Overseas Student Health Cover

Each year, thousands of students come to Australia to study.

What you may not realise though, is that if you intend to study and live in Australia on a student visa, it’s a condition of this visa that you purchase an appropriate overseas student health cover (OSHC) policy that will cover you while you’re here.

Documentary evidence

When you apply for your student visa, you have to provide documentary evidence that you’ve purchased an appropriate health insurance policy to cover your stay in Australia. If you don’t provide this evidence, your visa won’t be approved.

Overseas student health insurance

To meet the conditions of a student visa, most applicants will need to purchase an international student health insurance policy from one Australia’s private health insurance providers. This can be a very complex purchasing decision, but that’s where iSelect comes in.

We make the complex simple, and can compare a large range of Australian health insurance policies for you. The service is free, and can save you a great deal of time and money.

Medicare & Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

Some countries have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia, which might allow you to access Australia’s public health system. This could be enough for you meet the minimum health insurance conditions of your student visa – but you should research this carefully. To see if you qualify, you should visit the Medicare Australia website.

For more information visit:

Medicare Australia (www.medicareaustralia.gov.au)