Overseas visitors health cover

Under some visas, you may be required to meet condition 8501. Condition 8501 means that you must have and maintain adequate health insurance for the whole of your stay in Australia. All our Working Visitors Covers meet condition 8501. None of our current Non-Working Visitors Covers meet these requirements.

It depends on your type of visa and the visa conditions. For some visas, it is a compulsory requirement to have health insurance while you are in Australia. You can check visa conditions at homeaffairs.gov.au.

Even if health insurance is not a requirement of your visa, it’s still a smart idea. Illnesses and accidents can happen at any time, and medical expenses in Australia can add up. Getting health insurance can help pay for medical costs, giving you peace of mind. We have overseas visitors health cover to suit many different budgets and needs.

Overseas visitors health cover can help pay for some or all medical costs while you’re in Australia. What services are covered will depend on which product you buy. Services may include:

• Doctor and specialist fees
• Hospital treatment, including accommodation and theatre fees
• Emergency ambulance
• Day surgery and procedures
• In-hospital pharmacy
• Prescription medications from the chemist

For a full list of inclusions, limits, exclusions and waiting periods that may apply, read the Fact Sheet and our Member Guide.

Overseas visitors health cover generally doesn’t include health services like dental, physiotherapy, and optical. Speak to one of our consultants about Extras health insurance which you can purchase to help cover some of these costs.

For services such as visiting a doctor or specialist, you can claim online or send us a copy of your receipt with a claim form by mail.

If you have to go to hospital, the hospital will usually contact us directly to process your claim, so you won't receive a bill for your treatment if you are covered.

Find out more about lodging a claim.

Once you select and purchase an overseas visitors health cover from Australian Unity, you will automatically receive your confirmation letter by email. Please provide a valid email address to ensure the letter reaches you.

Yes you can.

If you also want to help them manage their cover, you'll need to get them to complete a Delegated Authority form. This form takes less than 5 minutes to complete and gives Australian Unity consent to deal with both the person who holds the health insurance and you as their representative (delegated authority).

You can learn more about Delegated Authority here.

Yes. Just complete the Delegated Authority form and return it to Australian Unity. Australian Unity will then be able to discuss your health insurance with that nominated person. This helps us to ensure that your privacy is protected. Find out more on setting up Delegated Authority here.

Unless you tell us otherwise, a partner or spouse included on your policy, will have automatic delegated authority on your policy which allows them to do anything you could do as the policyholder except nominate or cancel other delegated authorities.

Is an interpreter service available?

Yes. We have a free interpreter service. If you have difficulty reading or understanding our documents and you wish to discuss it further with us, then our free interpreter service is available to help on the phone numbers below.

Calling from within Australia 1300 683 782
Calling from outside Australia +61 3 8682 7550

Your health insurance needs to be paid in advance at all times and can be paid up to a maximum of 12 months in advance. There are two ways you can pay your premiums: 

• Direct debit
  You can set up a direct debit for your premiums to be automatically paid from your credit card or Australian bank account on a date that matches your selected payment frequency (e.g. monthly, quarterly, yearly).
• Account notice
  After you make your first payment, you can choose to make future payments by account notice. When you pay by account notice, you'll receive a bill for your health insurance premiums based on your selected payment frequency (e.g monthly, quarterly, yearly). You then need to pay the bill by the due date shown. Instructions describing the different ways you can make payments are included on the account notice.

Yes. We have a free interpreter service. If you have difficulty reading or understanding our documents and you wish to discuss it further with us, then our free interpreter service to help on the phone number below.

Calling from within Australia 1300 683 782
Calling from outside Australia +61 3 8682 7550