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Even though Australia has a public insurance system called Medicare, overseas students are not eligible for this coverage or free treatment in public hospitals. This means, if any unfortunate situation happens, one has to pay for the treatment which can be really expensive.

An appropriate level of health insurance helps to cover the costs of:

• Medical treatment when you're in hospital
• Ambulance transport
• everyday health expenses including the consultation and treatment from specialists

It also helps to meet your visa health insurance condition 8501.

If you suffer from a medical condition (any illness or an ailment), that showed its symptoms during the six-month period before you were granted a visa, or you arrived in Australia - whichever happened earlier - it would be considered a pre-existing ailment for you. Whether or not a condition pre-existing or not is decided by a medical practitioner or a practicing doctor.

From the date you arrive in Australia or the day you were granted your visa - starting from whichever of these days is most recent, you need to wait some time before you're eligible to make a claim through your OVHC or OSHC policy. This time period between you spend before making your claim, is known a waiting period.

Hospital cover includes inpatient treatment which requires admittance to hospital. Extra cover includes all the treatments covered outside of hospital such as consultations from the specialists, dentistry or physiotherapy.

Inpatient care refers to a medical treatment for serious ailments or trauma that requires a patient to stay in a hospital for one or more days. While an outpatient care is something where a patient is treated at the hospital but does not require to be admitted. It may be getting X-rays or being kept under general observation.

If you belong from the country which has reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, you are entitled to some subsidised health services with Medicare. You may be able to receive immediate necessary treatment in the public health care system but would not be eligible to benefits. Hence, you must consider getting an OVHC for the duration of your stay in Australia.

To get the most of your cover, you must know whether:

You are covered for that particular treatment or not

You are required to pay additional

You have any waiting periods or exclusions

Your hospital is under contracted list of hospital

Yes, you can change your insurance provider at any time. However, if you want to switch to a higher level of cover, you need to serve the relevant waiting period before making any claims. The same is also applicable when you choose a policy that has lower co-payments or gap fees. If you are not regular with your payments, you need to check with your new insurer before changing the level of cover.

As long as you hold a student visa, you would need an OSHC for the duration of your visa. This is according to the visa requirement that came into effect on 1 July 2010. In case the proposed duration of your visa gets extended, you will have to get your health cover renewed as well.

You are allowed to switch OSHC insurance providers, anytime you want to, by the department of home affairs of australia. If you switch providers after you already paid your initial premium, you will be entitled to a refund; but, you may have to pay a refund processing fee. Also, you will need to provide a valid proof of the new policy you are switching to, to your current OSHC provider.

You can make your payment in the currency of your choice via debit/credit card, phone banking, direct bank transfer, or even mail your health insurance provider a cheque. Or you could ask the specific insurance provider for any other payment methods they might encourage.

You will have to contact your health insurance provider, and check the procedure of making a claim with them.

If you're just starting your term at an educational institute in Australia as an overseas student, for most part, it is this institute which will arrange an OSHC for you, before you even arrive in the country. If you have been studying in Australia for quite a while now, your health cover should last till the expiry date shown on your membership card.

You will need to necessarily renew your OSHC in case it expires while you are still on your student visa. Any failure to do so will have serious consequences. Here's what you can do:

• Most health providers allow you to directly go to their websites and renew your membership through an online payment.
• You can also send the premium amount to the concerned OSHC provider by mailing them a cheque.
• You might also want to check with the educational institute that you're studying at, if they would collect your premium on your behalf. If you do that, then you will be issued your new OSHC membership card once your payment is processed.

It is of utmost importance that you don't forget to renew your OSHC, in case it expires before your student visa does. If it comes into notice that you're still on a student visa, while your OSHC has lapsed, you will have to pay the premiums for the lapsed period, while not expecting any benefits for any claims you might have paid during this lapsed period.

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If you were on a student visa immediately before being on the current bridging visa, then it OSHC would be the insurance you need. In case you're not sure, as for how long you'd need an insurance for, you can purchase a cover for 1-year validity. You can always cancel this policy and a get a refund on the term period left of your OSHC policy, if you get your new visa before the OSHC expires. In the case that you need a 485 visa, you will need a special type of insurance in order to prove that you have a health insurance at all. You will have to see whether an OVHC policy covers it or not, because all of them don't do.

If your child hasn't turned 18 years of age yet, you can get them covered under your OSHC. But if you have a child above 18 years old who is dependent on you, they will need another health insurance.

You can buy 2 single policies, if you both have separate student visas. But, you would have to buy a couple policy, in case you are dependent on someone else who is on student visa. Insurers usually price a couple policy at a higher price than 2 singles policies, as couples and families they say, usually have a lot of claims that singles. To take that risk factor into account, the couples policy tends to be more expensive.

Our services are divided into two categories. First, we offer a comparison where you can transparently compare health insurance plans and prices. Then we make sure your chosen insures process your application fairly and quickly.

All you need to do is to submit your details in the form and choose the type of plan you need to compare.

As soon as the said insurance company receives your payment, they send you your insurance policy certificate or document via email. Therefore, if you've made your payment digitally, through credit card that is, you will find your policy certificate in your mailbox, in a few hours. But, in case you choose to change the date of your current policy, or opt to extend it, you may have to wait 24-48 business hours before you obtain your updated policy document.

If you decide to cancel your insurance policy, while you're staying in Australia, while failing to purchase a new one at the same time, you will have failed to comply with the 8501 Condition. Your visa will, therefore, be subjected to cancellation. Furthermore, such an incident is bound to have a negative effect on the processing of any future visa applications of yours.