What is the Private Health Insurance Code of Conduct?

HIF is a member of Private Healthcare Australia, an association of private health funds established to advance the interests of its members and their contributors at every opportunity in relations with governments, the media, and other organisations involved in the health care field. 

We have adopted the Private Healthcare Australia Code of Conduct (“Code”) which was developed following a review by the Federal Government, to help consumers by providing clear information and transparency regarding their relationships with health funds. 

The Code is self-regulatory and promotes informed relationships between Private Health Insurers, consumers, and intermediaries, covering four main areas of conduct in private health insurance:

  1. Ensuring you receive the correct information on private health insurance from appropriately trained staff;
  2. Ensuring policy documentation contains all the information you require to make a fully informed decision about your purchase and that all communications between you and your fund are conducted in a way that the appropriate information flows between the parties. This includes staff, agents and brokers who from time to time may interact with you; 
  3. Ensuring you are aware of the internal and external dispute resolution procedures available in the event that you have a dispute with a private health insurance fund; and 
  4. Ensuring that all information between you and your fund is protected in accordance with national and state privacy principles.

Here at HIF, we support and apply these industry standards by ensuring that:

  1. Our employees are trained in private health insurance;
  2. The information we provide you is communicated in a way that is easy to understand and allows you to make an informed decision;
  3. We openly communicate our procedures for resolving any concerns you may have about your HIF membership and private health cover; and
  4. We ensure that any information you provide to us is maintained in accordance with our privacy policy.

To download a copy of the Private Health Insurance Code of Conduct document, please visit the Private Healthcare Australia website.