When applying for a Temporary Working or Non-Working visa in Australia, you firstly need to ask yourself – are you covered by Medicare, Australia’s public health insurance system? And the answer – well, it depends on whether you're from a reciprocal country.
What is a reciprocal country?
A reciprocal country has a health care agreement with Australia, which entitles its residents to receive emergency treatment in a public hospital anywhere in Australia. The key word here is ‘emergency’. Countries with reciprocal health care agreements are: New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and Norway. However, it’s important to note that students from Norway, Finland, Malta and the Republic of Ireland aren’t covered by agreements with those countries.
If you’re from one of these countries and you have successfully enrolled in Medicare, then your Medicare eligibility automatically meets the legal requirements for your visa, so you don’t need to take out an Overseas Visitors Cover (OVC) policy solely for that purpose.
Why would I need private health insurance then?
We always encourage international visitors to take out an OVC policy, simply because Medicare is good, but it isn’t perfect. With Medicare you will only be covered for medically necessary treatment in a public hospital. You won’t be able to choose your own doctor, and you also won’t be covered for:
- Treatment in a private hospital,
- Non-emergency doctor visits; or
- Extras services like dental, optical, chiro or ambulance transport.
What if I'm from a reciprocal country, but applying for a working visa outside of Australia?
You cannot enrol in Medicare until you have arrived in Australia. This means that if you're applying for a working visa from outside of 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 then cancel your OVC health cover.
What if I’m from a reciprocal country, but earning over $93k?
If you're currently earning over $93,000 as a single ($186,000 plus $1,500 for each dependant child after the first one, for families) while working here in Australia, you may also incur the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) at tax time next July. To reduce the MLS you'll pay next year, and avoid it completely in the next financial year, we strongly recommend that you consider a domestic hospital policy in addition to an Overseas Visitors Cover (OVC), as your OVC is not considered an adequate tax exemption product by the Australian Tax Office.
It’s important to note however, that working visa holders, will need to use the Overseas Visitor Cover to make claims or else you will incur significant out of pockets due to minimum Medicare coverage under the Reciprocal agreement. The amount you’ll save in tax by simultaneously holding a domestic policy means it’s definitely worth considering. We recommend you contact your tax adviser or the Australian Taxation Office to discuss this.
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