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Overseas Visitor Health Cover

To choose your Overseas Visitor Health Cover provider, see our pages below that provide you with information about the different policies, inclusions and exclusions for your health insurance as a visitor working in Australia.

CBHS International
Frank
Nib
Allianz Care
Medibank
Australian Unity
Bupa

Overseas Visitor Health Cover explained

Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) is private health insurance designed for people in Australia on a temporary visa who are not eligible for Medicare, Australia’s public health system. Many temporary visas carry visa condition 8501, which requires you to have and maintain adequate health insurance for the whole of your stay in Australia. OVHC policies sold as “visa compliant” are designed to meet this condition.

OVHC is different from Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). If you hold a Student visa (subclass 500) you need OSHC, not OVHC. If you move from a student visa to a work or graduate visa, you will usually need to switch from OSHC to OVHC.

Which visas usually need OVHC?

Condition 8501 is mandatory for some visas and is imposed at the decision maker’s discretion for others. It is commonly found on:

The only reliable way to know whether 8501 applies to you is to check your visa grant notice or VEVO. Even if 8501 does not apply, health insurance is strongly recommended because medical and hospital costs for non-residents can be very high.

What to look for in an OVHC policy

  • Visa compliance: the insurer should confirm the policy meets condition 8501 for your visa subclass and give you a letter or certificate you can provide to Home Affairs.
  • Hospital and medical cover: check the level of cover for public and private hospital treatment, doctors and specialists, ambulance and prescription medicines.
  • Waiting periods: many policies have waiting periods for pre-existing conditions, pregnancy and some other services.
  • Excess and gaps: a higher excess lowers the premium, but you pay more when you are admitted to hospital. Doctors can charge more than the insurer pays, leaving a gap.
  • Who is covered: everyone included in your visa who is in Australia should be covered, either on your policy or their own.
  • Start date: cover should start no later than the day you arrive in Australia (or the day your new visa is granted if you are already here) and continue until you leave or move to a visa that gives you Medicare.

Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

Australia has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. Visitors from these countries may be able to use Medicare for medically necessary treatment, but the cover is limited, does not include private hospitals and does not always satisfy condition 8501. Check your visa conditions before relying on reciprocal cover alone.

Overseas Visitor Health Cover FAQs

If your visa has condition 8501, letting your cover lapse is a breach of your visa conditions and can put your visa at risk of cancellation. It can also affect future visa applications. If your cover lapses, arrange new cover straight away and keep evidence of the dates you were insured.

Yes. You can usually change insurer at any time. Make sure the new policy starts the day after the old one ends so there is no gap in cover, and check whether waiting periods you have already served will be recognised.

Yes. Applicants for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) must have adequate health insurance when they apply and while they are in Australia. If you are moving from a student visa, arrange OVHC to start when your OSHC ends.

Not usually. Health insurance is generally the visa holder’s responsibility, although some employers offer to pay for it as part of an employment package. Check your employment contract.

Only if they are included on your policy. Couple, single parent and family policies are available from most insurers. Family members included in your visa application who are in Australia generally need adequate cover too.

You need cover for the whole time you hold a visa with condition 8501 and are in Australia. If you are granted permanent residence you will usually become eligible for Medicare, and can then decide whether to move to a resident private health policy.

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