Australia Health

Medical needs while your stay in Australia

Department of Immigration and Citizenship requires you to maintain an Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) while your stay in Australia including the moment you arrive. Therefore, you will need to arrange and pay for OSHC insurance before you come to Australia.

Your education institution will be able to help you to arrange such a cover as the institutes usually have a relationship with OSHC providers. Otherwise, you can arrange for an OSHC yourself by going directly to one of the providers. Few websites where you can find information on OSHC are: www.ahm.com.au, www.medibank.com.au and www.oshcworldcare.com.au.

Having OSHC will provide you financial assistance when you require medical attention in Australia. Although, like any other insurance policy, there will be certain terms and conditions in this policy too. Therefore, you should the terms and conditions of your policy and make sure you understand what is included and what is not. You should also find out about the “excess” payment that will be applicable on different claims. An excess is the amount that you will need to pay against the medical expenses before you can make a claim for the remaining expenses from the insurance policy provider.

OSHC usually include emergency ambulance cover thus avoiding the need to purchase a separate ambulance cover.

One more fact you need to know about OSHC is that it does not cover extras like dental, optical or physiotherapy. If you anticipate that you will need medical cover for such treatments, you should consider buying a private health insurance policy. This extra insurance can be bought either in the form of extra OSHC from the same provider you will get the standard OSHC cover, or as a travel insurance policy that covers medical expenses. However, travel insurance is only suited to those students who are coming to Australia for a very short course (usually less than 3 months).

If you wish to search for a suitable health insurance cover, you can visit the websites such as www.privatehealth.gov.au or www.iselect.com.au. You can also use search engines such as Google or Yahoo! to search for private health insurance in Australia and compare different providers from the search results.

 
Alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs

Eighteen is the legal drinking and smoking age in Australia. There are numerous alcohol stores available in Australia where people over 18 can purchase alcohol during different times of the day. Cigarettes are usually available from supermarkets, gas stations, news agencies etc. Although 18 is the legal age to purchase these items, the shop owner will ask you for an ID card if you look under 25. Australian government imposes severe penalties on the shop owners who do not seek identification for people who look younger than 25.   

All other drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines etc are prohibited in Australia. Anyone caught buying, selling or possessing these drugs will face harsh penalties. The penalties can include fines, imprisonment and in the case of international students, a possible deportation.  

Note that even though the legal age to buy cigarettes is eighteen in Australia, it doesn’t condone smoking in anyway. Many people in Australia do not smoke and doesn’t recommend it to others. There are numerous advertisements offering help to people who wish to quit smoking and every cigarette box also has a big warning against the possible ill effects of smoking.

The government taxes on cigarettes are also very high thus making them expensive in Australia as compared to some other parts of the world.

Australia’s attitude towards drinking is slightly different to smoking. Australia has a reputation that it enjoys drinking at every possible occasion, and many times even without an occasion!!

Although every social event includes alcohol, binge drinking is frowned upon. Help is also available for people who have developed a drinking problem. It is widely accepted that drinking too much affects your health and wellbeing and also has an impact on your social life.

Other issue international students need to be aware of is one of safety while drinking in public places at odd hours. Too much alcohol has been regarded as the main reason behind many assaults that occur during night times in or around pubs, clubs and other public venues. If you do go out to pubs and clubs to enjoy a night out, it doesn’t hurt to be disciplined with your drinks and stay calm in case a difficult situation arises. Since driving under the influence of alcohol is prohibited in Australia, many groups of friends who go out at nights usually have at least one person who doesn’t drink and leads the group in case a tricky situation comes up.  

Women in particular need to be careful of drink spiking in pubs/clubs. Although it is rare, it does happen in Australia thus making you vulnerable to assaults. Best way to avoid someone spiking your drink is to never leave an unfinished drink alone. If you have to, leave your drink with a trusted friend. If you feel uneasy or uncomfortable at a venue, leave the place with your friends rather than taking staying back and taking chances.


Doctors

The doctors that treat non life-threatening medical conditions such as flu, viruses etc are called General Practitioners (GP). These are the doctors international students have most contact with. Basically, these doctors treat any general ‘every day’ medical condition including minor surgeries such as stitches and removal of moles. Even though you think your condition is severe, GPs should be your first point of contact so that they can examine you properly. If they reckon that your condition requires a treatment from a specialist, they will refer you to a specialist in the right area. Most of the specialist will not see you without a referral letter from a GP, thus making your visit to the GP first more important.

The contact details such as addresses and phone numbers of GPs in your area can be found out from the telephone directory or the yellow pages website (www.yellowpages.com.au).

Australia has very strict privacy laws. Anything you tell your doctor will be kept confidential. Therefore, if do visit a doctor, you can feel comfortable about answering his/her questions correctly.

OSHC would only cover a part of the doctor’s fee and you will need to pay for the remaining part. Also, in most cases, you may need to pay the doctor’s fee upfront and then claim it from the OSHC provider later.

In Australia, hospital’s emergency rooms are only for life-threatening emergency situations and therefore you should refrain yourself from visiting them unless you do have a serious life-threatening condition.

In the case of a life-threatening condition, you should dial 000 and tell the operator that you need ambulance service.


Dentists

If you wish to see a dentist while you are in Australia, you don’t need a referral from a GP. You will simply need to find a dentist in your area and make an appointment to see them.

You may want to check with your OSHC provider how much of the dentist fees will be covered in your policy.


Medication

Method of dispensing medication in Australia may also be different to what you are used to. In Australia, GPs will never give you any medication themselves. Rather, if in their opinion you need a medicine, they will write a prescription for you. The prescription will have your details, the GP’s details, the medicine name and the quantity. You will then need to take this prescription to a chemist (also called drug store or a pharmacy) where you will be able to buy the medicine.

The chemist might offer you a generic brand of the medicine you are after. The generic brand medicine will have the same active ingredients but will generally be cheaper. You are free to choose whether you wish to buy the generic brand or not.

Upon purchase of the medicine, you will need to sign a declaration that you have received the medicine. The chemist will also give you directions on the usage of the medicine such as how much medicine to take and how frequently.

Medicines for minor conditions like flu, stomach bug, pain relief etc are available without prescription. These medicines can either be purchased from a chemist or even from some supermarkets.

Although the Australian system of handling medicines (especially prescription medicine) might seem very rigid, it is in fact put in place so that people receive the right treatment throughout and also to avoid people from abusing the prescription medicines.

If you intend to carry some medicines to Australia from your home country, you may be asked to present the prescription for those medicines from your doctor at home. If the prescription is not in English, you should carry a translated copy. You should also declare this medicine in your incoming passenger card that you will be given on your flight to Australia.

Be aware that if the medicine you are carrying is prohibited in Australia for some reason, you may be asked to justify your usage of the medicine. The custom officials may also ask for the prescription for that medicine and will need to be sure that it is not being carried for any unlawful purpose. Failure to present a prescription or a convincing reason to bring the medicine will result in the medicine being confiscated.

It is also useful to carry your medical records and all other connected prescriptions. If you run out of the medicine while you are in Australia and need to purchase more of that medicine, you will need a prescription from an Australian GP. The GP may want to look at the medical records and prescriptions from your old doctor before making an assessment on your case and writing you a prescription.