Medicare - Medical Treatment in Australia
Medicare is the Australian reciprocal health care agreement
which allows UK citizens access to limited subsidised health
services for immediately necessary treatment while visiting
Australia.
Period of Cover
If you are a resident of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland,
Norway or the Netherlands you are covered for the duration of your
approved visit to Australia.
Access to Cover
Reciprocal health care agreements cover treatment that is
immediately necessary. Immediately necessary
treatment means any ill-health or injury which occurs while you are
in Australia and requires treatment before you return home. There
may be some instances where, before you can gain access to Medicare
benefits in Australia, you will need to show written proof from the
treating doctor that a particular treatment was immediately
necessary.
Students
If you are visiting Australia on a student visa you are not
covered by Medicare and should take out your own health insurance
cover.
Further Information
For more information about Medicare and receiving medical
treatment whilst in Australia visit the Medicare website.
Your Entitlements
As a resident of one of these countries you are entitled to the
following for any ill-health or injury requiring immediate
treatment while in Australia:
- Free treatment as a public in-patient or outpatient in a public
hospital.
- Subsidised medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits
Scheme.
- Medicare benefits for out-of-hospital medical treatment
provided by doctors through private surgeries and community health
centres.
Enrolling in Medicare
If you will be receiving treatment you can enroll at Medicare
offices throughout Australia. If you receive treatment before you
enroll, Medicare benefits will be back paid for eligible
visitors.
To enroll in Medicare you will need:
- Your passport with a valid visa.
- To provide, in some cases, identification showing you are
enrolled in your country's national health scheme (for example, a
national health service card or similar certificate).
If your application to enroll in Medicare is approved, you will
receive an Australian reciprocal health care card in the mail.