How much does private health insurance cost?

The average cost of private health insurance is around $160 per month for a single person. However, the price varies by factors from location to level of cover.

Who is this cover for?

Key takeaways

  • The cost of private health insurance varies based on cover type and tier, your age and income, how many people it covers, where you live and more.
  • You should compare health insurance on Finder to find a specific plan for your budget.
  • That all said, scroll down for more insight on the cost of private health insurance in Australia.

Average monthly cost of hospital cover in Australia

Hospital cover is available in four different tiers: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic. Each tier covers a government-mandated list of treatments, making it easier to compare like-for-like.

We regularly crunch the numbers for our entire database of health funds in order to work out the average premium for each tier of hospital coverage. The most recent calculations are on the chart below. Each tier includes 'plus' policies as well.

These averages are based on the prices from all states for policies with a $750 excess for a single policy holder, before any surcharges or the private health insurance rebate are applied. The price of your policy may be more or less than this, depending on your circumstances.

What can impact the price of my health insurance?

There are several factors that will change the price of your health insurance premiums, whether you get hospital or extras cover. Here are the main ones to consider.

  • Private Health Insurance Rebate: The price of your policy can vary by over 25% due to rebate. It's mainly based on your age and income.
  • Lifetime Health Cover Loading: If you don't have hospital cover after age 31, a 2% loading will be added to the price each year you don't have it.
  • State: The cost of medical care is different in every state, and that's reflected in your premiums.
  • Policy Excess: A policy with a larger excess will have lower premiums, but you will have more out of pocket costs when you claim.

Cost of hospital cover in each state

The cost of health insurance varies by state. Below is the breakdown of hospital cover by state and tier, as of January 2025.

Cost of extras cover by state

The current average cost of extras is $12.07 per month for a single 30-year old earning less than $97,000 per year. However, because extras policies are so varied, it's hard to generalise. You should compare health insurance with Finder's tools to work out how much your perfect extras policy is likely to cost.

We regularly run the numbers on our entire health insurance database to find the average cost of extras cover for each state. Our most recent calculations are shown in the chart below.

Why do health insurance prices vary by state?

There are few reasons why health insurance prices vary by state, despite the health insurance policies being the same. We can't into the total theory of insurance underwriting here, but 2 big reasons are:

  • Cost of health care: The cost of health care varies by state. Rent, wages or supplies might be cheaper in some states than others. For example, the price of rent, wages and power for a Perth hospital might be lower than in Sydney, which could lower the amount insurance companies are billed by hospitals.
  • Demographics: This is a big one - WA and the NT have wildly different demographics than the overall population. The NT has a much lower average age, mostly thanks to semi-temporary young workers in Darwin and Alice Springs working government and military jobs. A younger population is going to claim far less than an older population, which will result in lower premiums for everyone.

The cheapest hospital policies in Australia

'Cheapest' is a relative term for hospital cover. Whether you need health cover for tax or health cover for pregnancy makes a big difference. Luckily, the Australian government has a tier ranking for hospital cover, from Gold down to Basic. We've listed each tier below.

TierPolicy nameMonthly Premium
GoldMildura Health Fund: Five Star Gold*$176.90
Silverahm: essentials silver plus**$112.52
Bronzeahm: starter bronze$97.14
BasicPhoenix: Basic Accident Only Hospital$76.14

Prices based on single 30-year old living in NSW earning less than $97,000 per year with a $750 excess. Analysis performed January 2025. Note that other discounts and conditions may change the final price you pay.

**TUH and Union both have cheaper silver policies, but both are restricted funds. Mind, all you need to join union health fund is join your union, which you should probably do anyway.

Remember, the cheapest policy is not always the best policy. Here's a good tip - when you're comparing hospital insurance policies, look out for 'Plus' policies. These products cover more treatments than the minimums required from each tier, often for just a few more dollars a month. They're often great value.

*For example, the cheapest policy on the table above is Mildura Health Fund, which is a hyper-regional fund, and may not make sense for you if you don't live in western Victoria. You'll need to find the policy that is both cheap and suits you best.

Frequently asked questions

Tim Bennett's headshot
Written by

Insurance expert

A seasoned journalist with over 10 years of experience in news, politics and finance reporting, Tim has previously held roles at the ABC, SBS and Fairfax Media. Tim’s expert insights have been quoted in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. He regularly appears on TV and radio, and has been interviewed on 7 News, Sunrise, SBS News, ABC Local, 3AW and 5AA. Tim is passionate about simplifying complex insurance topics for Australian consumers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) from Macquarie University and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). If you’re interested in a media interview with Tim, please reach out to our PR team at aupr@finder.com. See full bio

Tim's expertise
Tim has written 134 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Financial comparison
  • Health insurance
  • General insurance
  • Life insurance
Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Co-written by

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 632 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living

Ask a question

You are about to post a question on finder.com.au:

  • Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank details) as your question will be made public
  • finder.com.au is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or product provider
  • We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations
  • Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions below to see if yours has already been asked

Finder only provides general advice and factual information, so consider your own circumstances, or seek advice before you decide to act on our content. By submitting a question, you're accepting our Terms Of Service and Finder Group Privacy & Cookies Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

More guides on Finder

Go to site
Compare 40+ health funds in under a minute
Close