Hospital policies always have a minimum 2-month waiting period – some won't let you claim for 12 months. However, some extras policies let you claim right away.
Waiting periods cannot be waived for hospital treatment, unless you are switching funds. Any served waiting periods will transfer over.
You can skip waiting periods under extras cover, including treatments such as general dental, optical, physio and more.
Insurers often run limited time deals for new customers, offering waived 2 and 6 month waiting periods on eligible extras treatments.
Can I get extras insurance with no waiting period?
Yes, some funds offer extras cover with no waiting periods on selected services, especially around EOFY when promotional deals are common. Optical, general dental and physio are the most likely to be waived. For bigger-ticket treatments like major dental or orthodontics, you'll typically still need to serve a waiting period.
Here are current deals offering waived waiting periods:
Did you know 47% of Australians say avoiding public hospital waitlists is their main reason for holding private health insurance, according to Finder's 2026 Health Report? But standard waiting periods on new policies can mean you're still stuck waiting when you need treatment most. Choosing a policy with no or reduced waiting periods on the cover you need can help you access care sooner, without the usual delay after signing up.
Can I get hospital insurance with no waiting period?
Hospital insurance always has a waiting period. The Australian Government sets the maximum waiting periods insurers can impose under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007: up to 12 months for pre-existing conditions and pregnancy, and up to 2 months for psychiatric care, rehabilitation, palliative care and all other treatment. Most insurers apply these maximums, but they're ceilings, not minimums – some insurers offer shorter or waived waiting periods. The only exception to this is when you're switching funds – served waiting periods will transfer over.
Pregnancy: 12 months
All childbirth and pregnancy services come with a 12-month waiting period before you can claim on health insurance.
Pre-existing conditions: 12 months
You will need to wait 12 months if the medical issue you need treatment for is considered a pre-existing condition. For example, if you tear a ligament, then you take out health insurance, you will need to wait 12 months for surgery. There will generally be medical records showing if you had your illness or injury before you took out insurance.
Psychiatric care, rehabilitation and palliative care: 2 months
When you take out hospital insurance, you will need to pay for cover for 2 months before you are covered. Health insurers are not allowed to waive hospital waiting periods.
Switching funds?
If you're switching to a similar level of health insurance cover, you won't have to re-serve any waiting periods for treatment you were previously covered for. For example, if both your new and previous policy covered joint reconstructions, you will be covered straight away. If you change your health insurance policy to a higher level of cover, you will have to serve the waiting periods. This applies regardless of whether you're switching funds or remaining with the same insurer.
Can I get extras insurance with no waiting period?
Yes. We looked at several health insurance policies on the market to find some of the most common waiting period perks. For example, you can skip general dental waiting periods with some of ahm's policies. This is true as of September 2026.
The following perks are available with some policies:
You get up to 2 free dental check-ups per year – just make sure you use one of ahm's partner dentists.
You also get 100% back on optical, up to the annual limit – this includes frames, prescription lenses and contact lenses.
"I usually take out extras cover a couple times a year when I need a dental check-up. I always go with an insurer like ahm that has no waiting period, then book through one of its no-gap providers."
Frequently asked questions about no waiting periods
Yes, there are 2 cases in which health insurers sometimes waive waiting periods:
If you already have a hospital policy and you're switching to a similar level of cover with another fund.
As a sign-up incentive, some insurers let you skip waiting periods for extras treatments such as dental, chiro and optical.
You cannot typically use hospital insurance straight away. You will need to wait 2 months before you can claim. If you're seeking treatment related to a pre-existing condition, you will need to wait 12 months. However, some extras (out of hospital) policies let you claim straight away.
Yes. You can skip waiting periods for general dental with ahm. It has a $500 annual general dental limit with no waiting period and 2 no-gap check-ups.
Remember: You may be able to get no waiting period dental with more funds if you take advantage of sign-up deals or offers. Check them out here.
Pregnancy and childbirth hospital services come with a 12-month waiting period. The only way to get this waiting period waived is if you've already served it with another health fund.
Be aware though. Even if you've been with a fund for years, it won't count that time unless you've held a policy that covers childbirth.
So, if you have a bronze-level hospital policy for 10 years and upgrade to gold so you're covered for childbirth, you'll still have to wait another 12 months before you can claim.
This means you should lock in gold-level cover before you start trying to have a baby. Otherwise, you won't be able to take advantage of those benefits.
However, there are some pregnancy benefits you may be able to access without serving a 12-month waiting period – but only out-of-hospital services. Some extras policies include benefits for prenatal and postnatal services, such as birthing classes, lactation consultants and visits from a registered midwife.
Yes. Even if you switch funds halfway through a waiting period, you won't start from scratch for treatments you've already served. That means if you serve 6 months with 1 fund, you'll only have to serve 6 months with another in order to earn your 12-month waiting period.
If you have a small break in cover, you won't necessarily lose your served waiting periods. However, this break can usually only be a couple of weeks or months at most – after that, you'll have to serve the waiting periods again.
Yes. Both refer to the amount of time you need to wait before health insurance benefits become available.
Health insurance for hospital cover always has a waiting period of at least 2 months. Health insurance for extras cover is the only type of health insurance with flexibility around waiting periods. ahm's extras policies have a range of services that are available without a waiting period. These include common needs like general dental and optical.
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.
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