Life In Australia

When my husband accepted a job offer in Australia, I was five months pregnant. Understandably, I was anxious to find out if my pregnancy-related check-ups and the birth would be covered under the national health insurance system in Australia, given that we would not be permanent residents of Australia but would be living there on a 457 visa.

I knew that reciprocal arrangements for healthcare between the UK and other countries existed and so I was hopeful that this would be the case between the UK and Australia. However, it took me four months of research before I found a definite answer!

Before leaving the UK, I asked the Department of Health if there was a reciprocal arrangement with Australia and I was told (wrongly) that there wasn’t one. I asked the same question to the immigration consultant working for my husband’s employer and she said that people on 457 visas were not entitled to Medicare, therefore we would need to have private health insurance (although no private health insurance company would cover me for an existing pregnancy!)

I went on the Internet but could not find any specific answers. I posted my question on several forums. Most people who viewed the question were permanent residents of Australia, who confirmed that permanent residents were entitled to cover under Medicare but they did not know what the situation was for those on temporary visas, such as a 457 visa.

The most helpful reply I got from a forum question was from an immigration consultant who said that he didn’t have the exact answer but that I might find this webpage helpful.

Well, the webpage gave me hope that I might be covered under Medicare but it provoked more questions. Only treatment that is ‘medically necessary’ is covered. Does this include health checks during your pregnancy? Does this include giving birth?

So, we decided to go to a Medicare office and enrol under the reciprocal agreement. We were given the form and told to come back with the completed form and our passports. I asked the lady we spoke to if I would be covered for pregnancy checks and/or the birth. She said (wrongly) that I would be covered for the birth but not for pregnancy check-ups. When we returned to the office with our form and passports, another member of staff dealt with us and I asked her the same question. She said that the pregnancy checks would be covered but the birth would not! Exactly the opposite of what her colleague had said!

Now I was completely confused. I decided to ring up Medicare and get a definitive answer. The person I spoke to said that she thought that both the pregnancy check-ups and the birth would be covered. I asked her if she could confirm that with her manager. She went away and, when she returned, she said that yes, her manager had confirmed that both pregnancy check-ups and the birth are covered under the reciprocal agreement between the UK and Australia.

I learned several things from this experience:

• Don’t rely on information given by one person - even if they are an employee of the organisation offering the product or service.
• Ring up the organisation in question and ask for a definitive answer.

I hope that my personal experience will help others in the same or a similar situation. If you are in any doubt whatsoever about your entitlement to health-related services in Australia, I would advise you to ring Medicare on 132 011 and ask for a definitive answer.