Can health insurance waive 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.

Can you use health insurance straight away?

You cannot typically use hospital insurance straight away. You'll usually need to wait up to 2 months before you can claim on hospital cover. If you're seeking treatment related to a pre-existing condition, you'll usually need to wait up to 12 months. However, some extras (out of hospital) policies let you claim straight away.

Can I get dental insurance with no waiting period?

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.

Is it possible to get pregnancy waiting periods waived?

Pregnancy and childbirth hospital services usually come with a waiting period of up to 12 months. The main way to avoid serving it 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.

Can I switch funds without losing my waiting periods?

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.

What happens if I have a break in cover?

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.

Is a qualifying period the same as a waiting period?

Yes. Both refer to the amount of time you need to wait before health insurance benefits become available.

Which health insurance has the shortest waiting period?

Hospital cover usually comes with waiting periods of up to 2 months for most treatment and up to 12 months for pre-existing conditions and pregnancy, as most insurers apply the maximums the government allows. Extras cover is where you'll find the most 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.

3 ways you can get no waiting period health insurance

Who’s this health cover for?

Hospital waiting periods are rarely waived, except when you switch funds, as any waiting periods you've already served 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:

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Get 6 weeks free Ends 30 November 2026 Plus 2 and 6 month waiting periods waived on Extras. For new members who join combined Hospital and Extras cover by 30 Nov 2026. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...

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Did you know?

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 usually 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. You also won't have to re-serve waiting periods you've already served if you switch funds.

Pregnancy: 12 months

Childbirth and pregnancy hospital services usually come with a waiting period of up to 12 months 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

All psychiatric care, rehabilitation or palliative care has a 2-month waiting period – even if it's considered a pre-existing condition.

Hospital treatment: 2 months

When you take out hospital insurance, you'll usually need to pay for cover for up to 2 months before you're covered. This is the maximum waiting period insurers can impose for most hospital treatment, and most insurers apply it.

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.

Which extras have no waiting period?

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 November 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."

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

Frequently asked questions about no waiting periods

Yes, there are 2 cases in which health insurers sometimes waive waiting periods:
1. If you already have a hospital policy and you're switching to a similar level of cover with another fund.
2. As a sign-up incentive, some insurers let you skip waiting periods for extras treatments such as dental, chiro and optical.
Pregnancy and childbirth hospital services usually come with a waiting period of up to 12 months. The main way to avoid serving it 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.
Hospital cover usually comes with waiting periods of up to 2 months for most treatment and up to 12 months for pre-existing conditions and pregnancy, as most insurers apply the maximums the government allows. Extras cover is where you'll find the most 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.

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!

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

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 519 Finder guides across topics including:

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

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No Waiting Period Health Insurance

Waiting periods are standard with any private health insurance policy. However, some extras policies let you claim right away.

Key takeaways