New Health Examination Arrangements for Visa Applicants
Monday, 2 December 2013
Arranging a Health Examination
- Health examinations outside Australia
- Health examinations in Australia
- When to arrange your health examination
- What to bring
- What if I don’t have a valid passport?
- What forms will I need?
- Cost of your health examination
- Health examination results
When you apply for a visa, there are specific requirements for arranging your health examination.
The information below outlines the correct process and will help you complete your health examinations online at the panel clinic of your choice. You should read this information before arranging an Australian immigration health examination.
Summary diagrams of the Australian immigration health process are available:
See:
The Australian immigration health process for visa applicants – PDF version (216KB PDF file)
The Australian immigration health process for visa applicants – Word version (188KB Word file)
The Australian immigration health process for clients who have not yet lodged a visa application – PDF version (223KB PDF file)
The Australian immigration health process for clients who have not yet lodged a visa application – Word file (225KB Word file)
Health examinations outside Australia
If you are applying for a visa while outside Australia you must arrange your health examinations with a panel physician. A panel physician is a doctor or a radiologist who has been appointed by the Australian Government to perform medical examinations on applicants for Australian visas outside Australia.
To find a panel physician, read the list of panel physicians on our website.
See: Immigration Panel Physicians
Panel physicians in many countries are now able to process your health examinations online using our eMedical system – this means that your health results can be processed online, often in minutes, instead of four to six weeks. In some countries, you must use electronic health processing.
See: Electronic Health Processing
If you are booking an appointment with an eMedical enabled clinic, you must provide a health identifier such as a HAP ID, HRI or TRN. This number will be:
- indicated on the health examinations referral letter that you can download when lodging an online visa application or using the My Health Declarations service
- provided to you by your case officer after you have lodged a paper visa application.
Where possible, complete your medical history information online before you visit the panel clinic. Medical history information must be recorded before your immigration health examinations start, as the panel physician will take this information into account when conducting your medical examination.
If you have lodged an online visa application, you will be asked to complete your medical history information online when you organise your health examinations.
If you have lodged a paper visa application, you can complete your medical history information using the eMedical Client service. You will need to enter your personal details and your HAP ID. This will need to be done for each applicant on this application. You will also be asked to consent to using the eMedical system at this time.
See:
Completing my medical history online – PDF version(289KB PDF file)
Completing my medical history online – Word version (300KB Word file)
Health examinations in Australia
If you are applying for a visa while in Australia you must arrange your health examinations with Medibank Health Solutions (MHS).
See: Medibank Health Solutions
Where possible, use the online booking service to make your medical appointment with MHS.
You can find information on the MHS website about:
- the fees and charges associated with visa medical appointments
- MHS locations in Australia
- access to, and use of, interpreters during visa medical appointments.
If you are booking an appointment with MHS, you must provide your HAP ID, HRI or TRN. This number will be:
- shown on the health examinations referral letter that you can download when lodging an online visa application or using the My Health Declarations service
- given to you by your case officer after you have lodged a paper visa application.
Before you visit MHS for your appointment, you must complete your medical history online. MHS will take this information into account when conducting your medical examination.
If you do not follow the process outlined below, MHS may not be able to locate and process your health examination.
If you have lodged an online visa application, you will be asked to complete this information online when you organise your health examinations.
If you have lodged a paper visa application, you can complete your medical history information using the eMedical Client service by entering your personal details and your HAP ID. This will need to be done for each applicant on this application. You will also be asked to consent to using the eMedical system at this time.
See:
Completing my medical history online – PDF version (289KB PDF file)
Completing my medical history online – Word version (300KB Word file)
Note: if you do not have access to the internet, you can also telephone MHS on 1300 361 046 to make an appointment. At this time, MHS will discuss your options for completing your medical history before your appointment. Special arrangements will be made if necessary.
Note: Our eMedical health processing system is being rolled out in Australia during the second half of 2013. This means that your health examinations will be processed online in Australia from July 2013 onwards. You must follow the instructions above so that your case can be located and processed in eMedical.
See: Electronic Health Processing
When to arrange your health examination
If you have already applied for an Australian visa, you will be advised by email or by your case officer what health examinations you need to do (if any). You will then be requested to complete these examinations within a certain time period.
Note: To minimise processing delays, you should complete your required health examinations as soon as possible after your case officer has advised you to do so.
The table below outlines the circumstances in which you are able to complete your health examinations before you lodge your visa application.
| Location | Can I complete my health examinations before lodging a visa application |
| In Australia | You can only complete your health examinations before lodging your visa application in these locations if you:
|
| Outside Australia in a 100 per cent electronic health processing country | |
| Outside Australia in a non – 100 per cent electronic health processing country | You can complete your health examinations before lodging you visa application if you are able to advise the clinic which subclass you are applying for. However, if you want to complete your health examinations online, you must:
|
My Health Declarations is a service which enables clients who want to complete their health examinations up front and do so online using our eMedical system.
See:
My Health Declarations – health examinations – PDF version ( 98KB PDF file)
My Health Declarations – health examinations – Word version (74KB Word file)
Organising my health examinations up front – PDF version (338KB PDF file)
Organising my health examinations up front – Word version (361KB Word file)
More information about completing health examinations before making a visa application is provided on the My Health Declarationssupport page. Please read the information about this service carefully, as completing health examinations up front is not recommended for all clients.
What to bring
You must take the following to your health examination:
- an eMedical referral letter, a Health Examinations list or other equivalent documentation provided to you by the department which indicates your HAP ID, HRI or TRN
- a valid passport
- your prescription spectacles or contact lenses (if applicable)
- existing specialist and/or other relevant medical reports for known medical conditions
- any previous chest x-rays.
What if I don’t have a valid passport?
If you don’t have a valid passport, ask your case officer for advice if you are completing your health examinations inside Australia.
If you don’t have a valid passport, one of the following combinations of alternative document s are acceptable if you are completing your health examinations outside Australia:
- a National Identity Card and a photocopy of your passport photo page that has been certified by the department or an Australian Visa Application Centre (AVAC)
- a Health Examinations List (HAP letter) from us (or equivalent documentation from us that shows which health examinations are required) and a copy of your passport photo page that has been certified by the department or an AVAC
- a Health Examinations List (HAP letter) with a photograph attached together with stamp/seal from us
- a National Identity Card and a Health Examinations List (HAP letter) from us (or equivalent documentation from us that shows which health examinations are required).
Note: Only National Identity Cards from the following countries are currently acceptable.
|
|
|
We may accept other forms of identity documentation where a passport or other approved alternative documentation is unavailable. Contact your visa processing officer for advice.
What forms will I need?
For information on completing your health examinations online through an enabled clinic.
See: Electronic Health Processing
If you are completing your health examinations at a clinic which does not have eMedical available, you can download and print the required forms below:
See:
Form 26 – Medical examination for an Australian visa ( 324K B PDF file)
Form 160 – Radiological report on chest x-ray of an applicant for an Australian visa ( 278K B PDF file)
Cost of your health examinations
The cost of health examinations completed outside Australia will vary for each country. However, you can expect the fees to be similar to those charged locally for a comprehensive examination or report by a qualified medical practitioner. We recommend that you contact the clinic before your appointment to ask about the fees.
For information about the fees for health examinations completed in Australia, visit the Medibank Health Solutions website.
See: Medibank Health Solutions
You are responsible for paying any fees and costs associated with the health examinations, including the cost of the examining physician or radiologists, any special tests, investigations and treatment that might be required, any specialists you might need to see, and any courier fees.
Exceptions:
Your do not have to pay for your health examination if you are an accepted Refugee or Special Humanitarian Program applicant (subclass 200, 201, 202, 203 or 204).
You might not have to pay for your health examination if you are a protection visa applicant. Some health examinations are paid for by the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme (ASAS). If you are a protection visa applicant, you should contact your nearest Australian Red Cross office for advice.
Health examination results
If you complete your health examinations online, once your results are submitted by the panel clinic or provider in Australia, your results will be auto-cleared in minutes or transferred automatically to our Global Health office or Medibank Health Solutions (MHS) for processing.
If you do not complete your health examinations online the completed reports will usually be sent to us by the examining physician. However, if you are in Australia, MHS may give you the results in a sealed, double yellow envelope to give to us.
Important: You must not open the sealed envelope or you may have to redo your health examination(s).
Processing times for health examinations not completed online will vary as the reports need to be referred to Australia for processing.
Important: We do not offer a pre-visa assessment service. If you complete your health examinations before lodging a visa application, please lodge your visa application first and then ask your case officer for advice about their health examination results. You will not receive information about adverse opinions until you lodge your visa application and all information available has been considered by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC).
See: My Health Declarations for further information.
Source: https://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/arranging-health-exam.htmd.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0].appendChild(s);
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