Everyone on student visa must have a compulsory local health insurance - Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). This insurance policy must be valid for entire duration of your studies or student visa (usually a bit longer than studies).
While it is another upfront cost that students face, it is actually quite good value compared to any travel insurance or other local insurance.
What does OSHC cover?
It depends on the policy you have chosen. At minimum all policies cover ambulance, public hospital, visits to doctors and specialists, some medicines and medical procedures (x-ray, blood tests etc), BUT you may always incur some additional fees. In Australia national health system Medicare has set of fees for any doctor visits and medical procedures that any Australian is entitled to. OSHC covers all or most of that Medicare portion of the fees. Unfortunately, most doctor visits and procedures cost more than this set Medicare fee, and here you still have to pay the difference. For example seeing a doctor (GP) might cost you $60, but you will only get back $37 (Medicare set fee) e.g you have to pay $23 yourself. Some OSHC providers have agreements with certain doctors and hospitals where student doesn’t have to pay anything extra (direct billing). You can find these doctors and hospitals on the websites of OSHC providers.
What does OSHC not cover?
Visits to dentist or optometrists, and any complimentary therapies (physio etc). Also there might be waiting periods for any chronic or ongoing health issue that you had prior to OSHC and need a treatment or surgery for. Also pregnancy related services usually have a waiting period. For these cases it is best to contact the insurer directly and make sure if it is covered prior seeking treatment.
How do I claim?
All OSHC providers have their own explanations how to claim. In some instances, doctors can send bill directly to insurance provider, in other cases you have to pay full fee and then claim part back.
How Visafy can help?
There are several insurance providers offering OSHC and Visafy has agreements with all major ones so you can organise everything with us. If you later need to claim for any services you do it directly with insurer. While we can’t really recommend which insurer is best for your circumstances, since the basics covered are the same, one of the most important factors for students seems to be the price.
How much does OSHC cost?
Here is a comparison table for 1 year cover for a single student (correct as in Sep 2016, but prices can change anytime):

AHM: $438
Alliance: $553
BUPA: $540
Medibank: $546
NIB: $480

If you apply for student visa with partner, the OSHC costs are much higher (not just double). The insurers explain it that usually a couple uses much more medical services and there is higher likelihood of pregnancy related costs etc. Contact us for more information which covers offer best value for couples and families.

Besides OSHC, Visafy has also agreements with insurance companies to assist clients on 485, 457 etc visas that also have compulsory insurance requirement. Contact us for more info.