The Australian Government has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) with many countries. Overseas visitors from these countries can access medical treatment in a public hospital. However, there are some services that are not covered, and so it is a good idea to have health insurance for your stay.
Public hospital healthcare is free to all Australian citizens and most permanent residents of Australia. A combination of Medicare, private health insurance and personal payments covers the cost of treatment as a private patient in a public or private hospital.
Australian Healthcare Options for Expats and Foreigners
Expatriates in Australia who aren't permanent residents are responsible for their own healthcare costs. This includes expatriates in Australia on most work visas.
You'll need to prove you're from Australia and eligible for Medicare when you're in another country. To be covered under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia, you'll need to meet the agreement conditions.
Taken together, emergency department presentations accounted for 25.4% of all hospital patient activity reported in Round 21 of the NHCDC. In Round 21, the average cost per admitted ED presentation was $969. The average cost per non-admitted ED presentation was $533.
As an Overseas Visitor you will incur a minimum fee of $133 for each occasion of service. For any test that has a higher charge than $133, you will be charged the greater amount. Please contact your insurance company as soon as possible to notify them of your attendance to the hospital.
Visits to public hospital EDs are free for Medicare card holders. You may be charged if you go to a private hospital emergency department.
In Australia, we go to hospital if we have a medical emergency, or a pre-planned surgery. If it's not an emergency, we visit a doctor or GP first. You can talk to a doctor online or see a doctor face-to-face in your local area.
Health insurance is required for any type of visitor visa to be granted if your country does not have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia. However, the Australian government strongly recommends that all visitors take out private health insurance before they travel.
You are not required to have travel insurance to visit Australia, but it is strongly encouraged. Australia's government travel authority says, “If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel.” Medical care in Australia can be expensive for travelers and visitors.
Medicare is Australia's universal health insurance scheme. It guarantees all Australians (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost.
If you do not have a Medicare card, then you can choose to use your private health insurance to cover your costs. But if you do not have private health insurance, then you will need to pay the full estimate of your account on or before the day of admission.
You can enrol in Medicare if you have a valid temporary visa covered by one of these Ministerial Orders: Fulbright scholars. Witness Protection (Trafficking) Temporary visa (subclass 787)
Failure to pay
If you don't contact us and haven't paid the full invoice amount by the due date, we can: apply interest charges to your debt. set off the debt against your future payments. issue information-gathering notices to third parties to ascertain your location and financial information.
You'll need to take your valid Medicare card or number with you when you go to hospital. To find a hospital near you, you can use the find a health service tool on the healthdirect website.
How much does a public hospital stay cost per night? According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the average cost of a hospital stay in a major public hospital is $4,680.
A surcharge between 1% and 1.5% of your income if you don't have private hospital cover. The good news is that you can buy a basic level of hospital cover for around the same price as (or even less than) the additional tax you might have to pay.
If you're not covered by a health fund, or if you have a large bill to pay, some doctors may offer a payment plan. The average cost of an appointment with a GP (general practitioner) in Australia is around $50, while the average cost of a specialist appointment is around $130.
Our OVHC is Australia-wide and lets you access medical and health cover if something happens during your stay. The Department of Home Affairs recommends that 600 Visa holders take out health insurance each time you travel to Australia – so you are covered during your stay.
Unpaid sick leave: If you run out of sick leave, you can take unpaid leave at the discretion of your employer. Sometimes you can also take annual leave, depending on your contract. Your employer cannot fire you if you have been away for 3 months or less and you provide evidence of your illness or injury.
Most treatment in public hospitals is free for all Australian citizens and most permanent residents. These costs are mainly paid for by Medicare. You will not have to pay for hospital clinical services, doctors' and specialists' fees, medication, hospital accommodation and operating theatre fees.
The mean cost per patient bed- day for all contributing ICUs was $4375 (standard deviation, $1157; 2019 consumer price index equivalent, $4875), the median cost was $4221 (interquartile range, $3436–$5286) (Box 1).
You can call Triple Zero (000) 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any landline, pay phone or mobile phone.
Medicare does not cover all hospital-related costs you may incur. Some examples of what won't be covered include: private patient hospital costs such as surgery theatre fees for private patients or accommodation for a private room.