FAQs

At Bupa we aim to provide the best advice and support to help you find the cover that is right for your needs. With over 65 years experience we provide a range of covers to suit individual budgets and lifestyles.

If you have read the information on this website and would feel more comfortable talking to someone about your options, please don't hesitate to call us on 134 135 from within Australia, or +61 3 9487 6400 from outside Australia.

Our opening hours are:
8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and
9am – 1pm Saturday
(all times in AEST).

If you are from a country that has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia and have a Reciprocal Medicare card, you may have some access to Medicare when visiting or working in Australia. However, the level of benefits and the period for which you receive them may be limited depending on which country you are from. Medicare also does not cover treatment in a private hospital, and you may not be able to choose your own doctor in hospital.

So, to ensure you are covered for most inpatient and outpatient hospital services, treatment by a doctor or specialist in private practice, repatriation benefits, and ambulance services, you will need to take out one of our working overseas visitor covers.

Yes. You can join on overseas visitors cover before arriving in Australia and your cover will start from the date of arrival you supply us with. If your arrival date changes just give us a call and we will change your start date for you. Please note that your waiting periods will commence upon the date of your arrival into Australia.

If you would prefer to speak to us to discuss your options, please call our friendly Bupa team on 134 135 from within Australia or +61 3 9487 6400 from outside Australia.

Our opening hours are:
8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and
9am – 1pm Saturday
(all times in AEST).

Once you have applied for Bupa's overseas visitors cover, you will receive your health insurance visa letter to support your visa application, by email. Please ensure you provide a valid email address on your application for cover.

You’ll need an Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) number to get prescriptions by SMS or email. If you don’t have one, it may take longer to get medication. How to get an IHI.

The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a list of medical services (e.g. specialist consultations, procedures and tests) subsidised by the Australian Government. The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee is the fee set by the Government for each medical service to determine the benefit you can get back from Medicare. It does not cover things such as private patient hospital costs (e.g. theatre fees and accommodation).

The fee you are charged to see a doctor or specialist is set by the doctor or specialist. Some may charge more than the MBS fee. Depending on your level of cover, this may leave you with a 'gap' between the amount that Bupa will pay for and what you will need to pay out of your own pocket.

For example, if the MBS fee for a consultation is set at $40 and your doctor charges $60, if you have Essential Cover Bupa will pay $40 (100% of the MBS fee) and you will be required to pay the remaining $20.

Some GP clinics previously received an extra payment from Bupa when treating international patients. This sometimes meant you did not have to pay an out-of-pocket fee for your appointment.

From 27 June 2026, Bupa will no longer make this extra payment to GP clinics. As a result, some GP clinics may review how they bill international patients and may choose to charge an out-of-pocket fee – sometimes known as a ‘gap’ – for your appointment.

Each GP clinic makes its own billing decisions, and determines whether it passes on gap fees or not. We encourage you to check with your GP clinic how international customers are billed before attending your appointment, so you can understand you will be required to pay a gap.

Bulk billing is when a GP clinic bills Medicare directly for your visit, meaning a person who is eligible for Medicare pays nothing out of pocket. The Australian Government recently expanded a payment called the Bulk Billing Incentive to encourage more GPs to bulk bill, but this only applies to Medicare-eligible patients. As an international student or visitor, you are not eligible for Medicare, which is why some things may be changing for you.

Billing practices vary by GP clinic. It is best to check with your specific clinic to understand how they bill international patients

From 27 June 2026, Bupa will no longer pay an extra payment to GP clinics where incentive payments are available for Medicare eligible patients.

As international patients are not covered by Medicare, incentive items will return 'benefit is not payable' when you claim.

This does not change what you are covered for under your Bupa product and Bupa will continue to pay for eligible outpatient services as per your product entitlements.

The Australian Government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is an initiative that provides financial assistance towards the cost of medicines. This helps reduce out-of-pocket costs for Australians who need a lot of medicines on the PBS each year.

If a medicine is not listed on the PBS, and you have a level of cover that includes pharmacy benefits, Bupa may pay a benefit the cost provided it has been approved by the Australian Government Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) as a prescription-only medicine and prescribed by certain approved providers.

All of our working visa covers provide cover for inpatient pregnancy services. Our Essential Lite, Essential and Essential 50 plans offer cover for hospital services and inpatient medical services up to 100% of the MBS fee in a public or private hospital. We also pay 100% of the MBS for outpatient pregnancy services until 1 June 2021, when Outpatient pregnancy coverage will be removed from our Essential Lite, Essential and Essential 50 plans.

Please also remember that you will need to serve a 12 month waiting period from the time you take out your cover or upgrade to a higher level of cover before you are covered. A waiting period is a period of time during which you are not covered for a particular service. While you may fall pregnant during your waiting period, you'll need to have served the full 12 months before you are admitted to hospital to have your baby. If you have your baby during your waiting period, you’re not eligible to receive a benefit payment from us.

Contact us on 134 135 from within Australia or +61 3 9487 6400 from outside Australia.

Our opening hours are:
8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and
9am – 1pm Saturday
(all times in AEST).

The Terms and Conditions for your policy with Bupa can be found in the Overseas Visitors Fund Rules.

If you have a Working Visa Cover (e.g. Essential Lite, Essential, Essential 50, Mid 60), you can access the document at bupa.com.au/fundrules/workingcover.

If you have a Visitors Cover (e.g. Standard, Standard 50, Short Stay Visitors Covers), you can access the document at bupa.com.au/fundrules/visitingcover.

You can claim the rebate when you lodge your next tax return.

There are a number of ways you can select or change the rebate tier that applies to your policy.

You can do this by:

• Logging into myBupa on bupa.com.au;
• calling us on 134 135; or
• by dropping into your local Bupa centre.

If your income or circumstances change throughout the financial year, we recommend you consider changing your tier to minimise your tax liability.

If you currently receive the rebate and you don't nominate a rebate tier, you will continue to receive your current rebate. The ATO will recover any amount you have received that is above your entitlement through your tax return or if you receive less rebate than you're entitled to the ATO will refund the difference owed to you in your tax return.

No. If you wish to nominate a rebate tier you simply need to estimate your income within the appropriate tier. Nomination of a rebate tier will not be taken by Bupa as an indication of your income. You can choose any tier you wish.

There are no penalties for nominating an incorrect rebate tier. However, when you claim the rebate as a premium reduction, you should consider nominating a tier based on your estimated income. If you nominate a tier that results in a lower rebate than your income entitles you to, you may receive a rebate 'refund' through your tax return for that year. If you nominate a tier that results in a higher rebate than your income entitles you to, you will incur a tax liability when you lodge your tax return and will be required to repay this to the ATO.

For advice specific to your circumstances, you should speak with your tax adviser.