While we're unable to point you to a single best OVHC policy – since everyone's health needs differ – we can make choosing one easier. We picked 4 Overseas Visitor Health Cover policies based on factors such as price, services, visa requirements and popularity.
Best OVHC: Finder top picks
Best Mid cover: HCF Top Working Visa
Our verdict:
Covers non-hospital treatments including dental, optical and physiotherapy.
Australia's largest not-for-profit health fund.
Choice of excess: $250 or $0.
A very high $100,000 benefit limit for medical repatriation.
Meets the 8501 visa requirement.
Fewer agreement hospitals than some other funds.
HCF Top Working Visa was the cheapest policy on Finder that we considered 'comprehensive', including a wider range of coverage than most basic policies, including out-of-hospital services.
For domestic policies, HCF gives back a greater percentage of premiums as benefits than any other health fund that offers OVHC. This doesn't mean it will be exactly the same for overseas policies, but it's a good sign.
HCF is fully not-for-profit, meaning they exist for the benefit of policy holders, not shareholders. HCF is the largest not-for-profit fund offering overseas policies - Frank is also not-for-profit but quite a bit smaller, while Allianz is a for-profit company with a not-for-profit underwriter, Peoplecare, for OVHC.
Frank Basic Workers Cover is the cheapest OVHC policy available on Finder that also meets the visa 8501 requirements.
Policies start from around $60 per month.
It covers 18 different health services.
It is less comprehensive than other providers.
It does not cover GP visits.
Its medical repatriation limit is $10,000. Other providers double this limit.
Frank Basic Workers Cover offers overseas visitors coverage for the basics while at a cheap cost. It may not be as thorough in coverage but it offers the essentials for those who need them on a budget.
Offers cover on a wide range of treatments, including GP visits and telehealth.
Covers you for treatment in all hospitals, not just in its partner network.
Medibank is Australia's largest health fund (along with ahm, which it owns).
Meets the health insurance requirement for student visas.
While Medibank isn't the most expensive OSHC policy in the market, there are cheaper options available.
Of all the standard OSHC offers in the market, Medibank comes out on top when comparing features that have substantive differences between health funds. For example, Medibank has above average coverage for telehealth and has no waiting period for pre-existing psychiatric conditions.
Medibank OSHC will cover treatment in public hospitals and private hospitals, even outside its partner network. That said, you're still best to get treatment at a public or agreement hospital, to lower the risk of paying extra fees.
FAQs
If you're visiting Australia on a temporary visa and you're not from a country with a reciprocal healthcare agreement then you'll likely need a form of overseas visitors health cover (OVHC). If you're a student, you may need overseas student health cover (OSHC). The best option for you will depend on what kind of policy is mandatory for your visa (if any) and what level of coverage you want.
It can but it depends on which policy you choose. The more comprehensive policies tend to cover GP visits while it'll typically be excluded from cheaper policies.
This depends on what visa you're coming to Australia with and whether or not the country you're a citizen of has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia. Read more about who needs OVHC.
Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio
Tim's expertise
Tim has written 122 Finder guides across topics including:
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:
The 190 Visa gives you permanent residency and can lead to citizenship. Read our easy, step-by-step guide on how to apply and what health cover you will need to have in place.
If your parents are planning to visit you in Australia from another country, they will first need an appropriate visa, and secondly need health insurance while they are here. This guide explains how to do both.
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Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
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