Bupa provides private health insurance to thousands of overseas visitors to Australia.
Please note all our health insurance covers for overseas visitors intending to work in Australia meet the minimum requirements to support a 457 working visa application.
Access to hospitals across Australia
Bupa has agreements with many private hospitals across Australia and offers cover in each of them depending upon your chosen level of health insurance cover.* We also provide full health cover in all public hospitals in Australia.
The private hospitals we have agreements with fall into two categories:
- Members First hospitals: These are selected private hospitals from our participating private hospital network. At Members First hospitals you receive 100% cover for your hospital expenses, including accommodation, theatre and intensive care fees. You will also receive special benefits, including a single room or money back#, free daily newspaper, local telephone calls and TV in your room.
- Participating private hospitals: These are private hospitals where you receive 100% health cover for your hospital expenses, including accommodation, theatre and intensive care fees. If you go to a private hospital that isn’t in our network of participating private hospitals, you may incur large out-of-pocket expenses. Find a Members First or participating hospital near you
* Note that Classic, Essential and Standard Visitors Medical Cover give you access to shared room accommodation as a private patient only in public hospitals across Australia.
# To receive a single room for an overnight stay at any of our Members First hospitals, simply book at least 24 hours before your admission and ensure that you request a single room. If there’s no single room available, you’ll receive $50 a day from the hospital for every day you’re not in one. This applies to any overnight admission - excluding nursing home type patients, emergencies, or where a single room is medically inappropriate.
Covering the gap with our Medical Gap Scheme
If you go to hospital and your doctor or specialist charges more than the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee, it’s up to you to pay the 'gap'. But with our Medical Gap Scheme, your doctor or specialist agrees the fee with us, and bills us directly for services. So, in most cases there's no gap and you don't even see a bill. And if there is a gap, you'll be told about it before treatment, so there are no unwanted surprises. Simply ask your specialist about our Medical Gap Scheme.
Members First provider network
We have agreements with thousands of dentists, physiotherapists, chiropractors and optical outlets across Australia.* They are part of our Members First network. You get higher benefits from Bupa through these providers than at providers who are not part of our Members First network. Visit our extensive dental, optical physiotherapy and chiropractic Members First network and receive:
- higher benefits than at non-Members First providers – between 60% to 90% back on the cost of the treatment in most cases
- certainty about any out-of-pocket expenses
- on-the-spot claiming
Find a Members First dentist
Find a Members First optical outlet
Find a Members First physiotherapist
Find a Members First chiropractor
*Currently there are no Members First dentists or chiropractors in Tasmania or the Northern Territory, and no Members First physiotherapists in Tasmania.
Visible value on Optical
Make your extras private health cover go further at Members First optical outlets with higher Annual Limits of at least 20% more than an outlets not part of the Members First network. Choose a Members First optical outlet and get:
- at least 20% off most frames# and great discounts on standard lenses
- a range of fixed priced packages on glasses and contact lenses (no gap packages) - which could cost you nothing (depending on your level of cover)
- up to $100 off a wide range of fashion frames*
- up to 100% back on most lenses (depending on your level of cover)
- 20% off a variety of sunglasses and non-standard contact lenses.*
Find a Members First optical outlet
# When purchased with prescription lenses. Not available with any other offer. Excludes Chanel and Bulgari frames.
* Not available with any other offer.
No gap dental for kids
We offer health cover for the whole cost of your kids’ dental treatments at Members First dentists, right up until they turn 25.* That means you’ll benefit from no out-of-pocket expenses for your kids on more than 250 dental services when you visit a Members First dentist – including check-ups, teeth cleaning, fillings, X-rays and more!
This feature is available when you take out packaged Overseas Visitor Cover or Gold, Classic, Essential or Standard Visitors medical Cover with one of Platinum, Gold or Silver Extras.
Find a Members First dentist
* On benefits payable. Excludes orthodontics and hospital treatment (normal benefits apply). Available on family memberships. Excludes family Hospital covers with selected Extras. Waiting periods and normal fund dental rules apply. Child dependants only.
Natural Therapies
Many of our Extras health covers provide benefits for alternative health services including acupuncture, Chinese herbalism, homoeopathy, massage (Bowen technique, kinesiology, reflexology, shiatsu and therapeutic massage), naturopathy and Western herbalism.
More about cover for natural therapies
Health hubs
Our health hubs bring together a useful range of health tips, articles, factsheets, videos and calculators to help you understand many health issues.
Visit our Health hubs
Flexibility to suit you
If you’re leaving Australia for a period of between one and three months, we can suspend your health insurance cover until you return. This means you won’t have to pay for health cover while you’re not in the country. Conditions do apply, so please contact us to find out more.
Great discounts with Pharmacy Saver
Add Pharmacy Saver cover to any Overseas Visitor cover and you can enjoy some impressive savings on your pharmaceutical and health care purchases at National Pharmacies outlets. In short, you get a 20% discount on a variety of health-related products.* You can visit your National Pharmacies store to find out exactly what you’re entitled to.
* These are products designed to manage or prevent disease, injuries or a condition, or prescribed in connection with an episode of hospital treatment. Pharmacy Saver may not be available on some Corporate private health insurance plans.
Australian & Overseas Health Advice Line
If the unexpected happens during your stay or while you’re travelling overseas, we’re always here to provide phone-based support and advice. Our 24-hour Australian and overseas health advice line is exclusive to Bupa and provides you with support and information including:
- Basic advice on simple medical problems provided by doctors and nurses
- The name, location and contact details for the nearest medical facilities
- Passing telephone messages onto your family
- Assistance with reviewing medical bills
- Medical translation services and help booking medical appointments
- Simply call +61 3 9937 3999 (reverse charges accepted), or look for the number on the back of your card.
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