Does HCF private health insurance cover you while travelling?

Published December 2024 | 5 min read
Words by Andrea Downey

From hospital visits, physio and remedial massage to ambulance trips – here's what your HCF private health insurance covers on holiday in Australia.

Your bags are packed, out-of-office is on and you’re ready to set off on an Australian holiday. You’ve thought of everything – who will feed the cat and water the plants, who’ll cover you at work – but are you prepared if you need medical help when you’re away?

As carefully as we plan, accidents can still happen so it’s important to know you’re covered.

Here’s everything you need to know about private health cover while travelling within Australia.

Does private health insurance cover you when travelling in Australia?

The short answer is ‘yes’. If you have private health insurance, then you’re covered wherever you are in Australia for the extent of your current policy. Everything your health insurance policy covers you for at home should also be covered while travelling within Australia.

That includes the six states and two territories, as well as Australian external territories of the Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island and Christmas Island.

Before heading off on your trip, it’s worth confirming with your private health fund what you’re covered for and adding additional cover if you think you need it.

What does private health insurance cover while travelling?

Private health cover allows you to be treated in hospital as a private patient and can help you pay for your healthcare costs.

By law, it does not cover out-of-hospital medical services including GP appointments and out-of-hospital diagnostic tests.

At HCF, we offer hospital cover, extras cover and ambulance cover. Hospital cover helps with the cost of treatment in hospitals, whereas extras cover helps cover the cost of day-to-day health services like dental, physio and optical. You can take out one or both types of cover, depending on what best suits your needs.

You can also take out ambulance-only cover if your state government doesn’t cover that cost. The states and territories have different rules for ambulance cover, which are worth being aware of when travelling interstate. (See below for more information.)

How does Medicare work while travelling in Australia?

Medicare is Australia’s universal healthcare system. It's available to Australian citizens and most permanent residents. It covers part of the cost of seeing a GP or specialist (or the full cost if they bulk bill), tests and scans like X-rays, and most prescription medicines.

Medicare also provides free medical treatment in public hospitals throughout the country, so if you’re travelling in Australia and require a hospital admission, you’ll be able to access care but you will be subject to public system wait times for non-urgent treatment.

Medicare doesn’t cover the cost of ambulances or extras like dental work, glasses or speech pathology, but private health cover can help bridge the gap and give you more choice about services and treatments. It can also help provide faster access for surgeries.

While travelling in Australia, digital health services such as PSYCH2U (for mental health issues) and GP2U (for general health concerns) can be helpful. All HCF members with health cover can access a standard telehealth GP consultation (up to 10 minutes) for a fee of $50 through GP2U. Our Find a Provider tool can also help find a participating hospital with no-gap arrangements, and it can also be used to book a dental visit.

What about ambulances when I’m on holiday?

When it comes to the cost of an ambulance in an emergency, it can get confusing as each state and territory government has different rules for ambulance cover. Some cover the full cost whereas others require you to pay the full cost or use private health insurance.

HCF Ambulance Only covers the cost of emergency ambulance services provided by State or Territory government services if you need treatment on the spot or while being transported to the nearest hospital in Australia (except transport from a medical facility or a hospital). Depending on your level of cover, you may also be covered for non-emergency ambulance treatment.

A 24-hour waiting period applies for emergency ambulance services and a two-month waiting period for non-emergency ambulance transport.

States and territories have different rules for ambulance cover. Here’s a breakdown for residents across Australia.

NSW and ACT

Unless you're a concession card holder, emergency ambulances are not fully covered by your State or Territory government but having private health cover can help you avoid paying for ambulance treatment yourself.

If you have HCF hospital cover, you may be entitled to fully covered State emergency ambulance transport under a levy arrangement.

Queensland

If you’re a Queensland resident, State ambulance services are covered by your State ambulance service scheme anywhere in Australia so you don’t need separate health or ambulance insurance.  

Tasmania

If you’re a Tasmanian resident, you're covered by your State ambulance service scheme for ambulance services within Tasmania. In other States and Territories, the scheme generally covers road ambulance services only across Australia, except in Queensland and South Australia. For services not covered by your State scheme, you may be able to claim on your private health cover.

Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory

If you're a resident in these states, your State or Territory government doesn't cover the cost of ambulances. There are some exceptions for concession card holders. You’ll need either private health cover which includes ambulance cover, or an ambulance subscription with your State or Territory ambulance service. If you have neither of these and require an ambulance while travelling in Australia, you will have to bear the cost.

Do I need travel insurance when travelling around Australia?

While Medicare and your private health fund can cover a lot of day-to-day medical costs while you’re on holiday in Australia, domestic travel insurance can be useful as well.

HCF Travel Insurance may cover the cost of lost or stolen baggage, unexpected trip cancellations, rental vehicle excess and personal liability^*.

Affordable travel insurance to keep you covered

HCF members can save 25% on HCF Travel Insurance^* when you use our discount code^{^}. Go to hcf.com.au/travel to log in and get your discount code.