Getting Medical Help in Australia

Accessing medical help in Australia may be different from your home country.

People go to hospitals and local doctors (also known as General Practitioners or GPs ) in Australia:

Go to your local doctor for non-life-threatening conditions
Go to your closest hospital emergency departments for medical emergencies
Go to Urgent Care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions.

Non-life-threatening conditions

Examples of non-emergencies include:

Earaches
Cold or flu
Sore throat
Skin infections
Urinary tract infections
Vaccinations

You can also access many other services through your GP, including:

General medicine and simple diagnostic testing
Sexual health advice
Mental health advice
Assessment and treatment of injuries
First aid services
Women’s and men’s health
Referrals to specialist services – such as cardiac, neurological and oncology specialists.

If your doctor has prescribed you medicine, you will need to bring your doctor’s prescription (that is, your doctor’s authorisation) for the medicine and a form of identification to the chemist with you.

For Allianz Care Australia OSHC and OVHC members where urgent treatment is required, you can now access community-based Urgent Care facilities which are an alternative to traditional emergency department treatment for conditions including:

possible sprains or broken bones
cuts that need stitches or glue
sports injuries
minor eye and ear problems
minor burns and scalds
insect and animal bites.

useful description of image if informative and not decoration only.

Find a direct billing doctor

Our network of direct-billing medical providers includes local doctors (GPs), pathology, radiology, mental health practitioners and other medical services who submit your claims for the MBS benefit amount to us directly. We organise payment to be made directly to them which means you do not have to fill out paperwork to have your claim processed. A gap fee may be charged by the provider at the time of consultation.

Note: OVHC Budget Working and Budget Visitor Cover do not include coverage for GPs

Find a Doctor

Video and phone doctor service

We offer OSHC and OVHC members a service that allows you to speak to a qualified doctor 24/7 via phone or video call.

Note: OVHC Budget Working and Budget Visitor Cover do not include coverage for Video and phone doctors

Find out more

Medical emergencies

Call 000 emergency number

If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, go to your closest public hospital emergency department or call an ambulance on 000 immediately for help.

Examples of medical emergencies are the following:

Acute asthma attack
Allergic reactions
Chest pain, pressure and/or palpitations
Choking and aspiration
Coughing or vomiting blood
Diabetic emergencies
Epileptic seizures
Fainting
Hyperventilation
Loss of consciousness
Major injuries, such as broken bones or lacerations
Poisoning
Sudden severe pain
Uncontrolled bleeding

All public hospitals in Australia have a 24-hour emergency department where you can get help outside local doctor’s hours, including weekends.

People waiting in the emergency department are assessed and treated based on how serious their medical condition is. Patients with the most urgent problems are seen and treated first. If you attend the emergency department with a less serious medical condition, you may need to wait a long time to be treated. Seeing your local doctor first is often a quicker option.

If you have a valid OSHC or OVHC policy with us and you have been admitted to hospital, contact us immediately so we can help you with your payment to the hospital (waiting periods and exclusions may apply).