Before you start

A visa conferring Medicare eligibility, or citizenship of a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country
Passport and current visa
A Tasmanian residential address — this is what makes you a Tasmanian resident for ambulance
Ambulance cover through a health fund if you travel to NSW, SA or Queensland

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
Start looking for a GP immediately, and expect to be turned away
Tasmania has a documented shortage of general practitioners and many Hobart practices have closed their books to new patients. Ring around in your first fortnight rather than when you are unwell, ask specifically whether they are accepting new patients, and ask whether they bulk bill — Tasmanian bulk-billing rates are below the national average and a gap of AUD 40–60 per visit is normal.
In personWho: YouStart in week 1, not when you are sick
5
Check whether your health fund covers ambulance on the mainland
Free in Tasmania does not mean free everywhere. New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland sit outside the informal reciprocal arrangements, so a Tasmanian resident who needs an ambulance in Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane is billed. If you travel or have family interstate, a health fund's ambulance component covers the gap for very little.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know where the emergency departments are and what the alternatives are
The Royal Hobart Hospital is the state's tertiary centre. Emergency waits in Tasmania have been among the longest in the country, so learn the alternatives before you need them: the healthdirect nurse line on 1800 022 222, after-hours GP services, and pharmacy-led services for minor conditions.
OnlineWho: 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
Tasmanian residential address
Vaccination and medical records from your home country, ideally translated

Things most newcomers don’t know

Ambulance is free in Tasmania and specifically not free in NSW, SA or Queensland.

Ambulance Tasmania charges Tasmanian residents nothing for emergency transport within the state and its islands. Informal reciprocal arrangements cover most other states — but not New South Wales, South Australia or Queensland, which between them contain most of the places a Tasmanian flies to. A single interstate transport runs into four figures. This is the most specific, most expensive and least publicised gap in the arrangement.

Source: Tasmanian Department of Health — ambulance costs

Finding a GP is harder here than paying for one.

Tasmania has a well-documented general practice shortage and many Hobart practices have closed their books. Newcomers spend weeks ringing around, and often end up at whichever practice will take them rather than the one they wanted. Start the search in your first fortnight — it is the single most useful piece of admin a new arrival can do, and it cannot be rushed when you are actually ill.

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

Cold housing is a Tasmanian health issue and it is treated as one.

Tasmania has a large stock of old, uninsulated, single-glazed housing and the longest cool season in the country, and indoor cold is a recognised contributor to respiratory illness and excess winter mortality. This is why the questions to ask at a rental inspection — insulation, glazing, heating type, orientation — belong in a health guide as well as a housing one.

Source: community-reported, consistent with Tasmanian public health material

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, most dental and non-emergency transport 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

Assuming free Tasmanian ambulance follows you to Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane — it does not.
Waiting until you are unwell to look for a GP in a state where practices routinely have closed books.
Expecting bulk billing by default; Tasmanian rates are below the national average.
Assuming a temporary work visa includes Medicare — most do not.
Renting a cheap uninsulated house and treating the winter cold as a comfort issue rather than a health one.

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