What is Overseas Visitors Health Cover and what does it cover?
Overseas Visitors Health Care Cover (OVHC) is a form of health insurance designed specifically for international visitors to Australia. The insurance can be purchased by people who are visiting or temporarily residing in Australia, and will cover you if you become unwell or are involved in an accident.
Some of the costs OVHC may cover, depending on the policy, include:
- Hospital fees
- General practitioner (GP) fees
- Ambulance transport
- Some pharmacy costs
You may also be able to get coverage for ‘extras’ treatments such as dental, physiotherapy, optical and chiropractic services. These may be add-on options for your policy that can raise the cost of your premiums.
What costs are not covered by OVHC?
Not all your medical costs will be covered under an OVHC policy. Many non-essential (or elective) services will not be covered. For example:
- Procedures not recognised by Medicare
- Elective cosmetic surgery
- Non-emergency ambulance
- IVF and other assisted reproductive services
What is offered by an OVHC policy will differ from fund to fund, so it’s important to read relevant policy documents, such as the Private Health Information Statement (PHIS), carefully before signing up.
What is working visa health insurance?
Working visa health cover is a similar type of health insurance that the Australian Government requires you to have if you’re an international worker visiting Australia to work.
International workers must have working visa health cover because, in the majority of cases, foreign residents and visitors cannot access the Australian public health system, so you need private health insurance to help pay for your healthcare and limit your financial liability. This is called Condition 8501. Many health insurers offer a specific type of health insurance that meets this condition.
You must have health insurance for the whole time you’re in Australia on a working visa, and you must take out a policy before you arrive. If you extend your visa, you must renew your working visa health cover policy.
If your family is coming overseas with you on the visa, your spouse (husband or wife) and children under 18 years old must also be covered by working visa health cover. Your partner or family can be covered by your working visa even if they’re not working. You need to choose a Couples or Family policy in order to cover someone other than yourself.
Some insurers may charge more for a couple’s policy than a policy for two single people. The cost of a family policy is often more than the cost of a couple’s policy—although sometimes the cost might also be the same.
If you decide that your health cover is too expensive or doesn’t cover what you want, you can switch to a different insurance provider, as long as you do not let your policy lapse.
What working visas require health insurance?
The 462 or 417 working holiday visas may be the most well-known working visas in Australia. But there are plenty of other working visas available, and most require health insurance.
Make sure when you apply for health cover that it will satisfy the conditions specific to your visa type. Use the Department of Home Affairs Visa Finder online to find out which working visa you need.
If you’re from a country which has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, you may be able to enrol in Medicare (Australia’s public health system). Visitors from countries with reciprocal health care agreements do not need to buy health insurance as a condition of their visa, but the Australian Government strongly recommends that all visitors take out private health insurance, since Medicare only covers medically necessary treatment.
Since you cannot enrol in Medicare from outside Australia, you’ll still need to have adequate health cover before you arrive. Medicare only covers treatment in a public hospital, so you will still need to consider whether private health insurance is right for you. Furthermore, not having an adequate level of private health cover might mean you have to pay a larger amount of tax in Australia in the form of Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).
Is OVHC and working visa health insurance compulsory and who needs it?
Any non-Australian residents visiting Australia should consider private health insurance to help cover unexpected medical expenses. Any visa with condition 8501 (that you must have and maintain adequate health insurance for your stay in Australia), and applicants for working visas such as a Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) or Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485), must hold an OVHC policy that meets the visa requirements.
International students studying in Australia may be required to take out Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). If you have any other visa and don’t have any form of Medicare benefits or reciprocal Medicare benefits, aside from considering OVHC, you might purchase Australian residents’ private health insurance if you’ve got an interim (usually blue) or full (usually green) Medicare card.
Does Medicare cover overseas visitors?
Residents and citizens of countries that have a reciprocal health agreement with Australia will have some level of subsidised health cover. This may provide access to immediate necessary medical treatment in Australia’s public health system. These countries currently are:
- Belgium
- Finland
- Italy
- Malta
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Republic of Ireland
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
Note that this agreement will only cover basic medical needs, and it’s still worthwhile considering an OVHC policy for additional cover.
Who offers working visa health cover?
The insurance providers that offer working visa health cover according to Canstar’s database are the following:
- Allianz Care
- Australian Unity Health Limited
- Bupa HI Pty Ltd
- CBHS Corporate Health Pty Ltd
- GMHBA Limited trading as Frank Health Insurance
- HBF Health Limited
- The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia Limited
- Health Insurance Fund of Australia Limited (HIF)
- Medibank Private Limited
- NIB Health Funds Ltd
- Westfund Limited
As part of Canstar’s Working Visa Health Cover Star Ratings and Awards, our expert Research Team uses a unique and sophisticated ratings methodology to compare both cost and features across health insurance policies offered to people coming to Australia holding working visas. Canstar’s Star Ratings enable consumers to narrow their search to products that have been assessed and rated. Ratings range from one to five stars with five stars representing outstanding value to consumers.
What to consider when comparing OVHC policies
OVHC policies will each have some differences from one another, so it’s a good idea to compare before you choose one.
Some of the factors you could consider include:
- The cost of the premium
- What is and is not covered
- How much the excess is
- Whether there are optional extras you may want
It’s a good idea to determine whether the policy covers the requirements of your visa, and also consider the coverage you receive rather than basing your decision purely on cost.
