Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA)

The Australian Government has signed Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) with the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia, Malta and Italy. If you hold a passport from one of these countries these agreements entitle you to some subsidised health services for essential medical treatment while visiting Australia.

If you applied for, or received a Subclass Visa 410 (Retiree Visa) before 1 December 1998, you may be able to access Medicare under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement of your home country.

If you applied for Subclass Visa 410 after 1 December 1998, you’re not eligible for Medicare and you’re not covered under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreements.

Period of cover

If you are a resident of New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Finland or Norway, you are covered for the length of your stay in Australia.

If you are a visitor from Belgium, the Netherlands or Slovenia, you need your European Health Insurance card to enrol in Medicare. You are eligible until the expiry date shown on the card, or for the length of your authorised stay in Australia, if that is an earlier date.

If you are visiting from Malta or Italy, and you are a resident and citizen of those countries, you’ll be covered by Medicare for a period of six months from the date of your arrival in Australia.

Access to cover

Reciprocal Health Care Agreements cover treatment that is medically essential. This means any ill-health or injury which occurs while you are in Australia and requires treatment before you return home.

Students

If you are in Australia on a student visa from the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia, Italy or New Zealand, you are covered by Medicare. Students from Norway, Finland, Malta and the Republic of Ireland are not covered by the agreements with those countries.

Note: With the exception of students from Belgium, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden it is a condition of your student visa that you take out Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).

Your entitlements

As a resident of one of these countries, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia, Malta and Italy, you are entitled to the following health or injury treatments while you are in Australia:

• free treatment as a public in-patient or out-patient in a public hospital
• subsidised medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• Medicare benefits for out-of-hospital treatment provided by a doctor

Residents of the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand are entitled to:

• services as a public patient in a public hospital (including outpatient services) for medically necessary treatment medicines available on prescription which are subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), at the general rate.