Before you start

A visa conferring Medicare eligibility, or citizenship of a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country
Passport and current visa
An ACT residential address
Ambulance cover through a health fund — the ACT sells no government subscription

Step-by-step

1
Establish which Medicare category you fall into
Permanent residents and applicants for certain permanent visas enrol. Temporary work-visa holders generally cannot. Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK hold reciprocal agreements, each with different terms and duration.
OnlineWho: You
2
Buy Overseas Visitors Health Cover before you fly, if on a temporary visa
Employer-sponsored visas carry a condition requiring adequate health insurance for the whole stay, in force from the day you arrive rather than the day you start work. Check specifically whether the policy includes ambulance in the ACT.
OnlineWho: You or your employer≈AUD 85–180 per month for a single adult
3
Enrol in Medicare, if eligible
Enrol online through myGov or at a Services Australia service centre. Documents do not need certifying, and a digital card appears in the Express Plus app before the plastic one arrives.
OnlineWho: YouSame day to a few weeks
4
Sort ambulance cover, because the ACT has no subscription to buy
South Australia and Queensland residents can buy or receive state ambulance cover. The ACT cannot: you either hold hospital cover, which includes ambulance through a levy the territory collects from premiums, or you buy standalone ambulance-only cover from a fund, which is inexpensive. Concession and pension card holders are exempt from the fee.
OnlineWho: You and everyone in your householdAmbulance-only cover from roughly AUD 100 / year; an unfunded emergency transport is well over AUD 900
5
Register with a GP practice, and expect to pay a gap
No catchment applies — attend any practice. Canberra has one of the lowest bulk-billing rates of any Australian capital, so assume a gap payment of roughly AUD 40–60 after the Medicare rebate unless a practice tells you otherwise. Ask when booking; the same consultation can cost nothing or AUD 100 two suburbs apart.
In personWho: You
6
Know where the emergency departments are before you need them
Canberra Hospital in Garran is the territory's tertiary hospital and its critical services building opened in 2024. Calvary Public Hospital Bruce covers the north. There are also nurse-led walk-in centres across the town centres for minor injuries and illness, free and without an appointment — these are the ACT's answer to a crowded ED and newcomers rarely know they exist.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and current visa
Evidence of permanent residency where applicable
For reciprocal agreement claims: the agreement country's passport, plus a national health card or statutory declaration for some countries
ACT residential address
Health fund membership details, including what it says about ambulance

Things most newcomers don’t know

The ACT charges for ambulances and sells no subscription, so cover has to come from a health fund.

Queensland gives residents free ambulance, Tasmania gives residents free ambulance within the state, South Australia sells a subscription. The ACT does none of those: an emergency transport is chargeable at well over AUD 900 for anyone without a concession card. Standalone ambulance-only cover from a fund costs around AUD 100 a year, and the territory collects an ambulance levy through hospital-cover premiums, so hospital cover generally already includes it. Check which of those you have in your first week.

Source: ACT Emergency Services Agency — ambulance fees and charges

Bulk billing is scarcer in Canberra than in almost any other Australian capital.

The ACT has long had among the lowest bulk-billing rates in the country and a chronic GP shortage relative to population. Arrivals who have read that Australian general practice is free are surprised by a AUD 40–60 gap per visit, every visit, for a family. Ask about billing when you register rather than at the counter afterwards, and check whether the practice bulk bills children.

Source: community-reported, consistent with published ACT primary care data

Walk-in centres are free, nurse-led and almost unknown to newcomers.

The ACT runs nurse-led walk-in centres in several town centres for minor injuries and illnesses — no appointment, no Medicare card required, no charge. They are the correct destination for a sprain, a wound or a childhood fever that does not need an emergency department, and using one instead of the Canberra Hospital ED saves hours.

Source: ACT Health — walk-in centres

Bushfire smoke is a Canberra health issue, not a Canberra weather issue.

In the 2019–20 season Canberra recorded some of the worst air quality readings in the world for weeks at a stretch, with schools closed and services suspended. The city sits in a valley ringed by forested reserves and the smoke settles. If anyone in the household has asthma or a heart condition, a HEPA purifier and P2 masks belong on the moving list, and the ACT air quality readings belong on your phone before your first summer.

Source: ACT Health — air quality and bushfire smoke

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming Medicare covers ambulance — it does not anywhere in Australia, and the ACT charges over AUD 900 for it.
Looking for an ACT ambulance subscription to buy; there isn't one, and cover comes through a health fund.
Expecting bulk billing by default and being surprised by a gap fee at every GP visit.
Queuing at the Canberra Hospital emergency department for something a free nurse-led walk-in centre would have handled.
Arriving before your Overseas Visitors Health Cover starts and breaching a visa condition.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.