justcantwait

hi everyone
just wondered how it works in oz,do children have to pay for eyetests or are they free like here.Its just my daughter has to have 6 monthly checks and always has a different prescription every time.Any advice much appreciated.

anne marie xx

chris and farideh

Depends on your visa.

dac

Just asked my wife, who works at an Optometrists...

Assuming you are entitled to Medicare, and the optometrist bulk bills to Medicare, the eye tests should be free.

Everyone with Medicare entitlement normally gets one eye test free every two years, but if the optometrist thinks there is any reason to test your daughter again sooner, that should be no problem (the subsequent test should also be free).

If the optometrist doesn't bulk bill, then you have to pay and reclaim a percentage of the test fee back from Medicare (think it's 85%).

Unfortunately, Medicare don't pay anything toward the cost of spectacles, unless the patient has a low income concession card.

Hope this info is useful.

Cheers,
Dave

mary1967

Great post, thanks.

quoll

Are her glasses prescribed by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist? As said previously, some optometrists bulk bill but others dont. If she needs an ophthalmologist - which sounds more likely given a 6 monthly vision check, then they are medical practitioners and you will get something back from medicare if they dont bulk bill. If you have private health insurance then specs are usually included in the list of benefits but it works out generally to one pair of frames and two (?) sets of lenses a year usually.