Are international students exempt from the Medicare Levy Surcharge?

It’s the end of financial year (EOFY) and that means income earners across Australia are doing their tax claims.

There are many international students employed in Australia, who pay tax on their income throughout the financial year. At EOFY, you can claim back some of the expenses you incur doing your job and some of the taxes you aren’t actually required to contribute to.

So at this time of year, many international students ask us if they can claim back the ‘Medicare Levy Surcharge’ they paid for through their tax.

The general answer, is yes.

Individual international students’ circumstances may differ, and you may need to seek advice about your particular circumstances.  But generally, we find that if an international student has OSHC and is not entitled to Medicare benefits, then they will be entitled to apply for an exemption from paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge.

The following links to Australian Government websites give you a bit more information on theMedicare Levy Surcharge, the eligibility for an exemption and the application form:

• About the Medicare Levy Surcharge (Australian Tax Office)
• About the Medicare Levy Exemption  (Australian Tax Office)
• Medicare Entitlement Statement (Human Services)

The Medicare Entitlement Statement is the form you must fill out to request an exemption from the Medicare Levy. If everything goes smoothly, Human Services will then send you a letter saying you are exempt. You then need to supply that letter to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to make your claim.

As suggested above, if you need assistance regarding your individual circumstances or for more information on the Medicare Levy Surcharge, you should contact the Australian Taxation Office on 132 861.

Understanding Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)

OSHC is something almost every international student needs to purchase before studying in Australia. It costs a significant amount of money, yet it is often overlooked or not fully understood.

You actually have a choice of OSHC provider  – and understanding the options available to you could save you money. To help you get your head around OSHC, we’ve created this guide.

What is OSHC?

Overseas Students Health Cover (OSHC) is a mandatory health insurance designed to help students afford the costs of medical treatments they may need while studying in Australia.

Do I need to get OSHC?

All international students* and their dependents (spouses and children under 18 years old) are required to have an OSHC policy for the duration of their stay in Australia. In most cases, an international student is a person who has a student visa.

Dependents cannot purchase their own OSHC policy, they need to be listed as a dependent on the main applicant’s policy.

*Excluding Belgian, Norwegian and Swedish nationals

How long do I need to be covered by OSHC?

International students need to have OSHC cover for the entire duration of their student visa. If a student renews their student visa, they must also extend their OSHC policy to cover the duration of the new visa period.

For further help understanding what timeframe you should buy your cover for, read out blog post about visa length.

Which insurers can I purchase OSHC from?

Only Australian-registered private health insurers can offer OSHC. These are the 5 government-approved OSHC providers. You can compare all their prices and benefits on our site:

• Australian Health Management (ahm)
• BUPA Australia
• Medibank Private
• NIB OSHC
• Allianz Global Assistance

At the time of writing this article (May 25, 2015), their policies all contain very similar benefits:

Some important things to note about the table above include:

• Where there is a reference to MBS (Medicare Benefits Schedule), the cover you receive is a percentage of a ‘schedule fee’ (an amount the Australian government has assigned to each medical service they subsidise). For more information about the MBS, see our our blog post about it.
• Prescription medicine benefits are limited to $50 per pharmaceutical item to a maximum of $300 a year for a single membership ($600 for a family membership).
• Some insurers may offer a different OSHC product in universities where they are a preferred partner.

How do I apply for OSHC?

When you apply to study, the education institution will normally have a preferred OSHC insurance provider. However, it is important to know that you can chose your own preferred OSHC provider.

To compare all 5 providers and purchase/apply for your OSHC, go to our homepage: OSHCAustralia.com.

I have more question, who can I talk to?

We’re here to help – our site has more information about OSHC and what each provider covers. If you’d like more information or have any questions you can reach us via:

• Phone: +61 7 333 1521
• Email: support@oshcaustralia.com.au
• Twitter: @OSHCAustralia

Medical Benefits Schedule

You may have noticed from your OSHC policy that benefits are mostly listed as a percentage of “MBS”. MBS stands for Medical Benefits Schedule, and it represents the amount that government pays to doctors when they perform the specified procedures in the Schedule on Australian citizens and permanent residents. In many cases doctors charge more than the MBS fee, which is where the Gap Fee concept arises.

You can find out what you will get back from your insurer by looking up the MBS amounts here at MBS Online.

If you would like to find out how much you will get back for some common procedures, such as visiting the doctor, you can find some common MBS items in this document: medicare_cheat_sheet.

How it works: Say you need to go to the doctor for a standard appointment. From the cheat sheet, you can see that the MBS Item number for this procedure is 23. You should look up this Item Number on MBS Online as it is always up to date. From MBS Online, you can determine that the MBS Benefit is $36.30. You speak to the doctor’s surgery, and they tell you that they will charge you $60 for a standard consult. Therefore, the gap amount that you will be out of pocket is $60 charged by doctor less $36.30 that your OSHC insurer will reimburse you = $23.70.

Hope that helps!

Visa Length

Since July 2010, it has been a requirement that students have OSHC for the duration of their visa. Fortunately,the formula for determining the end date of an Australian student visa is really straight forward.

Typically, your visa will finish as per the table below.

Length of course	Finishing month	Visa start date	Visa end date
10 months or less	Jan-Dec	Your date of entry to Australia	Course end date + 1 month
More than 10 months	Jan-Oct	Your date of entry to Australia	Course end date + 2 months
More than 10 months	Nov-Dec	Your date of entry to Australia	March 15 the following year

For more information: http://www.immi.gov.au/students/students/573-4/how-the-visa-works.htm

Infographic: International Education in Australia

International education in Australia is big business. The sector is vitally important to our economy, and the Australian government has very high hopes for its future. Recently the International Education Advisory Council, headed by Michael Chaney, released a report titled “Australia – Educating Globally” on the industry and its future.

We’ve pulled out a few statistics from that report, and added to them other information we dragged out of various government and commercial parties, and put together an infographic.

Check out the infographic, and don’t forget to tell us what you think!

http://infogr.am/International-Education-in-Australia/

How to Claim on OSHC – Insurer Contact Details

If you have paid out money for a medical service that is eligible to be refunded under your OSHC policy, you should contact your insurer directly. Insurers generally have different methods for claiming, but generally you will need to make a claim in writing – either online, via fax, or by post. The other alternative is to go into a branch of the insurer.

Before you call the insurers, make sure you have your Policy or Member number with you, as they will ask for it. From there, the customer service people at the respective insurers will tell you precisely how you can claim back your medical costs.

Cancelling OSHC and getting a refund

You can only cancel your OSHC in certain circumstances. Obviously it is a requirement of your student visa that you maintain an active OSHC policy for the duration of your visa to study in Australia, so there are restrictions on the reasons for which you can cancel.

Most of the OSHC insurers that we have spoken to indicate that they will provide the refund to you within 10 business days, although we are aware that this time frame is often not met by certain insurers.

Instances where you are allowed to cancel your OSHC:

1. If you have made a mistake by inputting your name incorrectly;
2. If your student visa is refused. You will need to provide evidence in this case in the form of your DIAC visa refusal letter.
3. If you decide not to come to Australia. You will need to provide evidence in the form of your cancelled eCOE.
4. You have another OSHC provider. You will need to provide evidence in the form of the confirmation of cover from the other OSHC provider.

There may be other specific circumstances where you may be able to cancel your OSHC insurance. You should speak directly to your insurer if you need to cancel your insurance for reasons outside of the above.

Australian Culture – It’s all about the sport

If you are coming to Australia to study, there is one thing that you really need to know before you come: Australians love sport. In fact sport, either playing or watching, is the number one priority for many Australians. Cricket in summer, football (any one of the three codes) in winter, and soccer in between. There is always some form of sport on.

One of the reasons you are coming to Australia to study, presumably, is to experience the way of life here. Inevitably, that will involve some sort of sporting participation. If you are not overly interested in sport, but want to be able to carry on a conversation with your fellow students when the topic turns to sport (and it will), you can check out The Roar.

The Roar is a sports news and opinion site where both experts and fans can submit articles and comment on a range of different sports. You can very quickly get an understanding of the important happenings in a range of sports including Rugby, AFL, League, Soccer, Cricket, Cycling, Horse Racing, and a range of other sports.

You can check out The Roar at http://www.theroar.com.au/

Remember, if you are playing sport in Australia and are injured, your OSHC will cover the cost of any stay in hospital. You may still incur significant costs if you need physiotherapy or any affiliated services, as these are not covered by OSHC. So play safely!

What are your favourite sports websites? Tell us in the comments below.

Does OSHC cover dental?

In a word, no.

No standard OSHC policy overs dental. If you wish to have dental coverage, then you should take out a private health policy. More information can be found at privatehealth.gov.au.

Requirements of your institution

Under Australian law, as an International Student, when you accept an offer of a course it must be writing. This is the document that you sign when you enrol with an education provider.

In your written agreement, providers must give you detailed information on:

• the course you are enrolled in;
• payment plan for tuition fees including the number and length of each study period;
• any non-tuition fees;
• refund entitlements in different situations;
• course requirements including minimum English language;
• requirements on attendance and making satisfactory progress; and
• any services that can support you or keep you safe.