Health Care Australia

Staying Healthy In Australia

Before you come to Australia you will need to have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), it is a requirement on your visa and has to be adhered too during your time in Australia and has to be maintained at all times during your course of study. The upside to this is that while you are here you will have access to medical facilities that liaison with your insurance provider and ambulance transportation and some pharmaceuticals.

The only overseas students who don’t need to have OSHC while they are in Australia are students from Norway who are covered by their country’s government insurance plan and Swedish students covered by CSN International.
Everyone else has no choice in the matter.

So the first key to staying healthy in Australia is making sure you have adequate OSHC for emergencies and other possibilities that may arise. You and your dependents under the age of 18 are eligible for OSHC coverage if you are committing to full time study in Australia.


And the requirements for any person seeking to get OSHC are:
They are a holder of a student visa
Or
Is an applicant for an Australian student visa / the holder of a bridging visa / or before being granted a bridging visa was the holder of a student visa.
OSHC can be paid through you educational institution or payed directly on-line to the provider via the web and costs on average about $340 a year.

OSHC covers the following situations, but does not cover high priced pharmaceuticals, and other treatments and services not covered by your provider.
OSHC covers:

The benefit amount as reported in the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) for out of hospital medical services like a general practitioner / 100% of the MBS fee for in-patient medical services like surgery /  Public hospital wards / Private hospitals that have a contractual relationship with your provider / Day surgery accommodation / Some prosthetics / Ambulance services and limited pharmaceuticals.

So, that is what your OSHC can give you!
So, now that is out of the way.


How do you stay healthy once you are in Australia?

Australian’s are some of the fattest people in the world. In fact, it has been reported that we are the fattest people in the world. Although an American friend told me he still thinks Americans have a couple of kilos on us. But, in spite of that predicament it is not hard to stay healthy in Australia.

Fresh food is in abundance and gym fees are generally cheap, with some gym chains offering memberships to travellers where they can go to any gym that is a part of their network or aligned through some other arrangement. Australia also has 24 hour gyms that tailor to those who like to work out at night. 24 hour gyms are perfect for overseas students who have a full course load while balancing the 20 hours of work per week they are allowed to do under the stipulations of their visa. So, you can maintain the 30 minutes a day of light to moderate exercise recommended by the Australian Federal Government by doing cardio on the treadmill or stationary bike, walking, biking, gardening or light aerobics quite easily.

It is not hard to maintain this light regime while you are a student in the country and most of the above exercises can be performed without you forking out a single cent. Even the outer western suburbs of most Australian cities on the east coast have adequate parkland and walking tracks that are designed for the needs of walkers in those areas. Plus it is possible to circumvent the whole 30 minutes a day thing by doing 20 min of hard exercise three days a week.

The Australian Federal Government recommends that the average person eats five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit. This is probably a similar recommendation from the country that you come from and in all reality it is difficult to maintain, but remains a significant challenge to those who try to hold to the strictness of the recommendation.

Australia has a fair share of fast food chains, both Australian companies and international franchises, so it is easy for a busy student to get caught up in the easy meals lifestyle. Why go home and cook a meal when you can buy a burger and fries? But, there are resources at most education institutions in Australia that would help you with making culinary and culturally appropriate choices for you while you are in the country.  Australia has embraced (to a degree) its cultural diversity and it is common in most cities in Australia to see supermarkets for non Anglo Celtic Australians and specialist delicatessens that cater to international visitors.

Also, it is beneficial to think of your emotional health as well while you are at it, because you will most likely suffer some degree of ‘Culture Shock’. AA Education has a webpage on ‘Australia Culture Shock ’it would be wise to have a look at it and learn the symptoms and how you can deal with it effectively.

Emotional health and the assistance of friends and colleagues, and professional counsellors at the institution you are studying at is a key to having a successful stay in Australia and meeting your educational goals that you have while you are here.  

And last but not least:

The most important thing to remember while you are in Australia is to slip / slop / slap. Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. I doubt whether there has been an Australian family in the last 100 years that has not been affected by this disease. So, if you are auburn haired with freckles and kind of Celtic looking than you are a prime target for this disease so slip / slop / slap when you are down at the beach, out walking or playing with your mates in the backyard.
Welcome to OZ!