Health Care in Australia
 Australia’s
healthcare system provides universal access to health care,
through the public system, while allowing choice for individuals
through a substantial private sector involvement.
Public Healthcare
As a permanent resident, you will receive immediate entitlement
to public healthcare, administered through a government scheme
called Medicare. This is an Australia-wide health insurance
scheme, funded through income tax - currently 1.5% of everyone's
taxable income goes to Medicare.
Through Medicare, you receive:
- free treatment as a public patient in a public hospital;
- free or subsidised treatment by doctors in a general practice; and
- subsidies on some medicines and treatment by participating specialists.
Private Health Insurance
Private health insurance plays an important role in the health
care system in Australia, providing about 11% of national
health care funding. There are many healthcare funds in the
marketplace and each offers a variety of schemes and different
levels of cover.
People with private health insurance receive benefits such
as choice of doctor, choice of hospital and shorter waiting
periods for non-urgent procedures. Private health insurance
can also help with the cost of services such as dental, optical,
physiotherapy and podiatry services.
All health funds operate ‘qualifying periods’,
whereby new customers have to wait a specified period before
being eligible to claim non-emergency treatments and services.
When comparing health funds, you should pay particular attention
to these waiting periods, as they can vary considerably.
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