Are there any additional benefits?

Pet Insurance. HCF Pet Insurance, issued by The Hollard Insurance Company, is available at a 15% discount for HCF members. 100% back on extras. HCF gives you up to 100% back on a range of extras treatments for eyes, teeth, muscles, backs, feet and hearing aids. Dental and eyecare centres. HCF runs dental centres across NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland, plus a network of eyecare centres. Healthy Weight for Life program. This 18-week program helps you reach your weight goals and maintain that healthy weight.

What am I not covered for with HCF OVHC?

There are certain situations when your HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover policy will not provide protection. These include: Ambulance transport by a provider not recognised by HCF Ambulance transport where you are covered under another scheme, for example a state ambulance subscription service Your claim is for a treatment specifically excluded from your policy Your claim is for treatment received while you are serving a waiting period You can recover the costs from a third party other than HCF, for example from workers' compensation insurance It is for experimental treatments or treatment not deemed suitable by HCF It is for goods or services that are delivered outside Australia, or for treatment that is not delivered face-to-face It's also worth pointing out that this policy is not available for visitors who hold a: Student visa Tourist visa (but HCF does offer OVHC for visitors on a holiday visa (subclass 600)) Retiree visa not listed above Finally, keep in mind that waiting periods will apply for certain treatments and procedures. For example, a 12-month waiting period before you can receive cover for the treatment of pre-existing conditions or pregnancy and birth-related services.

How long will I need to wait to receive hospital treatment for a pre-existing condition?

A 12-month waiting period applies to pre-existing conditions. Otherwise, there's no waiting period for services covered by Medicare. There's a 2-month waiting period for rehab, palliative care and psychiatric services.

How can I apply for cover?

You can apply for HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover online, via email, by phoning HCF or by visiting a HCF branch.

What excess options are available with HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover?

Depending on the product you may be able to choose a $0, $250, $500 or $750 excess – the higher the excess you choose, the lower your premiums will be.

How can I apply for cover?

You can apply for HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover online, via email, by phoning HCF or by visiting a HCF branch.

Which countries does the Australian Government have a reciprocal health care agreement with?

Agreements are in place with Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Visit Services Australia online for more information about these agreements.

HCF Overseas Visitor Health Cover Review

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HCF, Australia's largest not-for-profit health fund, offers various OVHC policies from $51 per month.
Consider HCF's high 88% member retention rate but note its higher 2023 customer complaint percentage.
Policies vary from basic visa requirement cover to comprehensive plans including dental and optical.

HCF is Australia's largest not-for-profit health fund, meaning any money it makes goes back to its members. It offers different levels of overseas visitor health insurance (OVHC) so you can choose to pay as little as possible and simply meet visa requirements or opt for a more comprehensive policy.

Pros

With a range of policies, it's good if you want the bare minimum to meet your visa requirements without breaking the bank, as cover for workers on the OVHC Basic product starts from $63.24 per month.
You're going with a trusted fund — HCF is the third-largest health insurer by market share in Australia and the biggest not-for-profit health fund.

Con

HCF has a high percentage of customer complaints compared to the other big health funds, which can indicate potential issues with service quality, claim processing or customer support.

HCF visa policies currently on offer

Finder Score	Meets condition 8501	Price
9.4 Excellent HCF Basic Working Visa	9.4 Excellent	$50,000	From $63.24 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
9.1 Excellent HCF Short Stay Visitor Visa	9.1 Excellent		From $51 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
9 Excellent HCF Top Working Visa	9 Excellent	$100,000	From $165.36 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
8.8 Great HCF Mid Working Visa	8.8 Great	$100,000	From $114.40 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
7.8 Great HCF Top Plus Working Visa	7.8 Great	$110,000	From $332.8 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
7.8 Great HCF Essentials Visitor Visa	7.8 Great		From $140.40 per month	View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
6.6 Standard HCF Essentials Plus Visitor Visa	6.6 Standard		From $218.40 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

HCF OVHC: Our verdict

HCF is good if:

You want to meet your visa requirements.
You want to go with a not-for-profit.
You want lots of options.

HCF is not great if:

You aren't interested that it's a not-for-profit insurer.

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

What types of health insurance does HCF OVHC offer?

Working Visitors
Holiday and working holiday cover

Hospital icon

Working visitors

HCF offers these 4 packages:

Basic. HCF Overseas Visitor Basic policy covers you for emergency ambulance rehabilitation and palliative care, emergency department facility fees, medical repatriation and funeral expenses, and all services where a benefit would be payable under Medicare, the Australian public healthcare system.
Mid. This provides similar services to a Basic policy but higher limits on some services. For example, you'll get up to $100,000 for medical repatriation, compared to $50,000 with a Basic policy.
Top. Comprehensive cover for overseas visitors. As well as hospital care, you'll get cover for extras services including dental, optical, therapies such as physio and natural therapies like acupuncture.
Top Plus. The most comprehensive cover HCF offers for visitors, you'll get all the benefits included in previous policies, plus up to $110,000 for medical repatriation and $20,000 for return of mortal remains or funeral expenses.

Private contract

Holiday and working holiday cover

Short stay. Short Stay is designed for singles and couples and covers you for everything that Medicare covers (except pre-existing conditions). This includes doctors' fees, some medicines while in hospital or on discharge and emergency ambulance services.
Essentials. Essentials includes all Medicare-covered treatments, ear, nose and throat, back, neck and spine and minimum benefits for heart surgery, hip and knee replacement and more. Cover also included doctors' fees, PBS medicines, and emergency ambulance transport.
Essentials Plus. Essentials Plus covers doctors' fees both in and out of hospital. You'll also get cover for accommodation, medicines during and after your hospital stay, emergency ambulance transport and a range of other hospital services, including cataracts.

Ambulance icon

Ambulance coverage

All HCF OVHC policies cover emergency ambulance transportation. This includes on-the-spot treatment and HCF's working visitors' products also include transportation to hospital inter-hospital transfers when the original hospital doesn't have the required clinical facilities.

HCF health insurance complaints

The Commonwealth Ombudsman's 2024–25 State of the Health Funds report excludes complaints about overseas visitor cover, so these figures reflect HCF's health insurance for Australian residents. They're still a useful guide to how HCF handles complaints overall:

HCF received 12.1% of all complaints, slightly less than its 12.8% share of the market, giving it a market-share-to-complaint ratio of 95%.
However, HCF accounted for 21.8% of the complaints the Ombudsman went on to investigate, the highest share of any insurer.

HCF member retention

This chart shows the member retention for each health fund with a market share of at least 0.5%, according to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. A higher member retention percentage may suggest customers are happy with the service they're receiving; a lower percentage could mean customers aren't happy with the fund's service. HCF had the highest member retention (88%) followed by HBF (86%).

Health fund annual member retention

Health fund annual member retention
Fund name	Member retention (hospital)
Australian Unity	78%
BUPA	84%
CUA Health	79%
GMHBA	71%
HBF	86%
HCF	88%
Health.com.au	70%
Health Partners	90%
HIF	71%
Latrobe	76%
Medibank	75%
NIB	78%
Peoplecare	80%
St Lukes	86%
Westfund	85%
CBHS	91%
Defence Health	88%
Teachers Health	90%
TUH	84%

Health fund annual member retention
Fund name	Member retention (hospital)
Australian Unity	78%
BUPA	84%
CUA Health	79%
GMHBA	71%
HBF	86%
HCF	88%
Health.com.au	70%
Health Partners	90%
HIF	71%
Latrobe	76%
Medibank	75%
NIB	78%
Peoplecare	80%
St Lukes	86%
Westfund	85%
CBHS	91%
Defence Health	88%
Teachers Health	90%
TUH	84%

HCF OVHC frequently asked questions

- Pet Insurance. HCF Pet Insurance, issued by The Hollard Insurance Company, is available at a 15% discount for HCF members.
- 100% back on extras. HCF gives you up to 100% back on a range of extras treatments for eyes, teeth, muscles, backs, feet and hearing aids.
- Dental and eyecare centres. HCF runs dental centres across NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland, plus a network of eyecare centres.
- Healthy Weight for Life program. This 18-week program helps you reach your weight goals and maintain that healthy weight.
There are certain situations when your HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover policy will not provide protection. These include:
- Ambulance transport by a provider not recognised by HCF
- Ambulance transport where you are covered under another scheme, for example a state ambulance subscription service
- Your claim is for a treatment specifically excluded from your policy
- Your claim is for treatment received while you are serving a waiting period
- You can recover the costs from a third party other than HCF, for example from workers' compensation insurance
- It is for experimental treatments or treatment not deemed suitable by HCF
- It is for goods or services that are delivered outside Australia, or for treatment that is not delivered face-to-face
It's also worth pointing out that this policy is not available for visitors who hold a:
- Student visa
- Tourist visa (but HCF does offer OVHC for visitors on a holiday visa (subclass 600))
- Retiree visa not listed above
Finally, keep in mind that waiting periods will apply for certain treatments and procedures. For example, a 12-month waiting period before you can receive cover for the treatment of pre-existing conditions or pregnancy and birth-related services.

Finder writers are subject matter experts and use primary sources, in-depth research and interviews with other experts to ensure you're getting accurate, up-to-date information. Articles are fact checked in line with our editorial guidelines.

Thank you for your feedback!

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

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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 520 Finder guides across topics including:

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

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HCF Overseas Visitor Health Cover Review

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