The Health Care Card is a concession card available to some Australians that can provide access to cheaper medicines and concessions on services such as ambulance, dental and eye care.
Health Care Card eligibility requires you to live in Australia and receive:
One beneficial aspect of the Health Care Card is it requires no application. If you're eligible, you'll receive a card.
Picture: Pexels and Humanservices.gov.au
Australians earning below varying thresholds are eligible to the Low Income Health Care Card, which provides them with:
Depending on where you live, your state might also offer you discounted power bills, rego and public transport costs.
Below are the thresholds that you'll need to fall below depending on your living situation:
For each extra child, add $34.00 or $272 over an 8-week period.
| Status | Weekly income | Income in an 8-week period |
|---|---|---|
| Single, no children | $644 | $5,152 |
| Couple combined, no children | $1,107 | $8,856 |
| Single, one dependent child | $1,107 | $8,856 |
| Couple combined, 1 child | $1,141 | $9,128 |
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is available to Australians once they reach pension age, which varies depending on the year you were born:
From 1 July 2017, the pension age was set at 65 years and six months. It now goes up 6 months every 2 years until 1 July 2023.
Just like the Low Income Health Care Card, those with a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card can access bulk-billed doctors, get increased refunds once they hit the Medicare Safety Net and cheaper medicines under the PBS.
Those with a Pensioners Concession Card can access cheaper medicine under the PBS, bulk bill doctors (depending on your doctor), receive increased refunds once they've met the Medicare Safety Net and get help with hearing services.
To be eligible for a Pensioner Concession Card you must be on:
You're also eligible if you're over the age of 60 and have been receiving one of the following benefits for nine months or more:
If you are a foster carer or are currently looking after someone else's child, you'll be eligible for the Foster Child HealthCare Card, which provides you with access to cheaper medicines through the PBS and some discounts for foster children in your care. These concessions vary from state to state.
The Ex-carer Allowance (Child) Health Care Card provides recipients with more affordable medications and some other discounts. It's available to eligible Australians who are full-time students between the ages of 16 and 25 and meet residence rules. The Ex-carer Card – which is not means-tested – is only available if you had a Carer Allowance Health Care Card prior to turning 16.
You can read up about concessions where you live on the following sites:
| Response | |
|---|---|
| General dental | 80.69% |
| Optical | 63.71% |
| Major dental and endodontic | 28.76% |
| Physiotherapy | 20.46% |
| Emergency ambulance services | 16.6% |
| Chiropractic and Osteopathy | 11.58% |
| Mental health or psychology | 9.65% |
| Remedial massage | 8.3% |
| Podiatry | 6.37% |
| Non-PBS pharmaceuticals | 5.98% |
| Health management | 5.02% |
| Orthodontic | 4.83% |
| Exercise physiology | 3.09% |
| Eye therapy | 3.09% |
| Health aids and appliances | 2.12% |
| Dietary | 1.74% |
| Home nursing | 1.54% |
| Hearing aids | 1.35% |
| Acupuncture | 0.77% |
| Blood glucose monitors | 0.77% |
| Digital mental health | 0.77% |
| Speech therapy | 0.77% |
| Chinese herbalism | 0.58% |
| Occupational therapy | 0.58% |
| Antenatal - Midwife | 0.39% |
Medicare offers free hospital treatment at a public hospital. It also includes some cover for treatment outside a hospital and subsidises some medications, as our guide explains. It helps all Australians, permanent residents and some overseas visitors to access healthcare, but it won't pay for a range of out-of-hospital care services such as the dentist or physio.
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What is the Medicare Safety Net, how does it work and what does it mean for your out-of-pocket medical costs? Find out here.
What is the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and what medical services does it cover? Find out in this comprehensive guide.
What is bulk billing and what medical services can you bulk bill in Australia? Find out here.
This guide looks at what our public health system actually covers and why you may need to have some level of private health cover as well.
This guide looks at how the PBS works, who is eligible and what you’re likely to pay at the prescription counter.
