Good news to New 491 and 494 Visa applicants – They are eligible for Australian Medicare benefit

Last Friday 25 October 2019, the Australian government announced under the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) new benefits for those applying under the soon to arrive Skilled Work Visa (subclass 491 and 494). Under the new announcement, visa holders of these subclasses can now enjoy the same healthcare benefits that Australian permanent residents and citizens enjoy. 491 and 494 visa holders are now entitled to access the benefits from Medicare, starting from 16 November 2019.

Following this announcement, these visa holders will not have to wait for the grants of their permanent visas. This benefit will be accessible once they receive their visa grant letters.

Without Medicare, the visa rules stipulated that visa holders had to maintain their own private health insurance to cover all themselves’ and their families’ medical expenses whilst staying in Australia. Those who have access to Medicare benefits are able to enjoy some coverage by the Australian Government in regard to:

• consultations at general practitioners;
• undergoing x-rays
• a large portion of surgeries performed by health practitioners; and
• eye tests by optometrists.

In short, this is great news to all future 491 and 494 applicants. As always, we at Straits Lawyers will monitor the situation closely and keep you updated of any new changes. We hope the government can issue more policy such as this to continue attracting highly skilled migrants to Australia.

If you would like to discuss this further, or simply email us at info@straitslawyers.com or call at (08) 8410 9069 to arrange an appointment.

Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice and Straits Lawyers will not be legally responsible for any actions you take based on this article.