Relocating to a new country is not a small decision; Ambler Collins aims to provide you with the most up-to-date and reliable information on important aspects
of life in the country your interested in moving to. Please see the menu below for more information on life in
Australia.
Health System in Australia
Australia enjoys a good quality health system, with a large network of public and private hospitals, GPs (general practitioners), ambulances, and specialists. GPs are the normal first point of call for any medical problem. All state capitals have large and well-equipped public hospitals and most other major cities also have public hospitals with different degrees of services available.
The publically funded health system is referred to as ‘Medicare’. Medicare funds free public hospital care and assists with the costs of seeing local costs, pharmacy medicines and specialists. Many people also purchase health insurance to cover the costs that Medicare doesn’t cover. Normally when you go to doctor you will be required to pay a fee and then this fee is partially refunded on application to Medicare. Costs not covered by Medicare and for which private insurance is available include ambulance service, private hospital stays, and dentist services.
When you first arrive in Australia you should register with Medicare, this will give you access to all the aforementioned medical services. Most people do have some sort of private medical insurance, for more information on the private insurance options available in Australia see
www.privatehealth.gov.au.
For other Ambler Collins guides to life in a new country see here
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