
Get exclusive travel offers and guides
Straight to your inbox
We’re reader-supported and may be paid when you visit links to partner sites. We don’t compare all products in the market, but we’re working on it!
Whether you're heading overseas for work or planning to work to supplement your travel, you need to find the right travel insurance policy. This article examines the types of working holiday insurance available, what these policies cover and what you need to know about when working overseas.
Brand | Is working overseas covered? | What type of work is not covered? | Apply |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| |
![]() |
|
| |
![]() |
|
|
Please note that the conditions listed in the table above should only be viewed as general conditions regarding working overseas. It's always a good idea to get in touch with your insurer to verify how any work you will be engaging in overseas will be covered.
Compare travel insurance for your next working holiday
Before you start your journey, you need to make sure you have the appropriate working visa. A working holiday is not like a business trip and you need to have the right permit before you start working in another country. So, what are you covered for? While it will depend on your insurer, you can find cover for:
Just like what you are covered for, what you aren't covered for will vary from insurer to insurer. However, conditions that you should be aware of may include:
The general exclusions, or circumstances in which cover will not apply, are the same for working holiday travel insurance as for normal travel insurance policies. These include:
As mentioned previously, there are many reasons why people work overseas and one of those is to earn money to fund further travel. Backpackers often look for casual work on their travels and backpacker travel insurance often includes working situations in its coverage.
The main difference is that many policies will only cover light work such as fruit picking or bar work and will not cover heavy manual labour, where the risk of injury is obviously greater. For this reason, travellers taking out backpacker insurance and wishing to work whilst overseas should read the Product Disclosure Statement carefully to determine which types of work they are covered for.
Apart from covering employment situations, the other main benefits of backpacker insurance over normal travel insurance are:
Find out more about backpacker travel insurance
Another circumstance in which a traveller might wish to work overseas is if they are on their gap year. A gap year is a year taken off after completing high school and before going on to university or into the workforce. Those on their gap year may be trying to see as much of the world as they can in the available time, so they need to make sure they have adequate travel insurance in case something goes wrong. And unless they have been saving for their gap year or are being funded by their parents, they will probably need to work at some stage on their journey, so working holiday travel insurance would be a wise investment.
Apart from organising insurance, other crucial steps in planning a gap year include:
Every Australian resident must have a valid passport in order to travel outside of Australia. Your passport must be valid for at least six months (a requirement for entering many foreign countries) and everyone must have one, including children and newborn infants.
You will also need a visa to work in any foreign country. The type of visa required will depend on the country and how long you plan to work there. If you are on holidays and want to earn extra funds doing casual work along the way, you can obtain a working holiday visa. Australia has reciprocal working holiday visa programs with a number of countries.
If you’re planning to work full-time, you may be required to have your employer sponsor you or to satisfy other criteria, such as having evidence of a return ticket to Australia and not staying longer than a certain time in the country. Visa requirements vary from country to country, so make sure you contact the relevant embassy and know the requirements well ahead of time if you’re planning to work overseas.
If you’re working in a foreign country, you may be covered by a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA). This is an agreement with Australia that allows you to receive basic health care under that country’s version of Medicare. Participating countries include Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK.
An RHCA allows you to access free or subsidised medical treatment and prescription medicines, but the level of cover provided is limited and varies depending on the country you are in. It only covers emergency medical treatment and does not cover ambulance, dental care, elective treatments, funerals, medical evacuation to Australia, paramedical services, private patient hospital care, pre-arranged treatments or any treatment that is not immediately necessary.
Therefore, an RHCA is no substitute for travel insurance and should not be seen as such. Travel insurance provides comprehensive protection, covering all the things an RHCA does not (and much more), and it’s essential for Australians working overseas, whether they are in an RHCA country or not.
If you’re working overseas for an Australian company, your employer is required by law to continue making superannuation contributions on your behalf while you are away. However, your employer may also be required to pay super for you in the country where you are working – a situation known as ‘double superannuation coverage’.
To avoid this problem, the Australian Government has developed bilateral social security agreements with a number of countries that require superannuation to only be paid in Australia and not in your country of temporary employment. These countries include Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Switzerland and the USA.
To qualify for exemption from double superannuation coverage, your employer must obtain a Certificate of Coverage from the Australian Government, which you must present to the government of the country you are working in as proof that your super is being paid in Australia.
Working overseas can also create problems when it comes to taxation. If you are an Australian resident for tax purposes and working overseas, you are required to lodge an Australian tax return and pay tax on your foreign income. But you may also be required to pay tax on your income in the country where you earned it, which results in a situation known as "double taxation".
Just as with double superannuation coverage, the Australian Government has formed agreements with a number of countries to avoid the problem of double taxation. Under these agreements, you only pay tax on your foreign income once in Australia and you don’t have to pay any tax overseas. There are more than 40 countries now party to Australia’s double taxation agreement. If the country you’ll be working in does not have a double taxation agreement with Australia, your employer will need to compensate you accordingly as you’ll be taxed twice.
Dual nationality can also pose problems when living and working overseas. If you are an Australian resident as well as a citizen of the foreign country you are working in, you’ll be subject to the laws of that country while you are there. As well as being bound by local laws regarding divorce and child custody, you could also be subject to military service, which is compulsory in a number of countries including Israel, Greece, Turkey and Egypt.
If you fail to report for service in such circumstances, you may face penalties, including imprisonment. If you are a dual national planning to work in a country where conscription is still practised, you and your employer should seek advice from the relevant embassy before you leave Australia.
Another form of traveller who requires working holiday travel insurance is the person who travels overseas in pursuit of business or who is sent overseas by their employer or invited to work for an overseas company for a set period of time.
In the case of the independent business person, they would need to take out business travel insurance on their own behalf, while in the case of the employee, the amount of insurance they might need would depend on the amount of cover being supplied by their employer.
Business travel insurance differs from normal travel insurance in that it provides additional cover for business-related risks such as:
To save on costs, companies who do a lot of business overseas will often take out annual business insurance that covers a number of their employees for multiple trips within a 12-month period.
Find out more about business travel insurance
If your working holiday is taking you to Europe or the United Kingdom, there are some specific things you will need cover for in your working holiday travel insurance. These include:
Find out more about travel insurance for Europe
Six of Australia's Top 10 favourite international destinations are in Asia and many of us head there on our working holidays as well. Particular risks to insure against when headed for Asian countries include:
Find out more about travel insurance for Asia
While travelling in the USA and Canada is relatively safe, there are two main areas where you should ensure you have adequate coverage in your working holiday travel insurance. These are:
Find Out More About USA Travel Insurance
If you’re studying overseas for any length of time, you may find you need to take a part time job to support yourself. In this case, you would be wise to have overseas study travel insurance that covers employment situations.
As a student, you may be able to reduce the cost of your insurance by excluding items you will probably not need such as snow skiing or scuba diving cover. However as a student you may also need to make sure you have additional cover for the following circumstances which may be more likely to affect you. These include:
Many universities offer travel insurance to students studying overseas and while this can be a good option, it is not compulsory by any means. You should read the fine print and make sure it covers you in the particular circumstances listed here before considering taking out such a policy.
Find out more about student travel insurance
As can be seen, working overseas is a complicated business and how much insurance cover you will need depends on how long and for whom you are working and what kind of work you are doing. Therefore, to be certain you are covered in the event of a work-related accident, it is vital that you do your homework before you go and find the working holiday travel insurance that’s exactly right for you.
Made a search before? Retrieve your search results
Popular Destinations
Picture: Shutterstock
Beat the banks, find the best exchange rates and avoid fees when you send money abroad from Australia.
Discover exactly what you need to know about leaving Australia.
It's common to have a few different bank accounts that each have a different purpose. Here's how you may benefit from having multiple bank accounts and the traps to avoid.
Four steps to creating an emergency savings fund and how much money you should aim to keep in it.
Want to insure a Porsche 911? Here are things we think you should know.
There’s no shortage of cooling options when camping, working or four-wheel driving, but what are the best portable fridge freezers in Australia?
Here's what you need to know before launching your new grocery delivery company.
Domestic travel insurance could save you thousands of dollars and some serious heartache.
If you want a thoroughly practical electric car, the Hyundai IONIQ Electric is one of the most affordable and usable battery-powered models.
The top 9 things to gift the traveller in your life this year – based on one travel couple's wishlist.
Hello,
I have an ancestry visa, residents permit, full Australian licence and international licence and I have just purchased a car to drive around the UK but I cannot find a policy for Third party fire and theft. Can you offer me any links to Australian companies who will insure for a couple of months at a time driving in the UK?
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for reaching out. :)
Regarding your question, I believe you’re in the UK, right? With this in mind, if you’re looking for a car insurance, it would be best if you look around in the UK and not in Australia. If this interests you, then please check our list of car insurance in the uK.
We also have a page about overseas car insurance if in case you want to get a car insurance in Australia and use it in the UK. Please read through that page to learn more.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Danielle
You recommend getting cover for personal liability while working overseas, but all of the providers in the table exclude this, with clauses along the lines of “we will not cover you for any liability arising in connection with your trade, profession or business”. Can you advise any policies for working holidays that do include personal liability?
Hi Jay!
Thanks for the comment.
Usually, most working holiday insurance doesn’t cover personal liability as it is mainly included on the travel insurance cover.
Please feel free to check insurers who have included personal liability in their policy.
If you need further clarification, you can reach out to your chosen insurer directly.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan