Which insurance is best for visitors to Australia?

IF you're a visitor to Australia, especially on the 600 visa, you should get OVHC - specially a 'visitor' policy - from an Aussie insurance fund. This will cover you for accidents and other essential medical care you might need when you're in Australia. Be sure to read the product details to know exactly what's covered.

Does visa 600 need health insurance?

Assume yes. The Aussie government imposes the 8501 condition on some visas that requires you to have 'adequate health insurance'. 8501 is mandatory on working and study visas, but discretionary for 600, depending on the visa stream. If you have condition 8501 on your visa, you need an OVHC policy. To be honest, even if you don't have 8501 on your visa you should still get OVHC.

Do I need OVHC in Australia if I have travel insurance?

If your visa isn't subject to condition 8501 you do need OVHC, even if you have travel insurance. If it's not subject to 8501 then you might be okay with just travel insurance. However, OVHC is a much more reliably option for medical cover in Australia. Because OVHC is build directly with Aussie hospitals, you likely won't need to even see a medical bill at all. On the other hand, travel insurance might need you to pay your medical bills and then claim them later, which could be crazy expensive. Travel insurance is also more likely to not cover everything, where as OVHC is designed to match up with the Aussie medical system pretty tightly.

Compare health insurance for visitors in Australia

If you plan to holiday down under, you need cover for unexpected medical costs.
The best solve is a visitor OVHC policy, which can be had for a few bucks a day.
Even with travel insurance, OVHC is still a good idea, because they are specific to the Aussie health care system.

1 - 8 of 7

Product	Finder Score	Pregnancy cover	Medical repatriation	Price
CBHS International Overseas Worker Base Hospital	Finder Score 9.9 Excellent	Yes (Reduced benefits)	$10,000	From $59.97 per month	Get 8 weeks free with CBHS International Health Overseas Workers Cover. Offer ends 30 June 2025. T&Cs apply.	Get quote More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Australian Unity Basic Overseas Visitors Cover	Finder Score 9.3 Excellent		$20,000	From $80.95 per month	More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CBHS International Overseas Worker Mid Hospital and Medical	Finder Score 9.4 Excellent	Yes (Reduced benefits)	$10,000	From $95.98 per month	Get 8 weeks free with CBHS International Health Overseas Workers Cover. Offer ends 30 June 2025. T&Cs apply.	Get quote More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Allianz Care Australia Budget Visitors Cover	Finder Score 6.8 Standard		$5,000	From $163.60 per month	More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Australian Unity Mid Overseas Visitors Cover	Finder Score 8.5 Great		$20,000	From $132.85 per month	More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CBHS International Overseas Worker Top Hospital and Medical	Finder Score 8 Great	Yes (Reduced benefits)	$10,000	From $184.99 per month	Get 8 weeks free with CBHS International Health Overseas Workers Cover. Offer ends 30 June 2025. T&Cs apply.	Get quote More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Allianz Care Australia Standard Visitors Cover	Finder Score 5.7 Standard		$5,000	From $724 per month	More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Australian Unity Top Overseas Visitors Cover	Finder Score 7.2 Great		$20,000	From $207.70 per month	More info Compare	loading Fetching your data...

Finder Score for overseas health insurance

To make comparing overseas health insurance even easier, we developed the Finder Score. Factors like price, hospital cover, extras cover, emergency travel, and more are weighted and scaled across 50+ policies from 15+ providers to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score, the more competitive the policy.

Read the full Finder Score methodology

Do visitors need health insurance?

Unlike some other Australian visas, it's not a requirement for tourists to get health insurance for the 600 visa. However, just because it’s not mandatory, doesn’t mean you don’t need cover. The Department of Immigration strongly recommends private health insurance for anyone coming to Australia on a 600 visa. This is for two very important reasons:

Without it you'll need to pay for all your own medical costs in Australia, whether it’s a dental check up or a trip to the hospital emergency room after a serious accident.
Injury and sickness is unpredictable, particularly while travelling, so getting health insurance for tourists is an important part of the pre-flight checklist for experienced travellers.

What do I get with OVHC?

Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) is a type of health insurance designed specifically for visitors to Australia. It can cover you for:

Hospital treatment, accommodation and theatre fees

Doctor, surgeon and specialist fees

Emergency ambulance transportation fees

Prescriptions and General Practitioner (GP) consultations

Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

Medicare is Australia’s public healthcare system, and generally it only covers Australian citizens and permanent residents. Most visitors to Australia aren’t eligible, unless there is an Reciprocal Health Care Agreement in place. This means that if you are visiting Australia from any of the following countries, you may be partially covered by Medicare. Australia has an RHCA with the following countries:

The United Kingdom
The Republic of Ireland
New Zealand
The Netherlands
Belgium
Italy

Malta
Sweden
Slovenia
Norway
Finland

OVHC waiting periods

While domestic health insurance policies have waiting periods before you can claim, they don't make sense for visitor, as you'll need coverage from the first day you arrive. As such, most visitor OVHC policies have zero waiting periods. That doesn't include pre-existing conditions though, which are never covered.

Just a quick note here - some of the student and working OVHC policies do have waiting period, especially for the more complex cover types. So if you were to somehow change from a visitor to a working visa (I don't know if that happens, I'm not an immigration lawyer) then you may have some waiting periods on your new policy.

FAQs about health insurance for visitors

Assume yes. The Aussie government imposes the 8501 condition on some visas that requires you to have 'adequate health insurance'. 8501 is mandatory on working and study visas, but discretionary for 600, depending on the visa stream. If you have condition 8501 on your visa, you need an OVHC policy. To be honest, even if you don't have 8501 on your visa you should still get OVHC.
If your visa isn't subject to condition 8501 you do need OVHC, even if you have travel insurance. If it's not subject to 8501 then you might be okay with just travel insurance. However, OVHC is a much more reliably option for medical cover in Australia. Because OVHC is build directly with Aussie hospitals, you likely won't need to even see a medical bill at all. On the other hand, travel insurance might need you to pay your medical bills and then claim them later, which could be crazy expensive. Travel insurance is also more likely to not cover everything, where as OVHC is designed to match up with the Aussie medical system pretty tightly.

Thank you for your feedback!

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 598 Finder guides across topics including:

Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
Managing the cost of living

More resources on Finder

Health insurance for NZ citizens living in Australia Visitor health insurance for 601 visa holders

More guides on Finder

CBHS International Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC)
CBHS OVHC can help you meet your visa requirements while working in Australia.
CBHS International Overseas Student Health Cover
CBHS OVHC can help you meet your visa requirements while studying in Australia.
8501 visa condition
The 8501 visa condition means you need to get health insurance for your stay.
Best OVHC Policies for travel in Australia
We compared dozens of Overseas Visitor Health Cover policies to find some of the best policies for visitors and tourists.
600 visa health insurance
Get cover quickly and easily for your stay in Australia.
590 Student Guardian Visa Health Insurance
Find out what health insurance you need for the 590 Visa and how to get cover for pre-existing conditions.
407 Training Visa Health Insurance
Find out who is eligible for 407 Training Visa, what you need, the requirements and the restrictions.
408 Visa Health Insurance
Everything you need to know about the health insurance requirements of the 408 visa and how to find the right cover.
Working holiday health insurance
Everything you need to know about the health insurance requirements of the 417 visa and how to find the right cover.
Compare Overseas Student Health Cover
If you’re an international student travelling to Australia on a student visa, you’ll need to take out Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).

Health insurance for visitors

If you're visiting Australia on a 600 visa, overseas visitors health cover (OVHC) can pay for any unexpected medical bills. Compare OVHC policies below.

Key takeaways