The short answer on 485 visa health insurance is that you need OVHC (Overseas Visitors Health Cover) that meets your visa requirements, not OSHC, because condition 8501 — the rule that a visa holder must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while in Australia (Migration Regulations 1994 – Volume 3) — must be imposed on both the 485 and 482 visas (Migration Regulations 1994 – Volume 2), and privatehealth.gov.au says students must take OSHC while working visa applicants such as subclass 482 or 485 must take OVHC meeting certain requirements. OSHC is the student-visa product, so if you still hold a student visa when you lodge a 485 application your existing OSHC is accepted as health insurance at lodgement, but you must still take out 485-compliant cover during processing. The sections below answer the same question for a 482 visa, for dependants and visitors, and point out where the official pages leave a gap and who to ask.
Student visa vs 485 visa health insurance: OSHC at lodgement, OVHC at grant
General information only: this does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Read the PDS and TMD for any policy you are considering, and check that the policy meets your visa's health insurance condition.
On a student visa you are required to hold OSHC, and on a 485 you move into the working-visa stream where OVHC is the product. The practical transition has three stages. First, if you hold a valid student visa at the time you apply for the Subclass 485, you are already covered by an OSHC policy as a condition of that student visa; your existing OSHC is considered acceptable health insurance at the time you lodge the 485 application, and you should submit evidence of it with the application (privatehealth.gov.au working visa page). Second, OSHC is not the end of the story: you still need to take out 485-compliant health insurance cover at some stage during the visa processing period, and the Department of Home Affairs will contact you to request evidence that you have a policy complying with 485 requirements before it issues the visa (privatehealth.gov.au working visa page). Third, if your student visa expires while the 485 is being processed — for example, because you move to a bridging visa — your OSHC will also expire, and before that expiry you must take out a new policy that complies with the minimum level of health insurance for 485 holders; once the 485 is granted, you must maintain a complying level of health insurance for the full term of your stay authorised by the visa (privatehealth.gov.au working visa page).
In practice, "485-compliant" means a policy that meets the visa requirement in the government's cover table, where working visa applicants including subclass 485 can purchase OVHC provided they select a policy that meets their visa requirements (privatehealth.gov.au).
482 visa health insurance: OVHC, with no OSHC lodgement rule
For a Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa, the answer is OVHC rather than OSHC, and the guidance does not describe any stage where OSHC is treated as acceptable. The privatehealth.gov.au overseas page lists subclass 482 among the working visas whose applicants are required to take OVHC that meets certain requirements, and the working visa applicants page names 482 applicants as visitors who may be required to hold OVHC. Unlike the 485, the sources quoted here do not say an existing student policy can be submitted at lodgement, so you should buy an OVHC policy that meets your visa requirements before you need to show evidence of it. If your family joins you on the 482, they must also be insured (see the dependants section below).
OSHC vs OVHC: what each product is for
Home Affairs describes the two products by the gap they fill: OVHC products commonly provide the minimum level of private health insurance recommended for overseas visitors, while OSHC products commonly provide the minimum recommended level for overseas students (Home Affairs guidance on adequate health insurance). The government's cover table on privatehealth.gov.au turns that into a visa test — a student visa requires you to hold OSHC, whereas a working visa, including subclass 482 and subclass 485, can be met by purchasing OVHC as long as you select a policy that meets your visa requirements. The table also says any visa carrying condition 8501 can be met the same way, by buying OVHC and choosing a policy that fits the visa requirement (privatehealth.gov.au). So the oshc vs ovhc decision is made by your visa category and its conditions, not by which product looks cheaper or more comprehensive.
Visitors and dependants: what the guidance says and doesn't say
Where health cover is a condition of the visa, the insurance must be maintained for the whole time you are in Australia, and if your family is joining you on that visa they must also be insured (privatehealth.gov.au working visa page). That covers dependants on a 485 or 482 directly.
For visitors generally, the working visa applicants page says it may be a visa requirement to hold OVHC, and that this includes applicants for subclass 482 and 485 as well as other visas that include condition 8501. But the pages quoted in this article do not name the Visitor visa or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa. Official guidance here therefore does not settle whether the Visitor visa or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa carries condition 8501 or requires OVHC. Check your own visa grant notice for condition 8501, and if it is still unclear, ask the Department of Home Affairs — any visa that does carry condition 8501 is one where OVHC can be bought to meet the requirement (privatehealth.gov.au).
When cover isn't a condition, and the Medicare exemption
Even where health insurance is not a condition of the visa, Home Affairs guidance on adequate health insurance strongly recommends that all visitors to Australia who are not eligible for Medicare get private health insurance regardless of the visa condition. Separately, if you are covered by a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement and have enrolled in Medicare, you may be able to apply to Home Affairs for an exemption from the health insurance visa requirement (privatehealth.gov.au working visa page). An exemption is something you apply for; it is not automatic, and the sources do not describe how long a decision takes.
If your visa status or Medicare eligibility changes
Tell your insurer as soon as possible if your visa status or Medicare eligibility changes, and check with them that the policy is still suitable, because you may be able to swap to a residents' policy (privatehealth.gov.au). That matters when you move from a student visa to a 485, when a bridging visa changes your situation, or when you become eligible for Medicare; in each case the test is whether the policy still meets your visa's health insurance condition.
Quick questions
Who should I ask about cover for other visa subclasses?
Ask the Department of Home Affairs. The sources quoted here name subclass 482 and 485 and refer to visitors and condition 8501 generally, but they do not state the cover rule for other visa subclasses, so the department is the authority that can confirm your conditions.
How do I check my visa has condition 8501?
Read your visa grant notice, or ask the Department of Home Affairs. Condition 8501 is the trigger for the "maintain adequate health insurance" rule, and the cover table on privatehealth.gov.au treats any visa with that condition as one where OVHC can meet the requirement.
Sources
- Overseas Visitors & Overseas Students (privatehealth.gov.au)
- Working visa applicants (privatehealth.gov.au)
- Adequate health insurance (Department of Home Affairs)
- Migration Regulations 1994 – Volume 3 (Federal Register of Legislation)
- Migration Regulations 1994 – Volume 2 (Federal Register of Legislation)
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