OSHCstudents – Overseas student health cover (OSHC) assists international students in paying the cost of medical and healthcare they may need while studying in Australia.
It is a condition of most student visas to have health insurance for the full duration of that visa. OSHC is designed for people who are the holder of a student visa or a person who:
- is an applicant for a Student Visa ; and
- is the holder of a Bridging Visa; and
- was, immediately before being granted the Bridging Visa, the holder of a Student Visa.
The requirement to have OSHC for the entire length of your student visa applies to overseas students who purchased OSHC on or after 1 July 2010.
However, there are limited exceptions for students from certain countries:
Norwegian and Swedish students
Norwegian and Swedish students who are covered by health insurance arrangements provided by their Governments do not need to take out OSHC. Any student not eligible for cover provided by their Government must take out an OSHC policy.
Belgian students
Belgian students studying in Australia are covered under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia and do not need to take out OSHC. However, Belgian students may wish to take out OSHC for a more comprehensive level of cover.
OSHCstudents (source: Medibank)
