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AUSTRALIA has its own form of general health cover, Medicare and there is no problem with newly-arrived migrants joining it on arrival. While not as extensive in scope as the UK's national health service, Medicare covers general medical and hospital stays, plus provides discounted medicines.
There is also a wide variety of private medical health cover providers which are recognised by the Federal Government and offer an excellent service and cover more health services than Medicare. There is no problem joining these funds - you simply sign up, although they do have waiting periods after joining before you can access some of the benefits they offer.
But they cost more, depending on the level of cover you require. However, to encourage people to join these funds the Federal Government provides a 30 per cent rebate on premiums which brings them down to acceptable levels. The largest of these funds is Medibank - which is also operated by the Federal Government.
Basically, Medibank covers visits to the doctor, specialists and hospital stays. Every medical procedure has a price set by the Government which is known as the