Naturally enough, you want to know you have access to the Australian health care system when you move from New Zealand. This is what we learned about health care entitlement for New Zealanders living in Australia.
Last Updated: 3rd February, 2012
If you have any comments about the information provided here, you can reach us at hello@movetoaustralia.net. All the best for your big move!
Like New Zealand, Australia has both public and private health care systems. The public health services in Australia are provided by Medicare Australia, an Australian Government agency.
Australian taxpayers fund the public health system, just as NZ taxpayers do in New Zealand. There is a specific levy in Australia called the Medicare Levy that is paid by each taxpayer.
As a New Zealander living in Australia you are entitled to free emergency hospital care but generally must pay full price for all non-hospital treatment (medicines, doctor visits, etc) unless you hold a Medicare card. Being a New Zealand citizen residing in Australia qualifies you for enrolment in the Medicare program, so you will want to make sure you do this soon after arriving in Australia.
Even if you don't apply for Medicare until after you have been in Australia for a while, you are entitled to retrospectively claim a wide variety of medical expenses incurred since you arrived in Australia, so long as they fall under the Medciare umbrella.
See this page of the Medicare Australia site for the latest information on the eligibility requirements for the Medicare scheme.
Medicare covers all or some of the following costs:
You can read the full list of what Medicare covers here.
Applying for Medicare isn’t difficult as long as you can provide:
You also need to bring any two of the following documents:
When we applied, we took along our new lease and the transit document for our shipped goods. There are quite a few Medicare offices in each state, so you shouldn’t find it too difficult to locate one reasonably close to you. The full list is here.
If you can, we recommend going along to apply for your Medicare card during the week, as weekends are very busy and can mean a long wait. But once you do get to the front of the queue, it doesn’t take long for a staff member to check and approve your application. You will be given a temporary Medicare card until your real one(s) arrive in the mail, usually within a week.
It’s a good idea to keep your Medicare Card with you at all times.
When you first visit a doctor in Australia, they will ask you to fill out a form with your contact details, any important medical history and allergies, and provide your Medicare number.
Until recently the usual way to claim your rebate was by manually filling out a Medicare claim form and posting or dropping it off to Medicare along with your receipts. Medicare then processed your claim and put the money into your bank account or sent a cheque.
These days you can register for EasyClaim, meaning you get your rebate almost instantly into your nominated bank account after paying your doctor.
Although Medicare ensures you have access free hospital care at public hospitals and free or subsidised doctor and specialist visits, the Australian Government also strongly encourages taking our private healthcare insurance.
About 50% of Australians take out private health insurance and there are 3 major reasons why:
Many people just have ambulance/hospital cover, while people with specific needs or a family may want to get some extras.
There are lots of different health insurance providers offering various packages and choosing between them can get a bit overwhelming. We recommend using the comparison sites Money Time or iSelect to help find the best package for you.
Canstar recently did a survey on the best value health insurance and awarded HCF, MBF and Medibank Private the top places for outstanding value.
If you are currently seeing a specialist in New Zealand, ask them for a referral to a specialist in Australia before you leave. Alternatively you can visit a GP on arrival and ask for a referral.
New Zealanders are entitled to all Family Assistance payments in Australia, including:
Visit the Family Assistance website for more information.
Unfortunately disability and carer payments are not currently available to New Zealand citizens living in Australia...despite conflicting information on Australian Government websites that might give you the impression that New Zealanders do have access under international agreements. This also means you can’t get a Health Care Card or a Carer’s Card (for business discounts) as these are based on the Carer’s Allowance.
If you have a child with a disability, some Kiwis have told us that New Zealand citizens may also find it difficult to access Early Intervention Services in Australia.
You can learn more here.
Still have questions about health care in Australia? Check out our discussion forum where you can ask questions that can be answered by us and other readers.
Read more about moving to Australia in the full How To Move To Australia Guide, or check out our discussion forum to find more help with planning your move.
We'd love to interview you if you have recently moved to Australia and are happy to share your experience with others. If this sounds like you, please email us at hello@movetoaustralia.net and we can arrange it!
Our goal is to make this guide the most useful resource available to Kiwis making the move to Australia. If you believe any of this information is unclear, incorrect, or out of date, please email us at hello@movetoaustralia.net. Also, be sure to check the discussion forum for the latest information. We appreciate all feedback :)
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