Before you start

A visa conferring Medicare eligibility, or citizenship of a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country
Passport and current visa
A Queensland residential address — this is what establishes Queensland residency for the free ambulance
For temporary visa holders: compliant health insurance in force from your arrival date

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.
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
Establish Queensland residency, and then stop paying for ambulance cover
A Queensland address is what makes you a Queensland resident for ambulance purposes. There is nothing to buy and nothing to register. If you are moving up from New South Wales, South Australia or Victoria, cancel the ambulance component of your old cover once you are established — and if you are moving the other way, reinstate it.
OnlineWho: YouFree to Queensland residents
5
Book a full skin check in your first year
Find a GP or dedicated skin clinic that does dermoscopy and book a full-body check. Queensland's melanoma incidence is the highest in the world and early detection is the whole game. Locals do this annually; newcomers from cooler climates often have never had one, and arrive with skin that has no history of this UV level.
In personWho: You and everyone in the household
6
Register with a GP practice and ask about billing
No catchment applies — attend any practice. Some bulk bill, meaning nothing to pay with a Medicare card; many charge and you claim a rebate. Ask when booking, because the same consultation can cost nothing or AUD 90 two suburbs apart, and skin checks are often billed separately again.
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
Queensland residential address
Vaccination and medical records from your home country, ideally translated

Things most newcomers don’t know

Queensland is the only state where ambulance is simply free, and the cover follows you interstate.

South Australia and Tasmania charge or restrict, New South Wales subsidises but bills, Victoria sells a membership. Queensland funds the service from the state budget, so emergency and clinically necessary transport costs a Queensland resident nothing, anywhere in Australia. There is no membership to buy and nothing to renew — you just have to actually be a resident, which a Queensland address makes you.

Source: Queensland Ambulance Service

Queensland has the highest melanoma incidence in the world, and the Gold Coast is its beach.

This is a straightforward epidemiological fact rather than a warning label. The UV index reaches extreme levels for months of the year and does it through cloud. If you have arrived from northern Europe, Canada or east Asia, your skin has no history of this and your risk profile changed the day you landed. Annual dermoscopy checks are normal here, and finding a clinic in your first year is the single highest-value health action on this list.

Source: Cancer Council Queensland; consistent with published national cancer incidence data

Rips, not sharks, are the coastal hazard that actually hurts people.

Rip currents cause more deaths in Australia annually than sharks, floods and cyclones together. They look like the calm, flat gap between breaking waves — which is precisely why inexperienced swimmers choose them. Swim between the red and yellow flags, where a surf lifesaver is watching the water. On an unpatrolled Gold Coast beach at 6pm there is nobody to help you.

Source: Surf Life Saving Australia — coastal safety

A reciprocal health care agreement covers medically necessary care only.

It exists so treatment that cannot wait until you go home is not refused. Elective procedures and most dental fall outside it, and duration differs by country. UK and Irish arrivals in particular assume NHS-equivalence and discover the gap at the worst possible moment.

Source: Services Australia — Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

Common mistakes to avoid

Continuing to pay for ambulance cover you no longer need once you are a Queensland resident.
Assuming a temporary work visa includes Medicare — most do not.
Arriving before your Overseas Visitors Health Cover starts and breaching a visa condition.
Going years without a skin check in the highest-melanoma-incidence population on earth.
Swimming outside the red and yellow flags, or on an unpatrolled beach outside patrol hours.

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