How to switch health insurance: Step-by-step

How does health insurance switching work?

In Australia, hospital insurance is portable, which means you can easily move between health funds. Portability is guaranteed by the federal government for hospital policies, but not for extras policies.

This means hospital policies are super easy to switch, and your already-served waiting periods will transfer across. For extras, while transferring waiting periods is not guaranteed, most health funds will apply the same rules, so you'll probably have your waiting periods transferred across if you're moving to equivalent cover.

Pros and cons of switching health insurance

Switching health insurance isn't totally risk free. Whether it's worth switching health insurance will depend on your current policy, your location and your health needs. Here are a few pros and cons to consider.

Sign-up deals for switching health insurance

One of the best things about switching health insurance providers is that you may be eligible for some sweet sign-up deals! As long as you're a new customer to the new provider, any sign-up deal should apply to you. Here are a few live deals from Finder partners.

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Earn up to 120,000 Qantas Points Ends 05 February 2026 Points will be awarded based on your level of cover over 6 months. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Want 6 weeks free and $300 in gift cards (couples/families) or $150 in gift cards (singles/single parents) when you join & maintain eligible Hospital+Extras cover? New members only. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Want 4 weeks free + a $50 gift card when you join & maintain eligible Extras? Plus, get 2&6 month waits waived. New members only. T&Cs apply. Excludes Healthy Living Extras. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Want 6 weeks free plus up to $200 in gift cards? New members only. Excludes Basic covers. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Join directly on eligible cover & get up to 6 weeks free Ends 07 January 2026 New members only. Ends 07 Jan 2026. 6 weeks free applied over 2 years (3 years for annual payers). T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
HCF members can get loyalty rewards and discounts across Australian stores Health fund members can get discounted e-Gift cards from Apple & more. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...

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Switching health fund vs changing policy

If you're not happy with your current health insurance, it's probably worth having a look at the other policies available from your health fund. It might be that there is another policy that fits your needs better, and that might even save you money. It's going to be less admin to stick with the same provider, which is a plus.

Note that if you change policies with the same provider, the cons of switching health funds will still apply. If you go to a higher level of cover you'll need to re-serve waiting periods, and you may lose a grandfathered plan. But you won't get access to sign-up offers that you would if you switched to a new provider.

Finder survey: How often do people compare or switch health insurance?

Waiting periods when switching health funds

Waiting periods are treated slightly differently for hospital and extras cover.

Hospital waiting periods

Hospital is guaranteed portable, so waiting periods you've already served will transfer across. However, if you increasing your hospital tier, you'll need to serve waiting periods for your new treatment categories. Those waiting periods will be 2 months for most categories, or 12 months for child birth or pre-existing conditions.

For example, if your new policy covers pregnancy but your old one didn't, you'll have to wait 12 months.

Extras waiting periods

The portability guarantee does not apply to extras. That means your new insurer has the right to make you wait again. This doesn't happen very often though. Health funds want you to switch to them, so most of them will honour your previously served waiting periods when you're switching to equivalent cover.

To make sure you have consistent coverage, it's a good idea to call any prospective health fund ahead of time, to see if they'll honour your previous waiting periods.

Why switch health funds?

"When I was switching health funds, my main motivation was to save money. I have access to some great public hospitals near me, including a $2bn university hospital, so I have health hospital cover for absolute worst-case scenarios and to save money on tax. I made sure I compared apples with apples and switched to a fund with the lowest premiums I could find."

Sarah Megginson

Personal finance expert + media spokesperson

Should you switch policies when having a baby?

A lot of people will review their health insurance because they're planning on having a baby. This is as good a time as any to make sure you're on the right policy, but you do have to time it right.

• If you're planning a baby you'll need health insurance that covers child birth at least 12 months ahead of time. Pregnancy has a longer than normal waiting period, so make sure you switch with enough time. If it's already too late, you'll need to give birth in the public system.
• If you've just had a baby you'll probably want to switch to a family policy to cover your newborn. You don't need to do this until they're born, but you should do it as soon as you can after that. If you're on a couples policy, you can upgrade to a family policy. If you're on a single policy, you can upgrade to a single-parent policy. And yeah, you can do this with your current health fund, or use it as an opportunity to switch.
• If you're done having babies then you might want to consider switching to a lower tier hospital policy that doesn't cover child birth. If you can find a policy that covers everything you still need without including child birth or IVF, then you'll probably save money. Just make sure you're definitely done having kids!

Frequently asked questions

• Does switching health funds affect my tax?

  Switching health funds shouldn't affect your any of your health insurance tax programs. As long as you new coverage is eligible to exempt you from the Medicare Levy Surcharge and the Lifetime Health Cover loading, that exemption should continue.

• Can I switch health insurance while I'm pregnant?

  Yes, but portability rules still apply. If your old and your new policies both include pregnancy cover, you'll receive credit for any waiting periods you've already served (and will need to serve the remainder if necessary). If your old policy didn't include pregnancy cover and your new one does, you'll have to start from scratch. The waiting period for child birth is 12 months.

• What if I downgrade my policy during a switch?

  If your life circumstances call for a downgrade in coverage, by all means switch. Just make sure you keep enough cover to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge, who don't have enough private health insurance.

• What happens if I cancel my existing policy before switching my health insurance?

  Your portability guarantee lasts for 7 days, so don't wait too long or you risk having to re-serve all your waiting periods. Any gaps in your cover can also affect your Lifetime Health Cover, a loading that you go without health insurance. After 1,094 non-consecutive days without health insurance, your loading will start over again.

• What if I'm locked into my current policy?

  The whole point of portability is to give you the freedom to switch insurers whenever you want. That means there is no such thing as being "locked in". It's possible to negotiate a discount in return for paying your entire annual premium in one up-front sum. If you've done that with your old insurer, they are obligated to refund any unused premium when you switch, but you may have to pay back any discount you received.

• When is the best time to switch?

  The best time to switch is when your life circumstances require it or you haven't reviewed your current policy for a while. However, health insurers often offer sign up incentives throughout the year so it's always worth and offers that may be available. It's also worth reviewing your price rise every April 1 to see if you're still getting value for money from your current policy.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Angus Kidman as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Tim Bennett

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

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Tim has written 157 Finder guides across topics including:

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