Antenatal advice Melbourne

[Guest carkyde]

Hi all, wondered if anyone could give me some advise on antenatal care in Melbourne?

We are moving on 11th Feb to Melbourne and I will be 19 weeks preggo, after I apply for Medicare do I go to any doctor's surgery and get them to arrange antenatal care or is there another way of doing it?

 

Also do I need to get private health insurance for maternity services?

 

I read somewhere about a baby bonus when you have a bub in Oz, would I be eligible for this? I will be starting work when I arrive in Feb, is there a maximum salary to qualify for this allowance or is everyone eligible for this?

 

Any recommendations for good hospitals in Melbourne? Hoping to be living in the St Kilda(ish) area?

 

I will be on a 175 visa. Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

Caroline

[Petals]

Welcome private health insurance require you to be in the fund for 12 months before they cover pregnancy.

 

Have a look at this forum run by Huggies the nappy people it has all the info need to know.

 

Good luck. https://www.huggies.com.au/

[SD_MOA]

Hello Caroline,

My wife is a midwife in the public health sector in the Melbourne area (and has worked in the NHS). The public hospital system in Austalia provides a very good level of care and is free on Medicare. If you choose to go private (obstetricians) then you will be looking at between $3,000 - $5,000 depending on risk factors etc. Most private health insurance companies have a waiting period.

 

Have a look at this as this link for more information: Having a Baby in Victoria - Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia

 

All the best.

[laurainlondon]

Hi,

I arrived in Melbourne in Sept with my Ozzy partner and I was 16 weeks pregnant. I just registered with my local GP and he discussed my options: public/private care and then referred me to the hospital of my choice. I have gone public and all my care is bulk billed through medicare (free) this has included my midwife care, scans, obstetrician and hospital care. I am due in Feb and the care I have received has been outstanding!

The baby bonus is for citizens, PR, and spousal visas. I have pasted a section from Centrelink. Check out their website for more info.

 

To lodge a claim and qualify for Baby Bonus, you must be an Australian resident - this means you have been living in Australia on a permanent basis and you are either:

 

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of a permanent resident visa, or
  
• the holder of Special Category Visa - someone who arrived on a NZ passport, or
  
• the holder of a particular temporary visa - these are known as "spouse provisional" or "interdependency" or "temporary protection" visas.
  

Hope this helps :-)

Laura

[Guest carkyde]

Thanks a million for your replies, this is really helpful.

Caroline

[Guest Sam3]

Hi Caroline

 

I moved to Melbourne in Sept at 18 weeks pregnant. Once you get your medicare card you can go to any doctor and they will refer you to a public hospital. However you do not have to go to the nearest public hospital like in the UK you can go to any. I had to wait 10 weeks for my first appointment at the Royal Womens hospital (they are so slow and not particularly helpful) after booking in so I would not suggest going there. I've heard the Monash Medical Centre is good.

 

In terms of baby bonus its paid fortnightly after the baby is born and you have to have a household income of less than $150,000 in the 6 months after the birth.

 

Also make sure you book in for childbirth classes etc asap as I couldn't get into any at the Women's hospital as they are so busy.

 

Hope thats helpful - if you have any other questions just send me an email.

 

Sam