Island Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Hi Is anyone able to help? We are a family of sixteen healthy Australian citizens (passport holders) ranging from 1 to 89 years old - all now living in the UK. We are all visiting Australia for 3 weeks - can we access healthcare if there are any emergencies or would you advise insurance? One of us is 19 years old and is travelling in Australia for 6 months. To get a medicare card he needs to prove residence, which he can't do - but from google search, it sounds like he can still access benefits of medicare as any other citizen? He was born in Australia and was perm resident till four years ago (but was on my medicare card being still a child then I think). Does anyone know if I'm on the right track?!! We leave in 2 days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) Are you UK citizens? There's a bilateral agreement on health services between the UK and Australia. But you may need to be UK citizens to qualify. Although possibly permanent residency would apply. Travel insurance is cheap for the young ones. But it gets pretty expensive for the older ones. Edited June 29 by Blue Manna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 5 hours ago, Island said: We are all visiting Australia for 3 weeks - can we access healthcare if there are any emergencies or would you advise insurance?... ... We are a family of sixteen healthy Australian citizens (passport holders) ranging from 1 to 89 years old - all now living in the UK. If you've been overseas for more than 5 years, then you're not covered under Medicare as an Australian citizen. However, as you are legal residents of the UK, you are entitled to cover under Medicare under the reciprocal agreement anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 Thank you, we've only been away 4 years... some of the family have been away a lot longer though - thanks for this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 I would still consider travel insurance though. Especially for the older members in case of problems en route. It would also ensure repatriation as well as cover for valuables. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 12 hours ago, rammygirl said: I would still consider travel insurance though. Especially for the older members in case of problems en route. It would also ensure repatriation as well as cover for valuables. Its that bit in the middle that's the problem, isn't it, that's what always worried me. So many reason why a flight could be diverted, and you could end up anywhere. At the worst extreme, think of something like 9/11, there were people going US-UK or vice versa, and ended up in Canada for a week or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 3 hours ago, Nemesis said: Its that bit in the middle that's the problem, isn't it, that's what always worried me. So many reason why a flight could be diverted... This was discussed on another thread. It does feel silly to get travel insurance for the whole trip when you only need cover for the three or four days you're in transit, but I haven't come across any insurance that would cover you just for those days. I was going to suggest to @Island to look into credit cards that offer travel insurance if you pay for the fares with your card. However I'm shocked to find that British credit cards don't offer it any more. The only one I found was a credit card called Yonder. HSBC offers it but only for Premier account holders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 50 minutes ago, Marisawright said: This was discussed on another thread. It does feel silly to get travel insurance for the whole trip when you only need cover for the three or four days you're in transit, but I haven't come across any insurance that would cover you just for those days. I was going to suggest to @Island to look into credit cards that offer travel insurance if you pay for the fares with your card. However I'm shocked to find that British credit cards don't offer it any more. The only one I found was a credit card called Yonder. HSBC offers it but only for Premier account holders. I imagine it was probably a bit of a con. These types of cards often charge fees and interest that are far more expensive than the benefits, and often have a lot of exemptions. It's often cheaper just to take out annual insurance. I would be more worried by the by lateral agreement. They will provide care, but they are wary of health tourism. You may find they just provide emergency care and then suggest you return to the UK asap. If you are after a kidney transplant or some such major thing you may be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 38 minutes ago, Blue Manna said: I imagine it was probably a bit of a con. These types of cards often charge fees and interest that are far more expensive than the benefits... Not really. Both my credit card and my husband's have travel insurance included. They are just standard Commonwealth Bank credit cards, we didn't pay any extra for the travel insurance. There is an annual fee but Commonwealth offers 'cashback' rewards, they don't force you to buy anything -- and I earn far more in cashbacks than the fee. I always pay in full each month so the card costs me nothing. The travel insurance is pretty standard, much the same as you'd get if you took out separate insurance. But of course you'd be pretty stupid not to read the policy before deciding whether it meets your needs. 55 minutes ago, Blue Manna said: I would be more worried by the by lateral agreement. They will provide care, but they are wary of health tourism. You may find they just provide emergency care and then suggest you return to the UK asap. Well yes, of course they will. It clearly states, if your treatment can wait until you get home, then you will not be treated. Having said that, Medicare is far less wary of health tourism than the NHS. We have plenty of evidence of people on bridging visas (and therefore covered only by the reciprocal agreement) getting hip replacements and other major treatments without any difficulty. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 We get excellent insurance with our westpac credit card, no annual fee, just have to pay a min of $500 on the holiday before travelling on the card. Equivalent insurance was at least $500 pa elsewhere. It even covers holidays within Australia and car hire excess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BendigoBoy Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 6 hours ago, Blue Manna said: I imagine it was probably a bit of a con. These types of cards often charge fees and interest that are far more expensive than the benefits, and often have a lot of exemptions. It's often cheaper just to take out annual insurance. On the contrary, $395 a year for my Qantas Signature Rewards card, and I've already had over $6k paid out because of some Aussie airlines' failure to do their bloody job properly this year alone. For an equivalent policy without excesses on a lot of things, I'd be paying well north of $1500 a year for multi trip cover that would do the job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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