OSHC / OVHC
Which visas need health cover?
Most Australian temporary visas carry condition 8501: you must maintain health insurance for your entire stay. Here is what each subclass needs.
Quick check
You need
OSHC (student cover)
You must hold government-approved OSHC covering the whole visa. The policy number is required at application time (some universities arrange it for you). Norwegian, Swedish and Belgian nationals can apply for an exemption.
See policies for this visaWhat condition 8501 says
"Maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while in Australia." The word that matters is maintain — even a one-day gap is technically a breach. Check your grant letter or VEVO to see whether it applies to you.
OSHC
Only student visa (500) holders can buy it, and the six approved funds share a legislated minimum.
OVHC
For every other temporary visa holder, with no legislated minimum — the cheapest cover hospital only.
| Subclass | Cover needed | Condition 8501 | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500Student visa | OSHCOSHC (student cover) | Always | You must hold government-approved OSHC covering the whole visa. The policy number is required at application time (some universities arrange it for you). Norwegian, Swedish and Belgian nationals can apply for an exemption. | Compare now |
| 590Student Guardian visa | OVHCOVHC (guardians cannot buy OSHC) | Always | Guardians cannot buy OSHC in their own right — it is sold only to student visa holders — so you need OVHC. Accompanying children under six must be covered too. | Compare now |
| 485Temporary Graduate visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Always | Your OSHC ends with your student visa, so you must switch to OVHC. A common trap: the cover has to be active when you lodge the 485, not after it is granted. | Compare now |
| 482Skills in Demand / TSS visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Always | Cover must be in force every time you enter Australia. Employers sometimes pay, but the obligation sits with the visa holder — and dependants must be covered as well. | Compare now |
| 494Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Usually | It is a pathway to permanent residency, but you have no Medicare until PR is granted, so OVHC is needed. | Compare now |
| 407Training visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Always | Your sponsor will usually ask for a certificate of currency before they nominate you. | Compare now |
| 408Temporary Activity visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Always | Covers religious workers, athletes, entertainers and more — 8501 is attached in almost all streams. | Compare now |
| 403Temporary Work (International Relations) visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Usually | Under streams like the PALM scheme your employer often arranges cover — check before buying your own. | Compare now |
| 417Working Holiday visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Sometimes | 8501 is not attached to every 417, but without Medicare a single broken-bone operation can run into five figures. UK and Irish nationals can use Medicare under the reciprocal agreement, but cover is still recommended. | Compare now |
| 462Work and Holiday visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Sometimes | Works the same way as the 417; mainland Chinese passport holders apply under the 462. | Compare now |
| 600Visitor visa | ·Not mandatory, but strongly advised | Sometimes | The Sponsored Family stream and many long-stay parent applications nearly always carry 8501. Even without it, cover is strongly advised — public hospitals charge uninsured foreigners in full. | Compare now |
| 870Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa | OVHCOVHC (visitor cover) | Always | You must maintain adequate cover for the whole stay, including the ability to meet costs relating to pre-existing conditions — a hard requirement for the 870. Read the pre-existing clause carefully. | Compare now |
| 601 / 651ETA and eVisitor | ·Not mandatory, but strongly advised | Rarely | Not mandatory for short tourist stays, but travel insurance or OVHC is still worth it — one ambulance trip alone can cost hundreds to thousands. | Compare now |
| 188 / 888Business Innovation and Investment visa | ·Not mandatory, but strongly advised | Rarely | The 188 is temporary and carries no Medicare entitlement — a mid or top OVHC plan is sensible for the whole family. | Compare now |
| 461New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa | ·Not mandatory, but strongly advised | Rarely | If you are not Medicare-eligible in your own right, you pay for treatment yourself — cover is advised. | Compare now |
| 189 / 190 / 186Permanent residence visas | —Not needed — you can enrol in Medicare | Rarely | Once granted you can enrol in Medicare, so no OSHC or OVHC is needed. On a bridging visa while you wait, your previous visa conditions usually carry over. |
Policies are underwritten and issued by Australian registered health insurers; we handle the quote and the sign-up. The insurer’s policy document and PDS are the authority on price and cover.
The legislated OSHC minimum
Every approved OSHC policy must include at least the following — which is why the six funds look so similar at entry level:
- In-hospital treatment in a shared public ward at 100% of the MBS fee
- GP consultations at 100% of the MBS fee
- Specialists, pathology and imaging at a minimum of 85% of MBS
- 100% cover for emergency ambulance
- Prescription medicines up to per-item and annual limits
- Repatriation and funeral benefits
What cover generally excludes
Whether you hold OSHC or OVHC, these are normally outside the cover.
- Treatment arranged before you arrived (medical tourism)
- Cosmetic and elective aesthetic surgery
- IVF and assisted reproductive services
- Non-emergency ambulance transport
- Any treatment received outside Australia
- Pre-existing conditions inside the waiting period, usually 12 months
Reciprocal health care agreements
Citizens of these countries can enrol in Medicare for medically necessary public treatment. Medicare does not cover ambulance, private hospitals or repatriation, and is not always accepted as "adequate arrangements" where 8501 applies.