We ask you to pay the first month in advance to make sure your cover is active when you arrive in Australia. It also means that, if needed, we can send you a cover confirmation letter to include with your visa application. Once your policy has started, you can choose to have your payments come out fortnightly, monthly, or less often.
For overseas student cover, you need to pay for the entire policy upfront.
If you become eligible for Medicare, you need to contact us as soon as possible as you’ll no longer be entitled to claim on your OVC policy, but will continue to pay for it. We can help you decide if private health insurance is right for you, and which cover suits you best.
Having private health insurance is optional, but if you’re over 31 years old, buying hospital cover within 12 months of your Medicare registration date could help you avoid Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading. You may need to provide us with an LHC letter, which you can request from Medicare.
Full Medicare registration is the date you registered for interim or full Medicare benefits. Medicare available through a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) doesn't count for LHC though.
Yes. Once your visa is approved, you can contact us to update your start date to match your visa approval date. We’ll also adjust any premiums you may have paid. You can change your cover start date at any time by calling us, using the chat button, or by logging into myBupa.
Please note that the first month cannot be refunded.
If you're from a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA), this means you're eligible for Medicare (Australia's public health system), which will cover you for medically necessary treatment only. Any other treatment is your responsibility. The Australian government strongly recommends all visitors have private health insurance before they travel. The RHCA won’t cover services not covered by Medicare, like ambulance and private hospital costs.
Check with Services Australia to see all RHCA eligibility criteria.
1If claimable from another source, a benefit won’t be paid by Bupa. Benefits for ambulance transportation is only payable where the provider describes the transportation as an ‘Emergency’. For more, see the Important Information Guide.
2 Fund and policy rules apply. Yearly limits apply to Essential Lite Visitors cover, but these limits will be waived (only in relation to Blua consultations) until further notice. 100% of the cost will only be covered for Blua consults. Members will only be able to book general consultations via Blua. Consultations with specialists cannot be booked via Blua. Members who are under 18 years old may need to attend the consultation with a parent or guardian. Members’ preferred language may not be available 24/7.
Chemist delivery T&Cs apply. Your delivery address will need to be within 8km of a participating chemist to be in the serviceable area. Service provided by third party partner. See blua.bupa.com.au for more details.
3 Waiting periods, fund and policy rules apply. Depending on your cover, yearly limits may apply.
4 Based on total revenue for Overseas Visitors Cover, APRA Operations of Private Health Insurers Annual Report 2024–25.