Australia has a special system of health cover for International students which is Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). You will need to buy OSHC before you come to Australia to cover you from when you arrive. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship requires you to maintain OSHC for the duration of your time on a student visa in Australia.

The extent of the OSHC coverage depends on the health insurance purchased. The fine print of the insurance policy document will help understand what are the specific costs covered under a policy. An OSHC policy generally covers : Medical Costs, Hospital Costs,Ambulance service costs, Limited Pharmaceutical costs

A bare minimum standard policy or an OSHC basic policy does not cover for Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Chiropractic treatments, Dental and Orthodontics treatments Optical treatment - including contact lenses and eye glass prescriptions One can purchase an OSHC extras policy if they need extra coverage for the above treatment purposes.

You must have OSHC cover for the whole time you are here on a student visa or bridging visa, and you must prepay for OSHC cover for the length of your visa before you come to Australia. If you extend your visa, you must renew your OSHC policy.

If your family is coming overseas with you, your spouse (husband or wife) and children must also be covered by OSHC cover. If you decide that your chosen OSHC cover is too expensive or doesn’t cover what you want, you can switch to a different insurance provider, as long as your cover with them matches the length of your visa.

All OSHC insurance providers pay towards the GP costs. OSHC covers 100% of the MBS fee for GP/doctor services. i.e If you visit a doctor, who charges as per the MBS schedule, then your overseas student health insurance will cover 100% of the cost of the doctor visit. If the doctor you visit is charging more than set fee prescribed by the MBS, then the extra fee is called a gap fee. OSHC providers do not cover gap fee. The gap fee is then paid by the student.

✓ Paying online through our site is the easiest way to pay for Your OSHC ✓ Comprehensive payment protection 
✓ Premium customer service that is available 24/7 
✓ Security deposit protection to help you recover your deposit if it's wrongfully withheld. 
✓ Pay through our online platform with Visa, Mastercard, or American Express or you can do EFT. Visit this link to pay: https://studynet.com.au/oshc-payment

You can transfer to a different OSHC insurance company anytime. If you paid in advance for your OHSC cover, you can get a refund, but you may have to pay a ‘refund processing fee’. You must buy a new OSHC insurance policy before you can get a refund from your previous OSHC provider, because you must have insurance for the whole time you are in Australia on a student visa. You will not have to serve the waiting periods again after you change OSHC providers.