Why Overseas Student Health Cover is Mandatory to Get an Australian Student Visa?

 The Department of Home Affairs mandates that overseas students must maintain Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) during their stay in Australia. The OSHC policy will cover hospital and medical-related expenses in case of getting sick or injured.

International students and their dependents (like partners, family, or children under 18) are required to obtain OSHC before processing their visa applications. The overseas student health cover basically includes doctor visits, in-hospital treatments (some), ambulance cover, and limited medications.

However, if overseas students do not have OSHC, they are not eligible to apply for an Australian student visa.

              

Why is it Essential for International Students to Have OSHC?

International students must have OSHC (except those from Norway, Belgium, and Sweden) because it is a condition of the Australian student visa. OSHC allows overseas students to access healthcare without experiencing financial hardship in Australia. Australian residents are covered under the public Medicare system, which provides free or low-cost services in any public hospital.

What is the Overseas Student Health Cover Benefits?

Some primary benefits that OSHC policy include doctor visits, hospital treatments, ambulance cover, limited medications, access to private hospitals, day surgeries, and some prosthetic devices. The basic OSHC policy does not cover dental, physiotherapy treatment, and optical.

What is Extra OSHC Policy?

In the extra OSHC policy, overseas students can get benefits that are not covered (dental, physiotherapy treatment, and optical). The OSHC providers will provide complete details and benefits available under extra OSHC with additional cost (the international students need to pay extra for these services).

Who Provides OSHC Policy?

There are many different OSHC providers in the market. Many educational institutions in Australia have tie-up with only one OSHC policy provider; they suggest that international students buy the OSHC policy through them, but the student does not have the option to compare OSHC health insurance and buy the suitable one according to themselves. However, a third-party company named Budget Policy provides OSHC policies at lower than the market price to their clients with high-quality services. They let everyone compare OSHC health insurance according to themselves and buy the most suitable one.

Can We Transfer to Different OSHC Policy Provider?

An international student can transfer to a different OSHC policy provider anytime, according to their comfort. However, few providers charge refund processing fees while moving to the new policy before the old one ends.

What is the Duration of OSHC Policy?

The international student must obtain the OSHC policy according to their student visa validation. If someone extends their student visa, they must renew their OSHC policy too before visa extension.

How Long Does it Take to Receive Benefits from OSHC Policy?

It takes some time before receiving any benefits from the OSHC policy. As for psychiatric-related medical conditions, the waiting period is two months, and for pregnancy or birth-related benefits, the waiting period is 12 months.

OSHC Pregnancy Benefits

Those who have a valid OSHC in Australia policy can get pregnancy benefits like blood tests, ultrasounds, termination, childbirth, etc., but they need to wait for 12 months before receiving these benefits. The benefits are as follows.

• The women will receive antenatal care and postnatal care during the time of pregnancy. They will meet the General Practitioners (GPs) doctor (GP doctors confirms the pregnancy, check overall health, check medical history and advise on staying healthy), midwife (the midwife assists women during the time of labor or birth and care for the newborn baby following the first few weeks) and obstetricians (a doctor with specialist qualifications in delivering the babies and provides medical care).
• Maternity medical expenses and in-hospital treatment, whether it's a spontaneous delivery or cesarean birth.
• After-birth treatment, infant-caring services, and immunization expenses.

What are the Required Documents?

The required documents for an Australian student visa are as follows.

• Valid passport
• Proof of CoE (Confirmation of Enrollment)
• Offer letters from educational institutions
• Adequate health insurance (OSHC)
• Bank statement
• Evidence of English proficiency test (PTE, IELTS, TOEFL, etc.)
• GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant) statement
• Academic certificates

Please note: New Zealand students are not required to have a visa to study in Australia.