Overseas visitors health cover (OVHC) is private health insurance designed specifically for people coming to Australia on a temporary visa. It's mandatory on some visas, but you may be exempt if you're a citizen of a country with a reciprocal health care agreement. If you're a student, you may need overseas student health cover.
OVHC can cover the following:
Cheaper policies will cover emergency ambulance rides and treatment in a hospital, plus accommodation fees. Other common services include cover for hernias, cancer and joint replacements.
Extras cover includes out-of-hospital care such as dental, optical, physiotherapy and chiropractic. Some more expensive OVHC policies will cover these treatments automatically. In other cases, you may need to take out a separate extras policy in addition to basic OVHC cover.
This is when you need to make an appointment at a doctor's clinic, known as a General Practitioner (GP) in Australia, because you're feeling unwell or have some other health issue that may require medication.
If you are on medication, it's likely worth getting a policy that will cover your prescriptions. Otherwise, medicine can be quite expensive in Australia.
If you become seriously unwell or suffer a life-altering disability, most overseas visitor policies will pay to fly you home under medical supervision.
If you plan on working in Australia, your visa application will generally require you to have OVHC in place by the time you enter Australia, unless you're a citizen of a country that has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia.
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