Arrange Your Health Insurance for Temporary Graduate 485 Visa

Why Do You Need A Health Insurance for Your 485 Visa?

Adequate Health insurance is an important criterion you have to satisfy for most visa holders. Under 485.215 of the regulation, when you apply for a Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa, you must have adequate health cover for the whole of your stay to be granted this visa.  

The health insurance needs to cover the period between when the visa application was made and when a decision is made on the application. Your cover should cover you for medically necessary treatment, including transport. The same requirements apply if there are any family members included in the same application as the secondary applicants. 

If you don’t meet the requirement at the time the application was made, you will not be granted a subclass 485 visa, which is subject to a visa refusal. 

Is Your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) About to Finish?

You might have arranged health insurance when you were/ are a student, which is known as Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).   

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs requires you to have continuous health cover during your stay in Australia. Therefore it’s not uncommon for students to have both OSHC and Temporary Graduate visa 485 covered while they’re applying for their Temporary Graduate 485 visa. So you may have two sets of cover at the same time while you wait for your visa. Don’t worry – you won’t be out of pocket and pay for any overlapping cover.  

• If you move from your Student visa to a bridging visa when your Student visa ceases (without making a further student visa application), you will be required to obtain a non-OSHC policy to meet the health insurance requirement of subclause 485.215(2) for your Subclass 485 visa application immediately after your OSHC ceases. 

• If your student visa is still valid at the time of decision for your Subclass 485  visa application and you have not obtained non-OSHC health insurance, the officer may request evidence of adequate arrangements for health insurance from you as your OSHC will cease to provide cover when the Subclass 485 visa is granted, and the student visa ceases as a result of this visa grant. 

• If you are not a student visa holder when you make your application, OSHC is not acceptable evidence of health insurance. 

How To Meet the Health Insurance Requirement? Don’t Waste Your Money! 

Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) is the type of health insurance you need to purchase for your Temporary Graduate 485 visa. You can find more information about the insurance plans through the websites of insurers, etc. Bupa, Allianz, Medibank, where you are able to select the right over for your personal circumstances and also compare services and prices among different packages for your need.  

The OVHC insurance is generally more expensive than your OSHC. Let’s calculate an accurate date for the best savings for your pocket!  

Examples: 

Scenario A: Application made while on a student visa 

If you are covered by OSHC until 15 March and lodged your application for a Subclass 485 visa in February (prior to the expiry date of the OSHC), you must obtain adequate non-OSHC health insurance cover that commences from 16 March you’re your bridging visa commences. If your Subclass 485 visa is granted prior to the expiry date of your student visa (that is, before or on 15 March), you must further obtain non-OSHC health insurance cover immediately. Under these circumstances, officers may contact you to request evidence that you have non-OSHC health insurance coverage before finalising the visa application. 

Scenario B: Application made while on a non-student visa 

If you are covered by adequate non-OSHC health insurance when you make your application for a Temporary Graduate Subclass 485 visa, you will need to continue to hold adequate non-OSHC insurance while you are waiting for a decision on your visa application. 

Other Considerations 

There are also some other issues in relation to the application for a 485 visa, as follows: 

• Which stream of 485 suits you?  

• Do you meet the Australian study requirements? 

• Do you need skill assessment in your nominated occupation? 

• How to pass the character test?  

• Is an Australian National Police Check enough for your application even if you have travelled to other countries?  

• What happened if your application has been refused?  

Do I Need A Lawyer? 

It will be helpful if you contact a migration lawyer. Only a lawyer can give you independent, expert legal advice. Lawyers are trained to interpret the law and apply it to individual cases. Lawyers also know migration law, its practices, and procedures.  

A lawyer will: 

• Define whether you have a legal issue suitable for consideration on complex visa applications and appeals. 

• Provide practical options available to you, and 

• Explain the costs involved in the application and appeal litigation. 

How can Agape Henry Crux Help You?   

In addition to what the law does and doesn’t allow you to do, there are also practical considerations that may mean that travelling overseas jeopardises your visa application. If you want to find out more about the risks of travelling overseas, do not hesitate to contact us. You can book a Migration Planning Session with one of our immigration lawyers to seek professional advice by calling 02 8310 5230 or email us to book a time at info@ahclawyers.com.  

We speak fluent English, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Burmese and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.   

This article/presentation (“publication”) does not deal extensively with important topics or changes in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you find this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact our office.