There are two types of private health insurance:
Hospital insurance, which covers all or some of the costs of hospital treatment as a private patient including doctor’s charges and hospital accommodation.
Extras insurance (also called ancillary), which covers treatments generally not available under Medicare like dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropractic and acupuncture.
You can purchase hospital-only insurance, extras-only insurance, or combined hospital plus extras cover.
As a general rule, the more expensive the health cover you choose, the more hospital procedures and extras treatments will be included and the more money you’ll get back when you claim.
When you first buy private health insurance, or when you upgrade to a higher level of cover, you may have to wait some time before you are able to claim. These waiting periods apply to both hospital and extras.
Most private health funds recognise the waiting periods you’ve served with your previous insurer. That means that when you transfer to a level of insurance with the same (or lower) level of cover, as long as you transfer within 30 days of leaving your previous insurer, you won’t need to re-serve waiting periods that you’ve already completed.
A waiting period is simply the time you must wait before you can claim a benefit. It begins on the day you join Australian Unity, and ends the day you're able to start claiming on a service or treatment.
There are different waiting periods for levels of cover and different procedures and treatments.
Yes. You can change insurance policies at any time: from one insurer to another or even changing to a higher or lower level of cover within the same health insurer.
You’ll receive continuous cover if you transfer to Australian Unity within 30 days of leaving your previous insurer. And if you switch to an equal (or lower) level of cover, you won’t have to re-serve any waiting periods you’ve already completed.
The old insurer will provide your new insurer with a transfer certificate, which provides details about your level of cover, waiting periods already served, a history of recent claims, and any Lifetime Health Cover loading that applies.
This information may also be used to adjust the annual and lifetime claim limits on your new policy. For example, if you’ve made $900 worth of orthodontics claims on your old cover, and your new policy has a $2400 lifetime claim limit, that $900 will be deducted from your new policy ($2400 - $900 = $1500) to reflect your true available limit.
Find out more about switching to Australian Unity.
Most Australians are eligible to receive a rebate from the Australian Government to help reduce the cost of their health cover (for both hospital and extras covers).
The rebate amount varies depending on eligibility, age and income levels, with levels being adjusted by the government on 1 April each year.
Find out how big a rebate you can receive.
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:
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.
You're in control with 24 hour access to your membership.
Make claims and manage payment details
Keep track of your remaining benefits
Check what’s included in your cover
Keep your details up-to-date and more
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If you're travelling overseas and plan to use your Australian Unity Visa debit or credit card, it's a good idea to let us know first. That way we'll know that you're making overseas transactions, not someone else.
Mobile banking app
1. Open the app
2. Click 'Log-in'
3. Click 'Menu'
4. Click 'Travel overseas'
5. Complete the details.
Over the phone
We're available on 1300 790 740, Monday to Friday - 8.30am to 5.30pm AEST.
Email
Send us a detailed note to bankingsupport@australianunity.com.au and let us know your travel dates, destinations and overseas contact details. Please include your customer number for ease of reference.
More useful information about using your card overseas:
A $5.00 cash advance fee will apply to every overseas ATM withdrawal you make. It'll come out of your account at the end of the month.
For more info on the fees and charges, please check our
Currency Conversion charges:
A 3% foreign currency conversion fee will apply to all purchases made in a foreign currency, this charge will be on the converted AUD amount. This is also charged on amounts withdrawn at overseas ATMs.
For more info on the fees and charges, please check our 'Schedule of Fees, Charges and Transaction Limits'.
The Fraud Monitoring Team is here 24/7
If you have any problems with your card (especially if you lose it, or it gets stolen) call our Fraud Monitoring Team as soon as possible on +61 2 8299 9534.
Internet Banking
1. Log in
2. Click ‘Pay & Transfer’
3. Select the payment type
4. Fill in the details and choose how often you want to pay
5. Click ‘Confirm’.
Mobile banking app
1. Log in
2. Click ‘Pay Someone’
3. Fill in the details and choose how often you want to pay
4. Click ‘Confirm’
If you are altering the security on your property you should inform us as it may change the conditions of your home insurance. This may affect your premium.
You must tell Allianz as soon as reasonably possible if, during the period of insurance you remove or stop using any security devices that were specifically required by us. If you don’t provide the information as soon as reasonably possible, Allianz may reduce or refuse a claim in whole or in part under the policy to the extent we are prejudiced by the delay or non-disclosure.
When Allianz receive this information, Allianz may:
There’s a lot more to Real Wellbeing than just physical health, and we’ve got all kinds of information to help you improve yours. Find podcasts, articles and videos on our Real Wellbeing content hub.
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