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Thanks @Marisawright My mother was visiting over Christmas so I used the visa grant number from that visa for her Medicare enrollment application. My hope was that her Medicare card would have come through in time for the 870 visa. Enrollment in Medicare would suffice to show she has adequate health coverage for the 870 visa. Given this now looks unlikely I have decided to follow @Alan Collett's and apply for private health cover with a deferred start date. I already have the certificate of insurance so will pay the 2nd VAC tonight. Thanks again for everyone's advice!

Thanks Alan. Really appreciate your response. Any particular reason to pay for 3 months of cover e.g. is this a minimum requirement from the Department?

Well I suppose we could pay the 2nd VAC, but we would still have to wait until she receives confirmation of enrollment in Medicare before Immigration will approve her visa so there doesn't seem much harm in waiting to both at the same time, unless I'm missing something?

Ok, I've answered my own question regarding the cost of health insurance for an 870 visa - apologies for not just checking this myself! Perhaps a more pertinent question is, in order to satisfy the health insurance requirement for an 870 visa, does the private health insurance have to begin immediately for the visa to be granted, or can it start at a future date, in keeping with when the holder of the insurance is expected to arrive in Australia?

Hello, Firstly, thanks to everyone who posts on this forum. It has been an invaluable source of information to assist with applications for parent visas on behalf of my mother. For context, we applied for the 143 visa in December 2018 and received a Queue Letter in November last year. In the interim we decided to go down the path of applying for the 870 visa, due to long wait times for 143. My mother was asked to pay the 2nd VAC for the 870 visa late last year, as well as demonstrate adequate health care arrangements. It has now been more that 3 months since I submitted her Medicare enrollment application (she is resident in a country with reciprocal healthcare arrangements with Australia), but we have yet to hear anything from ServiceAustralia. Has anyone else experienced similar delays in enrolling in Medicare? I have already advised Immigration that we are still waiting for a response prior to paying the 2nd VAC for the 870 visa. Also, given that Reciprocal Healthcare under Medicare is only supposed to cover "medically necessary treatment" in Australia for the duration of a visa, which in this case will be 5 years, do most people also apply for private health insurance whilst on the 870 visa? My mother is in her 70s, and whilst she is healthy, there is always the concern that she may require treatment for a more serious condition during her stay here. Can anyone give a rough indication of the annual premium for health insurance for those on an 870 visa? Thanks!

Thanks for your replies. I have done a bit of investigation and my nominated occupation is deemed to be ANZSCO skill level 2 which means that it is exempt from Labour Market Testing thereby making it easier for the buyer to nominate me should they wish to do so. I will have been in my current role for two years in October so the upcoming changes to the ENS TRT stream are welcome as I will hopefully be able to apply for PR in spite of the takeover assuming I am kept on by the buyer! With regard to the transfer and redundancy payments hopefully it will not come to having to employ a lawyer but I have found some comfort in learning that that Fair Work Act, which also covers 457 visa holders, makes provisions for redundancy payments on a transfer of business.

The company I work for is about to be the subject of a takeover. On the date of the takeover my employment will be transferred to the buyer and the company I currently work for will cease to exist. I will therefore be without a sponsor for my 457 visa unless the buyer decides to continue my sponsorship which may be difficult since presumably they won't have undertaken any labour market testing for my role. My employment contract makes provisions for a redundancy payment should I be made redundant as a result of a takeover as well as a transfer payment should I commence employment with a buyer of my company. However, I am worried that the buyer could use the fact that I am no longer eligible to work in Australia as an excuse to avoid making the transfer and redundancy payments since technically I will not be able to take up employment with the buyer unless they sponsor me. For example, they could argue that my position has not been made redundant, merely that they cannot / will not sponsor me to fulfill the same role in the newly formed company. Any thoughts or advice as to what recourse I might have should the buyer decide not to sponsor me and withhold redundancy and transfer payments. I am thinking about seeking some advice from an immigration / employment lawyer but thought I would look for views here first.