If you are a student from overseas on a temporary student visa it is a condition of your visa to maintain adequate health insurance for the duration of your stay in Australia. This means you need to purchase Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) and keep your policy up to date whilst you are in Australia and holding a student visa.
Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) is a form of health insurance that is designed for visitors to Australia who do not have access to Australia’s public Medicare system for medical or hospital expenses. OVHC insures against potential expenses you may incur if you require medical or hospital treatment.
In some cases, it may be a condition of your visa to hold a form of OVHC – for example, if you are a working visa 482 or 485 applicant or an overseas student.
OSHC/OVHC assists temporary visa holders to meet the costs of medical and hospital care they may need while in Australia. It also includes ambulance cover and limited pharmaceuticals.
Some exceptions may apply if you are a student from Sweden, Norway, or Belgium. If this applies to you, you may have special arrangements under your own national schemes – check with the Department of Home Affairs to find out if special arrangements apply to you and if you are exempt from the requirement to purchase OSHC.
As holding OSHC is a visa requirement, take care to always maintain your cover. If you do fall behind in payments or renewing your cover, you will be able to continue your cover but you may not be able to claim for services you received while you were in arrears.
We offer a plethora of OSHC/OVHC options for the students and are always suggesting the best possible Health Care provider for the students.
