How International Students Get Health Insurance in Australia?

 International students pursuing their studies in Australia must purchase the Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) policy before processing their Australian student visa applications, as the Australian Government declares.

However, many students do not know where and how to get health insurance in Australia.

How to Get Health Insurance in Australia?

Many leading health insurance providers, academic institutions, and third-party companies assist overseas students in buying the OSHC policy.

Some students only get in touch with one health insurance provider and buy the policy from them without researching and comparing it with various providers. 

Academic institutions are associated with health insurance providers and allow students to purchase OSHC policies through them; many students purchase from their academic institutions. Some do not, as educational institutions are only associated with one health insurance provider and do not give the option to compare with other insurance providers.

Third-party companies (like Budget Policy) are associated with many top-leading health insurance providers; they assist international students in buying the policy according to their profile and let them OSHC compare with different health insurance providers.

What is the Primary Work of OSHC?

OSHC policy will provide coverage for hospital and medical expenses in case of getting injured, mishap, illness, etc., during the international students' stay in Australia.

Benefits

Some basic benefits of buying OSHC are as follows: doctors visit, ambulance services, some hospital treatment and limited medications. To get the benefits of dental, optical and physiotherapy; the international student will pay an extra amount to get these extra benefits.

Types of OSHC Policy

The OSHC policy includes three different types:

• Single — only a student visa holder will buy this.
• Couple — a student visa holder and one partner/de facto partner will be covered.
• Family — a student visa holder, one partner/de facto partner and children under 18 years old will buy this.

Who Should Purchase OSHC?

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship requires all international students and their dependants worldwide to maintain OSHC policy for their entire duration of stay in Australia.

International students from the following countries below are not required to purchase OSHC policy.

• Belgium — International students from Belgium are not required to purchase OSHC because they will be covered by the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) between the Australian and Belgium governments.
• Norway — The Norwegian Government will provide health insurance to Norwegian students studying in Australia.
• Sweden — Students from Sweden are also not required to buy OSHC policy because they have international cover with the Swedish National Board of Student Aid (CSN) and Kammarkollegiet (Swedish students not covered by these agencies will need OSHC).
• New Zealand — New Zealand citizens residing in Australia will get access to Medicare benefits.

 

Proof of OSHC Policy

After fulfilling all the information in the application, the international student will be asked to provide proof of payment and confirmation that their OSHC will begin just after arriving in Australia.

Why Overseas Students Required to Purchase OSHC?

It is a condition of an Australian student visa to have continuous OSHC for the entire stay in Australia. Australian citizens and PR (Permanent Residence) will be covered by the Australian Public Healthcare System, known as Medicare. Medicare will provide public hospital services at free or low-cost, but it does not cover international students. So, the OSHC allows international students to access health care and medical services without experiencing any financial hardship.

Conclusion

There are various ways of getting an OSHC policy, and it depends on the person where they should buy it. We may recommend a third-party company named Budget Policy; they are associated with world-leading health insurance providers and provide high-quality services to their clients at lower than the market price. They guarantee to provide health insurance within 24 hours until and unless there are any holidays. So, feel free to get in touch with them.