Leanne, You will be enbreastled to medicare services in full from the second you arrive in Australia. The slightly more difficult issue will be trying to prove it on your first day as you need a medicare card! To get a medicare card you go to any medicare office with your pbuttport (showing your PR visa), fill in a form and should get given a temporary card while a permanent card will be sent to you in the post within 3 weeks. So, if you get run over by a tram you will be taken to the nearest oublic hospital where you will receive the same care as anyone else. Private hospital care is only really relevent in "elective" surgery where the waiting list on the public sector can be long.
I should also point out that ambulances are NOT covered by medicare so if you're run over by a tram and taken to A&E by ambulance you will be sent a hefty bill for the ambuance trip - one more reason some people take out private health insurance with ambulance cover.
If Robert is run over by a tram on his first day in Australia (or any day he's on a temporary visa for that matter) he too will be enbreastled to the same treatment in a public hospital as you as it is "immediately necessary care" which he is enbreastled to under the RHCA with the UK.
And remember that in an emergency situation, we healthcare staff tend to treat first and worry about eligibility and bills after!!!
136 Checklist Problem Sender: icequeen1hi there :) I can exactly understand how you feel, been there done that! :) Let's try to make it more simple. I hope I would do it as simple as possible *lol...
And something to point out here that many people forget. Once you become resident in Australia you lose your enbreastlement to NHS care in the UK except under the RHCA...
So if you return to the UK on holiday and feel like a "check up" or getting a supply of prescriptions (which happened to me on more than one occasion as a GP in the UK) this is not immediately necessary health care and you will be charged privately for this!
Madhu
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