Jodieed2 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Hello, I am from the Uk and my partner Australian. We have been together for 2 years whilst I was in the country on working holiday visa. We submitted our partner visa a few weeks ago onshore and I have been granted a bridging visa A! While a decision is made! I have just just found out that I am pregnant and am trying to get as much information about my rights to medical care and benefits...any help would be much appreciated. I have already had my medical examination and x-ray for the visa so there is no concern there! I have read that being pregnant makes no difference to the application and will not speed it up which is fine! I currently work full time and have done for the past 5 months and will continue to work until the baby is born! As as I am from the Uk i have a green Medicare card! In the UK there are no costs to have a baby, what is the case with that here? What would I need to pay for and what is covered by my Medicare? Also, what sort of benefits am I entitled to? It is more than likely that I will still be on a bridging visa or the temporary resident (820) visa when the baby is born. Just looking for any advice and information regarding my situation. And any pointers I should look out for Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 You already have full Medicare rights, including confinement costs. Confirm with Medicare, citing your visa application. If born in Australia your child would be an Australian citizen by birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Hi Jodie, Medicare will cover everything except a couple of scans. I think we paid for our first set of scans in a private clinic (~$200), although we wouldn't have paid if we went through the hospital. We went through the hospital for subsequent scans and there was a minimal amount to pay if I recall correctly (<$100 total). If you go private then you'll pay multiple thousands. We had our kid in Brisbane and could not fault the service we got. We'll definitely go public for the next one. Re entitlements I'm not sure how your visa status would affect them. As a citizen you are entitled to 18 weeks maternity pay at minimum wage, with some family tax benefit depending on your household income. You'd probably get the family tax benefit as your partner is a citizen but not sure on the mat pay. Check with centrelink. Congratulations! Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 The costs depend on where you are. Here in sa I found a bulk billing scan place and haven't paid a penny for anything (I'm 31 weeks). I don't believe you will be eligible for the paid parental leave as you don't have at least pr, but your partner might be (doesn't have to be the mum, but he must be taking time off). It's probably worth popping into centerlink for a chat. Congratulations. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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