Smart Cover for Overseas Visitors
Overseas Hospital and Medical Insurance is designed for international visitors who are in Australia for business purposes, holidays or temporary residents who are not eligible for full Medicare entitlements.
As a visitor to Australia you may not be entitled to receive benefits under Australia’s public health program, Medicare. Should you need hospitalisation or any medical treatment while you are in Australia, you will therefore be required to pay for this.
As health and medical services in Australia can be expensive, health insurance cover for visitors is highly recommended. Residents of some countries are entitled to limited access to Medicare for immediately necessary treatment only with some restrictions applying. More information on health insurance can be found at http://www.health.gov.au.
Types of Private Health Cover
Hospital Cover insures you for inpatient services such as:
- Choice of doctor.
- Choice of hospital.
- Private room where available.
- Theatre and accommodation fees on services covered by your policy.
Medical Cover insures you for outpatient services such as:
- Doctor consultations.
- Medical treatment.
- Pathology.
- X-Rays.
- Services for which an Australian resident would be covered by Medicare.
Hospital and Medical cover are combined in our Overseas Visitors Hospital, and Medical cover which is available with or without an excess.
Ancillary Cover insures you for extra services such as:
- Ambulance.
- Dental.
- Optical.
- Physiotherapy.
- Chiropractic.
- Pharmacy.
HIF has four levels of ancillary cover that are designed to suit the needs and budget of all visitors. To find out more about our ancillary covers visit our ancillary options page on this website.
Get a quoteUse these links to get a quote for Overseas Health Cover now
Waiting Periods & Exclusions
Waiting periods are the time you will need to be member of HIF before you can claim a benefit. The waiting periods are:
Hospital and Medical
| 2 months |
- All services except those listed below.
- This period is waived if you commence your cover within one month of arriving in Australia.
|
| 12 months |
- All obstetric related services.
- All treatment relating to a pre-existing ailment or condition.
|
| 24 months |
- Orthopaedic surgery involving joint replacement
|
Ancillary waiting periods are listed on our ancillary options page. Exclusions are services which you will not be covered for, they include:
- Renal dialysis.
- Psychiatric care or treatment.
- Rehabilitation.
- Artificial reproductive surgeries.
- Sterilisation and reversal.
- Sleep disorder treatments.
- Cosmetic surgery.
- All other surgery not approved by Medicare.
Taxation Information
If you are an Australian resident for taxation purposes, including a resident of a country which has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia, you may be required to pay the Medicare Levy and the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). The Medicare Levy is imposed by the Australian Government to fund the Medicare scheme. It is normally calculated at 1.5% of your annual taxable income , but this rate may vary depending on your circumstances.
The MLS is an additional 1% tax imposed on individuals and families on higher incomes who do not have an appropriate level of cover for themselves and all of their dependants. . The annual tax income threshold for an individual is AUD$73,000 per year and AUD$146,000 per year for couples and most families.
The AUD$146,000 threshold increases by AUD$1,500 for each additional child after the first. The 1% surcharge applies proportionately for any period during the tax year when an appropriate cover was not held.
NB: OVERSEAS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL INSURANCE WILL NOT EXEMPT YOU FROM THE MEDICARE LEVY SURCHARGE, HOWEVER WE CAN GIVE ADVICE ON HOW YOU CAN AVOID PAYING THE LEVY.
For more information please call us on 1300 13 40 60 or contact the Australian Tax Office on 13 28 61 or Medicare Australia on 13 20 11 or you can visit their websites at http://ato.gov.au and http://medicareaustralia.gov.au respectively.
More Information About Health Cover Requirements for the '457' Visa
More information on the health insurance requirements for the 457 visa can be found at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/457-health-insurance.htm