Travelling from the UK
Key points
- Under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, citizens or residents of the UK who have been approved for a working holiday visa or another temporary visa can apply to enrol in Medicare after arriving in Australia
- Through Medicare, visitors are entitled to medically necessary care, out of hospital GP care, and subsidised medications that are listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
- Visitors should bring with them a detailed letter from their gastroenterologist that includes their past and current medical and surgical treatments, most recent pathology, colonoscopy, and imaging reports
Enrolling in Medicare
Under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA), citizens or residents of the UK who have been approved for a working holiday visa (WHV) or another temporary visa can apply to enrol in Medicare after arriving in Australia. This entitles them to free or subsidised medical/healthcare and subsidised medicines.
If coming to Australia for a short visit or holiday, it is not necessary to enrol in Medicare. Short-term visitors who need any necessary medical and emergency care under the RHCA can show their passport and receive treatment for free as a public inpatient or outpatient at a public hospital.
For visitors on a student visa, it is a requirement to have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). However, students from the UK are also eligible to enrol in Medicare. The reciprocal access to Medicare is in addition to having OSHC. It does not exempt students from having to be insured by OSHC Information is available on the Private Health government website.
More information and eligibility for Medicare can be found on the Services Australia website.
Eligible visitors enrolled in Medicare will be sent a RHCA Medicare card in the mail. This must be to an Australian address. It takes approximately four weeks to receive the card. However, medical/healthcare services and subsidised medicines can be accessed straight away and any claims to Medicare can be backdated. Medicare service centre locations can be found on the Services Australia website.
Under Medicare, visitors are entitled to:
- Medically necessary care (that cannot be delayed until you get back home) at no cost as a public inpatient or outpatient at a public hospital
- Out of hospital GP care and visits to bulk-billing doctors for no cost (the doctor bills Medicare directly)
- Out of hospital subsidised costs for visits to GPs/specialists who do not bulk-bill (the patient is charged a fee & Medicare reimburses the patient for part of the costs).
- Subsidised medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The current maximum prescription price paid by a patient (called a patient co-contribution) for a subsidised medicine is $A31.60.
Visitors cannot arrange for their treatment before arriving in Australia, however for visitors who need to see a gastroenterologist (GE) for specialist care of their IBD, the first step after arriving and enrolling with Medicare is to make an appointment with a GP to arrange for a referral. An appointment can then be made to see a GE. This should be done as soon as possible to avoid delay if needing a prescription for a biologic or other specialised medicine and if it requires an infusion. Visitors who are on infusions should try to plan and have an infusion just before leaving for Australia. This will then give more time to organise everything after arrival.
The IBD service locator can assist you to find an IBD service, but always check that any treatment you receive will be as a public patient under the RHCA/Medicare.
Information about the Australian health system
Information to assist in understanding the Australian health system, private insurance options, including Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) which is required for some visas, and ambulance cover (not covered under Medicare) can be found on the Private Health government website.
When taking up private health insurance, visitors need to be aware of the 12-month waiting period that applies to pre-existing conditions.
What to bring with you
Visitors should bring with them a detailed letter from their GE that includes their past and current medical and surgical treatments, most recent pathology, colonoscopy, and imaging reports. If being treated with a biologic therapy, the new GE will require this along with Medicare card or passport and visa details to complete the application for continued therapy.
Prescriptions for standard medications can be arranged by seeing a GP. Visitors can also bring 3-months’ supply of medication with them. However, some forward planning is advised if bringing any medications (e.g. self-injectable biologics) that need to be stored at a stable, cool temperature in an appropriate insulated medication bag for the many hours of journey to Australia and onward to the local destination.