cookiestar

We're likely coming over on a 457 from my husband's employer. What they've said in informal discussions is that private healthcare would not be provided by them, and that we will have to take out insurance ourselves. I know that under the 457 visa we only get reciprocal care on Medicare, so this makes sense. However, I've been reading some other websites that say that on a 457 your employer should pay the health insurance - is this right? If not does anyone have any recommendations of insurers for cover for a couple with no children on a 457?

JAJ

If they don't want to pay for healthcare why don't they sponsor for a permanent visa (then they don't need to).

I would just be a little concerned if employer starts saying no to healthcare, no to permanent visa etc.

Could you get your own permanent visa independently?

cookiestar

They're happy to sponsor for PR once we've been over for 18 months. I have no problem with that. We could apply for a 175, as he has "in demand" skills - engineering manager - but the 457 to PR is preferrable for us (want to get over sooner rather than having the wait)

So are you saying that on a 457 the company is obliged to pay for private healthcare? Do you have a link to something "official" with that?

JAJ

A lot can go wrong in 18 months - company closes down, gets taken over, new HR manager with different ideas, it's all happened before.

Why not lodge a 175 anyway (if you qualify), even if you are planning to go on a 457? That way you have a good chance of your own permanent visa and not relying on the company if the job does not work out.

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skill...s-employer.htm

Considering you are not eligible for full Medicare with a 457, I am very surprised how any employer could even contemplate not including full medical insurance in your employment package.

Ian.C.Williams

Hi
We came out on 457 with our employer paying for insurance if the company has a few non residents then it is cheap for them to add you on, understand about not wanting to wait, but the private schemes here are like the hospital schemes in UK i.e you pay and get a % back or you have to attend their doctors etc which can be few or far between depeding on geography, etc. when we got PR we were suprised as to the number of providers it is very much dependent on what you want, orthadontics are very expensive and have a limit on re imbursement, just google and browse or there is an independent web comparison site beware waiting periods
http://www.iselect.com.au/cds/pages/...?ref=pointbis/
hope this helps any questions PM me
Ian

Tori

Hi,

If you read indepth about the 457 visa it actually says that the employer is responsible for out of pocket health care.Some employers prefer to pay for heath covers whilst others will simply reimburse you as and when you need to see a GP ect.

Bix

I think it was in July 2005 that the wording in the 457 changed which gave sponsors a way of avoiding the health care liability.

They do this by writing into your contract of employment the fact that you must take out private health care.

So whereas they are still ultimately responsible, they have duckshoved it onto the employee.

It is therefore an item of negotiation in the employment package.

Of course if they don't write it into your contract then any health liability that occurs (not covered by Medicare) will be for their account. Not good for relationships though if it's a surprise to them.

I don't know what percentage of sponsors accept to pay for the cover but over the last few months I've seen cases in equal numbers. Some do, some don't.

znaylor1974

I'm a bit surprised this is a big issue to you all. An employer is responsible for ensuring an employee on a 457 has insurance. The employer is not responsible for paying for it.

I don't believe there is a huge risk that a company in Australia is employing people on 457 visa's and paying all associated emigration costs in order to later shaft them in some way, as is implied in this thread. This does not make business sense. In my personal experience I've found people on 457's are being paid more than those on PR (who incurred their own emigration costs) as a means to attract people to Australia.

I pay $386 a month for the family using Medibank, and yes, you do pay towards dental visits, and GP visits. I also used to pay dental costs in the UK (doesn't everyone?). The $386 is the highest level and most expensive insurance that Medibank provide.

It probably wouldn't be sensible to come to Australia from your home country if you have an illness that requires expensive treatment, and if I or one of my family became seriously/terminally ill whilst in Australia then I'd return to the UK, I suspect most other people would to.

I qualify for a PR visa, but decided I'd rather let the company pay the £15,000 it would have cost to emigrate, and I'll probably let them pay the costs of the PR too if I decide to stay.

I look forward to comments from people who didn't find a company to sponsor them to tell me how much better off they are, and I'll show my arse to the first person who can convince me they wouldn't have accepted a 457 when offered and instead gambled everything, incurred all the costs, dealt with all the paperwork, came to Australia and then looked for jobs, got the accommodation and gone through all the hassle of settling in.

Vanessa

Many employers do not pay private health care. My OH is in a senior position for a large media group and they didn't pay. I do relocation work and one of our companies is a large accountancy firm and another a large bank and neither of them pay. In fact I have only come across one employer that does and that was for a large firm with a small outlet in Australia.

JAJ

I wouldn't expect companies to pay if the employee is a PR/citizen but if they are bringing people in on 457 then they ought to know that the employee can't normally get full Medicare.

cookiestar

Thank you for the useful replies. My questions was simply whether the company would be obliged to pay for the insurance or not. It would appear that they're not. As for the other comments on our situation - I have confidence in the company (which is my husband's current employer in the UK) to hold their end of the bargain. I will check out the recommendations - Medibank sounds good.

I particularly appreciate your comments znaylor

JAJ

Lots of companies do things that "don't make business sense."

Maybe the company you're with is wonderful although I've seen enough cases where people have wanted to stay and the company won't sponsor. (or they've been laid off or something).


Having a PR visa, or Australian or NZ citizenship, does not stop you negotiating a relocation package if your job is in sufficient demand.

Caroline B

Sadly not all of us qualify for PR.
I am on a 457 visa and expected to pay for medical insurance for myself and my family as part of my employment conditions. Just another expense of living here. Personally, am surprised that larger companies don't feel obliged to meet these costs (perfectly happy with NHS cover in the U.K), but they certainly don't have to.

Wol

I worked in Sydney for parts of three years, 15 years ago, and my employer didn't make any insurance arrangements for us. We did have to use Medicare reciprocals once or twice.

JAJ

I wonder if the problem is companies not understanding that 457 visa holders don't usually get full Medicare coverage.