What do the policies cover me for?

For necessary medical services, except those specifically excluded under each plan, you are able to receive treatments in a private hospital, following admission. In all cases your health insurance will only cover shared-room hospital accommodation, so you will need to pay more for a private room, or will have to pay these costs out of pocket if you are admitted to a hospital that only has private rooms available. The more comprehensive plans also cover you for a range of out-of-hospital services, such as doctor appointments and health check-ups. It is important to note that you may not be covered for 100% of medical expenses. You should contact HBF prior to receiving treatment to find out if any out-of-pocket expenses are involved.

What are the limitations and waiting periods that apply?

Not all of these plans are suitable for working visas, and additional conditions or exclusions may apply. You are not necessarily covered for all private hospital treatments, and may be left with out-of-pocket expenses. You are generally only covered for private hospital services in HBF-partnered private hospitals. The HBF network may be more expansive in Western Australia than other states, and as such this type of cover may be most suitable for those intending to reside in Western Australia. If you will be living or working in a different state, you may want to compare other overseas visitor health cover options . Waiting periods apply as follows: 12 months. Pre-existing conditions (except psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care), maternity care services 6 months. Repatriation 2 months. Rehabilitation, palliative care and psychiatric treatments None. Ambulance cover None. All other treatments and services

How can I make a claim?

If you are admitted to hospital while you are in Australia, the hospital can check your overseas visitor cover details, and may be able to bill HBF directly. You will need to pay any remaining expenses to the hospital or practitioner as applicable.

How are premiums paid?

You can pay premiums via direct debit from a bank account or credit card.

HBF overseas visitor cover (OVHC) review

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Pros

With three core plans to choose from, you're likely to find something that fits your need: whether that's the minimum to meet your visa requirements, or some added health cover.
HBF had a lower rate of policy complaints (3.7%), compared to its overall market share (of 7.7%) in Australia. The Commonwealth Ombudsman figures were for 2023 and are the most recently available figures.

Con

You may be able to find other competitively priced options elsewhere.

HBF visa policies currently on offer

Finder Score	Meets condition 8501	Medical repatriation
Finder Score 9.5 Excellent HBF Overseas Working Visa Hospital	Finder Score 9.5 Excellent	Optional	From $59.90 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder Score 8.1 Great HBF Overseas Working Visa Hospital + Medical	Finder Score 8.1 Great	Optional	From $197.73 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder Score 7.7 Great HBF Standard Overseas Visitors	Finder Score 7.7 Great	Optional	From $170.65 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading

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 methodology

HBF OVHC: Our verdict

HBF is good if:

You need to meet condition 8501 of your visa.
You want to avoid ambulance fees which aren't generally free in Australia.
You aren't covered by a RHCA.

HBF is not great if:

You aren't interested in some extras services like dental.
You're a student – you'll need OSHC.

_{Review by our insurance and innovations editor Gary Ross Hunter}

What types of health insurance does HBF OVHC offer?

Hospital
Extras
Ambulance

Hospital icon

Hospital Coverage

HBF offers these plans:

Standard Overseas Visitors cover. Policies start at $170.65* per month and cover you for benefits including urgent ambulance, doctors fees in hospital for included services and public hospital emergency department fees.
Working Visa Hospital cover. Policies start at $59.90* per month and provide you with a range of cover for benefits including joint replacements, heart treatments and IVF.
Working Visa Hospital and Medical cover. Policies start at $197.73* per month and provide top-level cover with protection for the costs from accommodation in a private room and out-of-hospital pharmacy.

*Price is based on a single, in NSW paying by direct-debit with 24.288% Australian Government Rebate on private health insurance and 0% Lifetime Health Cover loading price.

Extras icon

Extras coverage

You're also able to add extra cover to these hospital policies, which protect you from the costs from treatments like physiotherapy and massage. These include:

Flex 50s. This pays 50% towards benefits including general dental, major dental, optical, physio, chiro and more.
Complete 60s. This pays 60% towards most out-of-hospital services including general dental, major dental, optical, physio, acupuncture, healthy living programs and more.

Ambulance icon

Ambulance coverage

HBF OVHC policies can cover emergency ambulance transportation. This service isn't generally covered by Medicare in Australia.

HBF health insurance complaints

We looked at the 2023 Ombudsman health insurance complaints. Here's how HBF stacked up:

Proportionally, HBF had a strong complaints record compared to most other large health funds.

HBF wasn't first place – it was behind other insurers including Mildura Health Fund and Queensland Country Health.

HBF OVHC frequently asked questions

For necessary medical services, except those specifically excluded under each plan, you are able to receive treatments in a private hospital, following admission.
In all cases your health insurance will only cover shared-room hospital accommodation, so you will need to pay more for a private room, or will have to pay these costs out of pocket if you are admitted to a hospital that only has private rooms available.
The more comprehensive plans also cover you for a range of out-of-hospital services, such as doctor appointments and health check-ups.
It is important to note that you may not be covered for 100% of medical expenses. You should contact HBF prior to receiving treatment to find out if any out-of-pocket expenses are involved.
Not all of these plans are suitable for working visas, and additional conditions or exclusions may apply. You are not necessarily covered for all private hospital treatments, and may be left with out-of-pocket expenses.
You are generally only covered for private hospital services in HBF-partnered private hospitals. The HBF network may be more expansive in Western Australia than other states, and as such this type of cover may be most suitable for those intending to reside in Western Australia.
If you will be living or working in a different state, you may want to compare other overseas visitor health cover options.
Waiting periods apply as follows:
- 12 months. Pre-existing conditions (except psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care), maternity care services
- 6 months. Repatriation
- 2 months. Rehabilitation, palliative care and psychiatric treatments
- None. Ambulance cover
- None. All other treatments and services

Sources

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 572 Finder guides across topics including:

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

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HBF overseas visitor cover review