Accident
An accident means an unforseen event, occurring by chance and caused by an unintentional or external force or object, resulting in involuntary hurt or damage to the body, which requires immediate medical advice or treatment from a registered practitioner.
Benefit
This is the amount that we’ll pay for services or treatments you receive that are covered under OSHC.
Bridging visa
A bridging visa is granted while a visa application for further study is being accepted.
Clearance Certificate
A clearance certificate is proof of your previous health insurance membership, indicating the level of cover held and providing a record of your claims. If you transfer between health funds in Australia during your student visa stay your new fund requires this information from your previous fund to establish what, if any, waiting periods may apply. You must formally request a clearance certificate when you are transferring from one fund to another, and forward it to your new fund.
Co-payment
An agreed amount paid by the member towards the cost of each day spent in hospital.
Dependent
A dependant is a person under 18 years of age who is fully or substantially dependent on you for financial, psychological or physical support. Once a dependant reaches 18 years of age, he/she ceases to be a dependant, if you’re paying for a family membership, for the purpose of OSHC and needs to obtain their own health cover.
Direct billing doctors
We have an agreement with these doctors where they assist you with your medical treatment needs and bill us directly for your service fee. This means you can seek treatment with them without ever seeing a bill. In some cases they are only partially direct billing doctors and a co-payment may apply. There’s a list of our direct billing doctors here.
Extras
These are added health services, including dental, optical and physiotherapy, which are not covered under the OSHC visa requirement. Extras cover is not covered under your OSHC but can be purchased separately. Click here for more information on extras cover.
Gap payment
The gap payment is an amount you have to pay when there is a difference between what the doctor charges and what is paid under the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS).
General Practitioner (GP)
A GP (General Practitioner) is a doctor who does not specialise in any particular area of medicine but treats patients for a wide range of conditions that do not require a specialist.
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
This is the taxation system by which Australian residents are taxed. 10% GST applies to the OSHC product and this is included in the premium amount.
Hospital
A hospital is an institution where sick or injured people are given medical or surgical treatment. There are two types of hospitals in Australia:
- Public hospitals - operated by State or Territory Governments
- Private hospitals - operated on a commercial basis by private organisations
Bupa Australia OSHC offers you private hospital cover. This means you’ll have access to a private room(where available) and you’ll be covered for accommodation, theatre and intensive care fees. OSHC allows you to have more control over when and where you’re treated.
Hospital Theatre fees
Theatre fees are the cost of procedures performed in an operating room at a recognised hospital or day surgery facility.
Length of Study Cover
Length of Study Cover is when you take out OSHC for the entire time you spend studying in Australia. This allows you to make one payment to for OSHC for the duration of your studies. This way you’ll pay a set price and you don’t have to worry about renewing your cover. Plus, if you take our Length of Study Cover for two years or more, you’ll get a 10% discount.
Medicare
Medicare is the Australian Government's health care program that provides benefits towards medical and hospital treatment in Australia for permanent residents of Australia.
Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a list of fees and charges established by the Commonwealth Government to pay benefits under the national Medicare scheme. The MBS covers all medical procedures and treatments provided by or on behalf of doctors (including specialists and general practitioners). The fees and charges are determined to be fair to both patients and doctors.
Membership Card
When you take out Bupa Australia OSHC, we’ll issue you with a membership card, You’ll need to produce your membership card and photo student id whenever you need treatment or to make a claim.
OSHC
OSHC stands for Overseas Student Health Cover. It’s the medical and hospital cover that all international students (except Norwegian and some Swedish students) need to take out as part of their student visa requirement. This cover must be maintained for the length of the study stay in Australia as part of visa compliance. To find out more about what OSHC provides please click here.
OSHC Deed
This is the agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia (represented by the Department of Health and Ageing) and Bupa Australia that relates to the provision of OSHC.
Outpatient
An outpatient is a person who receives medical care at a hospital outpatient department or accident and emergency department - but is not formally admitted to the hospital. Outpatients may be charged both hospital fees and general practitioner or specialist fees.
Overseas Student Visa
A visa that allows students from outside of Australia to study in Australia. Overseas Student Health Cover is a mandatory requirement as part of this visa and must be maintained for the entire length of the study stay in Australia.
Overseas Visitors Cover
Overseas Visitors Cover available for your family or friends who wish to visit you in Australia during your study stay. Click here for more information on Overseas Visitors Cover.
Partner
A person of either sex with whom the member lives in a bona fide domestic relationship and includes spouse.
Participating Provider
Bupa Australia has agreements with a wide range of health providers to ensure you receive high benefits and certainty about any out-of-pocket costs. This includes private hospitals, direct billing doctors and Members First providers (in most states).
Pre-existing ailments
In the first 12 months after you arrive in Australia, you or a dependant on your cover will not receive benefits for a medical condition you had prior to arrival. This is called a pre-existing ailment. A Medical Certificate will need to be completed by the medical practitioner for services rendered in the first 12 months of your arrival.
Prescription medicines
Prescription medicines are ones that require a prescription from a doctor or other authorised practitioner in order to be dispensed by a registered pharmacist.
Specialist
A specialist is a doctor who treats patients a particular area of health, for example, a cardiologist is a heart specialist.
Surgically Implanted Prostheses
Surgically implanted prostheses are devices that are surgically implanted during a stay in hospital. This could include pacemakers, defibrillators, cardiac stents and joint replacements. With OSHC, you’re covered for prosthetic items listed on the Department of Health and Ageing Prothesis list and implanted as part of hospital treatment as long as the hospital treatment is included as part of your cover. If the prothesis used is listed as a 'gap prothesis' you will have to pay any gap charged by the hospital.
Waiting period
This is a period of time during which no benefits are payable for a service or treatment.