 condition apply to?

Visa SubclassVisa Name
BVA 010
Bridging Visa A
BVB 020
Bridging Visa B
BVC 030
Bridging Visa C
BVE 050
Bridging Visa E
403
Temporary Work International Relations (m)
405*
Investor Retirement (m)
407
Training (m)
408
Temporary work activity (d)
410*
Retirement (d)
417
Working Holiday (d)
461
NZ Citizen Family Relationship (d)
462
Work and Holiday (d)
482
Temporary Skill Shortage (m)
485
Temporary Graduate – (Graduate work, Post study work, Replacement stream) (m)
500
Student (m)
590
Student Guardian (m)
600²
Visitor (Tourist) (d)
771
Transit (d)
870
Sponsored Parent (m)

Mandatory (m) conditions apply to the visa by operation of law at the time of visa grant.
Discretionary (d) conditions are imposed by the delegate as part of the decision to grant, once the visa is granted the condition(s) has been lawfully imposed and cannot be revisited with a view to removing the condition from the visa.

²Condition 8501 can only be imposed on a Visitor visa granted in certain streams or in certain circumstances.

*Visa subclasses closed to new applicants.

How can I meet the 8501 visa requirement?

You can meet the 8501 health insurance requirement by taking out Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC). This is a type of health insurance designed specifically for visa holders coming to Australia.

The policies below all meet the 8501 condition. You can attach this to your visa application. The start date should be when you expect to arrive in Australia, so you won't start paying for your policy until then.

Compare OVHC policies that meet the 8501 condition

Product
Meets condition 8501
Hospital cover
Dental
Pregnancy cover
GP visits
Medical repatriation
Price
$20,000
From $66.40 per month
Get quoteMore Info
CBHS Overseas Worker Base Hospital
CBHS OVHC logo
Yes (Reduced benefits)
$10,000
From $59.97 per month
Get 8 weeks free with CBHS International Health Overseas Workers Cover. Offer ends 30 June 2025. T&Cs apply.
Get quoteMore Info
Frank Basic Workers Cover
Frank OVHC logo
Yes (Reduced benefits)
$10,000
From $60 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Medibank Overseas Workers Base Hospital
Medibank OVHC logo
From $73 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Frank Minimum Working Visa Cover
Frank OVHC logo
$20,000
From $75 per month
Get quoteMore Info
HBF Overseas Working Visa Hospital
HBF OVHC logo
From $81.95 per month
Get quoteMore Info
CBHS Overseas Worker Mid Hospital and Medical
CBHS OVHC logo
Yes (Reduced benefits)
$10,000
From $95.98 per month
Get 8 weeks free with CBHS International Health Overseas Workers Cover. Offer ends 30 June 2025. T&Cs apply.
Get quoteMore Info
Frank Mid Workers Cover
Frank OVHC logo
$20,000
From $100 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Medibank Overseas Workers Standard Hospital and Medical
Medibank OVHC logo
From $107.50 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Allianz Care Australia Standard Working Cover
Allianz Care Australia OVHC logo
$20,000
From $113.85 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Frank Mid Workers Plus Bundle
Frank OVHC logo
$20,000
From $125 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Allianz Care Australia Mid Working Cover
Allianz Care Australia OVHC logo
$20,000
From $183.70 per month
Get quoteMore Info
CBHS Overseas Worker Top Hospital and Medical
CBHS OVHC logo
Yes (Reduced benefits)
$10,000
From $184.99 per month
Get 8 weeks free with CBHS International Health Overseas Workers Cover. Offer ends 30 June 2025. T&Cs apply.
Get quoteMore Info
HBF Overseas Working Visa Hospital + Medical
HBF OVHC logo
From $197.15 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Allianz Care Australia Top Working Cover
Allianz Care Australia OVHC logo
$20,000
From $345.10 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Medibank Overseas Workers Advanced Hospital and Medical
Medibank OVHC logo
From $446.60 per month
Get quoteMore Info
Medibank Overseas Workers Premium Hospital, Medical and Extras
Medibank OVHC logo
From $481.25 per month
Get quoteMore Info
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Do I need to get health insurance?

You aren't obligated to get health insurance if you are from a country that has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia. These countries are:

  • Belgium
  • Finland
  • Italy
  • Malta
  • The Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • The Republic of Ireland
  • Slovenia
  • Sweden
  • The United Kingdom

It's worth noting, RHCAs generally don't cover ambulance transportation, medical evacuation and some out of hospital services such as dental care – but many OVHC policies can.

FAQs

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Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

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Gary Ross has written 621 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
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Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio

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6 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    MingNovember 12, 2024

    Hi,
    My friend’s 85years old mother got s cancelled her membership saying she is on medication visa now. How can my friend get appropriate insurance or funds to cover this? As they are not rich and they are righteous.
    It’s appreciated that if the question could be answered.
    Thank you,
    Ming

      AvatarFinder
      AngusNovember 13, 2024Finder

      Hi Ming, This is a tricky one. Health insurance associated with visas typically assumes those visa holders are working. Given your friend’s mother is on a compassionate medical visa, she’s unlikely to be covered by many health insurance options, as she has a pre-existing condition. She would likely need advice from an immigration lawyer or other expert on what options (if any) are available.

    Default Gravatar
    VarunApril 17, 2023

    Hi Gary,

    Thanks for writing this very useful article.
    Is it right to say there is only one provider for non-working visitor visa for subclass 600 with health 8051 requirements?
    i.e Allianz
    And the covers are
    Allianz Australia Budget Visitors Cover
    Allianz Care Australia Standard Visitors Cover
    If not can you state the others I might have missed?

    thanks

      AvatarFinder
      SarahApril 25, 2023Finder

      Hi Varun,

      All the insurers in the table provide appropriate cover for 8051 visa holders, including Allianz, HCF and Frank. There may be others who don’t currently partner with us as well.

      You can contact each insurer for more information by clicking “get quote” or “more info”.

      Best of luck!

    Default Gravatar
    RanjitMarch 3, 2023

    Hi,
    I wanted to know which all insurers provide OVHC that meets the 8501 requirement for VIsa Visitor subclass 600. It is for my parents aged around 68 and 75.
    Thanks,
    Ranjit

      AvatarFinder
      GaryMarch 7, 2023Finder

      H Ranjit,

      All of the insurance policies on this page meet the 8501 requirement.

      Hope that helps.

      Thanks,
      Gary

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