Life In Australia

In order to gain access to the services of Medicare in Australia, you need to enrol with Medicare and obtain a Medicare card. You enrol yourself and your dependents at the same time.

You can download the Medicare Enrolment Application Form here. Once you have filled in the form, you need to visit a Medicare office personally and bring along all of the required documentation (this is listed on the form). If you are enrolling your dependents at the same time, everyone must attend the Medicare office in person.

If you are on a temporary visa, such as a 457 visa, and are claiming access to Medicare under a reciprocal agreement with your home country (see this post for further information), you need to take along a passport containing a valid visa stamp for each person to be enrolled.

You can find out the address and the opening hours of your nearest Medicare office here.

Once you have enrolled, you will be sent a Medicare card in the post. This takes about four weeks. If you incur any medical expenses in the meantime, ensure that you obtain an official receipt when paying. Once you have your Medicare card, you can take your receipts and your card to your local Medicare office to re-claim the expenses.