ms_2022

Hi
I will be moving to Brisbane on 482 MLTSSL in Aug-2022. A mandatory requirement is to get health insurance. Do the Reciprocal Healthcare Arrangements for UK citizens cover this? Or I have to purchase a private medical insurance?
Thanks in advance for replies.

spouse of scouse

Hi and welcome to BE. Have a read of the link below, but the gist of it is that while you may be eligible for enrollment in Medicare (Australia's public health scheme), which would enable you to apply for an exemption from having to hold private health insurance, you can't apply to enrol in Medicare until you're actually in Australia. As you need to show that you have adequate health insurance in your visa application, you'll need to arrange private health insurance as part of your application. After arriving in Australia, if you're successful in enrolling in Medicare and gaining an exemption from your visa health insurance condition from the Department of Home Affairs, then you can cancel your private health insurance.

Exemptions from the health cover requirement

You may be able to apply to Home Affairs for an exemption from the health insurance visa requirements if you are covered by a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement and you have enrolled in Medicare, the Australian public health care system. For more information about the exemption, you should contact the Department of Home Affairs and your visa processing officer.

Eligibility for these reciprocal arrangements is assessed case by case and you cannot enrol in Medicare until you have arrived in Australia. This means that if you are applying for your visa from outside Australia, you will still need to arrange complying insurance to meet your visa requirements. If you then successfully enrol in Medicare after your arrival in Australia, you can obtain an exemption from Home Affairs.
https://www.privatehealth.gov.au/hea...orkingvisa.htm

I hope this info helps you a bit, and good luck with the move!

ms_2022

spouse of scouse many thanks for the reply. Hope you can answer one or two more questions - or if someone else can please.
Do Brits usually keep both Medicare care Reciprocal insurance and also continue private health insurance?
Out of Bupa, Medibank, nib, HFC and Allianz, which is best in service and also value for money? Particularly for children (6yo and 10yo), when they have dental orthodontic needs as well as glasses. its confusing to select the cover levels for Hosital and for Extras. Note that I can claim back about AUD 4000 from my company for health insurance.

Many thanks in advance.

quoll

Be aware that reciprocal cover does not include everything, just necessary care. So elective things like tonsil removal for example probably wouldn’t be covered - they expect you to go home for the non essential stuff, so treatment after breaking a leg is necessary but knee replacements are not necessary. Some of us have private insurance because the public waitlists are beyond a joke (in some places). Dental, orthodontic and anything beyond a bog standard eye test are all going to be private anyway. We have HCF and it’s ok but you never get that much back on the ancillaries. Just a heads up, too, in most states you will need an ambulance cover policy anyway - you can be charged hundreds for calling an ambulance here, depending on how long the trip! Ah, just saw you’re off to Qld - I believe they include the ambulance cover as a levy on their power bills up there.

Pollyana

Yep, no need for ambulance insurance in Queensland

spouse of scouse

Thanks Quoll, I'd always assumed that a Medicare card issued as a result of a reciprocal health agreement was the same in terms of benefits as the 'ordinary' Medicare issued to citizens and PRs, but it seems not. Even the colours are different! (yellow for reciprocal cards, green for citizens and PRs)

ms 2022, although having a reciprocal Medicare card would satisfy the health insurance condition of your 482 visa, the benefits are restricted to 'necessary medical treatment'. Although I couldn't find a definition of what is and isn't considered 'necessary', if you want to ensure you have at least the minimum standard of health care coverage that all Australian citizens and permanent residents have, then you'll need to purchase some additional coverage. I'm sorry, I can't tell you which provider is the best for your circumstances as I'm an Oz citizen with a private health insurer that only operates in Western Australia.

I'm afraid you're going to need to trawl through the providers who offer policies to people on temporary visas, and then decide which one offers the type of cover you want - which could range from a relatively low-cost private health insurance policy that will bring your benefits in line with Medicare for citizens, right up to top of the range private cover that gives you the option of skipping the public hospital queues and having treatment in private room in a private hospital.

Although I don't think this will be a lot of use to you, as my husband and I are both Oz citizens (who don't pay a private health insurance levy, something you don't need to worry about yet!), our annual premium for very comprehensive private health insurance is around $6,000.

ms_2022

spouse of scouse , quoll , Pollyana
​​​​​Many thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.
(It's quite rare these days to have respectful discussions and also get to the point answers).
For the benefit of future newcomers, I'm going for BUPA as they seem to be best priced and look to be better value for money.

Best Regards