If you live or work overseas for an extended period of time, expat health insurance can give your family access to a high level of medical care.
Travel insurance generally does not include coverage for everyday healthcare expenses and services such as maternity care.
Depending on your situation, there are times when you may need to get both expat health cover and travel insurance.
If your working life takes you away from Australia's shores, expat health insurance is designed specifically for you. It can cover you for everything from hospital accommodation and treatment fees to medical repatriation to Australia.
What is Australian expat health insurance?
While the standard of healthcare in Australia is quite high, the medical care and treatment on offer internationally can vary greatly from one country to the next.
Australian expat health insurance is a type of health service that allows you and your family to access a high level of medical care wherever you are in the world. It can cover you for:
Hospital expenses
Health insurance policies for Australians living overseas can cover hospital expenses you may encounter whilst living overseas. This can include treatment for accidents, illnesses such as cancer and, in some cases, elective surgery.
Ancillary services
Like Australia, many countries will charge you for out of hospital services like dental, physio and optical. Some expat health insurance policies can cover you for this type of care.
Medical repatriation
In some cases, urgent or complex treatment requires you to return to Australia. Some policies can cover you for emergency evacuation costs.
Finder survey: How many Australians worry about being able to pay for medical bills?
Response
No
45.73%
Yes
37.38%
Somewhat
16.9%
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1006 Australians, December 2023
What does health insurance for expats cover?
Although the benefits offered by expat health insurance differ from one policy to the next, comprehensive expat health insurance will usually cover the following medical services.
Who offers health insurance for Australian's living overseas?
There are two ways that you can access health insurance for expatriates.
Through your employer, if they offer cover for workers overseas.
By taking out an international health insurance policy yourself directly from an insurer.
Major global insurers such as Bupa offer international health insurance solutions for individuals and their families, as well as policies designed for businesses to offer to their employees.
What is the difference between health and travel insurance?
There are a couple of key differences between health and travel insurance that will help you decide which one you need.
Health insurance for expats
This is designed for Australians who will be spending an extended period of time abroad. With this in mind, expat health insurance includes cover for day-to-day medical expenses like visits to the doctor, x-rays and pathology, as well as maternity care and dental treatment. Policies also include cover for emergency medical expenses and repatriation to Australia.
Travel insurance
This type of insurance is typically more suited to cover the needs of Australians taking shorter trips overseas. It typically does not include any cover for everyday healthcare expenses and services such as maternity care. Instead, the medical cover provided by travel insurance is designed to provide protection if you suffer an unexpected medical emergency while overseas. Travel insurance also provides cover for a range of other travel-related risks, including lost luggage, travel delays and cancellation fees.
"Purchasing insurance can be a tricky business. These two products are often confused in travel guides and on the internet. Sure, both travel insurance and international health insurance will cover you when you're spending time abroad. And you may have some cover in your home country with a local health insurance policy.
Some travel insurance products include an element of cover for private medical treatment, while international health policies may come with an optional travel insurance rider. But having the wrong cover might leave you with unexpected medical expenses during international travel.
It's important to stress, however, that they're two very different kinds of insurance, designed for two very different purposes. It's possible that, depending upon your circumstances, you might want to purchase both products.
You should pick the right product for your circumstances. Suppose you're only travelling abroad for a short period; in that case, travel insurance is probably what you need.
If you'll be living or working abroad for an extended period, and you want to ensure you have cover for any medical treatment you may need, then an international [or, expat] health insurance policy might be more appropriate for you."
Do I need a policy if I am covered by the RHCA?
Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) in place with the governments of 11 countries around the world. The RHCA allows you to access subsidised healthcare under the public health system in place at that destination; in other words, you’ll be covered by that country’s version of Medicare. Although the medical cover available under an RHCA is beneficial, it has its limits so you still may want to consider health insurance.
It often doesn't provide cover for a wide range of medical expenses, including ambulance services, dental treatment, elective treatments and treatment in private hospitals.
It often doesn't cover the cost of medical repatriation to Australia.
FAQs about Australian expat health insurance
Yes, all Australian health funds allow you to suspend your domestic health insurance policy if you're heading overseas. Your time spent abroad will have to fall within a minimum and maximum trip length threshold for your policy to be eligible for suspension and these periods vary between providers. Additional rules enforced by health funds can include the following.
Premium contributions must up to date, and in some cases paid in advance of your date of departure.
The policyholder must have held cover for a certain period of time, typically 12 months.
The suspension period does not count towards waiting periods.
Suspension for overseas travel can only be applied for once a year.
Remember to check your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or contact your health fund directly if you are planning to suspend cover, as each provider will have their own guidelines.
Australian expat health insurance is a specialist type of health cover that you can get if you're an Australian citizen working and living overseas. It can be particularly helpful if the healthcare in the country you are in is expensive or poorer quality than you are used to.
You might be covered by a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) Australia has in place with many countries or you can sometimes get health insurance cover in the country you're in. Alternatively, you can take out a policy in Australia that will cover you overseas.
Yes, most international health insurance policies for Aussie expats will cover you automatically for medical repatriation across the world. In some cases, you might need to pay extra to get it included in your policy.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 644 Finder guides across topics including:
James Martin was the insurance editor at Finder. He has written on a range of insurance and finance topics for over 7 years. James often shares his insurance expertise as a media spokesperson and has appeared on Prime 7 News, WIN News, Insurance News, 7NEWS and The Guardian. He holds a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, both of which meet the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
James's expertise
James has written 204 Finder guides across topics including:
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