My partner and I are in need of advice, we are planning on applying for the de facto visa in March and all was going well until we found out I am pregnant. My partner is Australian and I'm American and I am living with him in Australian on a working holiday visa. What we would like to know is: can I get on Medicare before or right after we apply even if we haven't been granted the visa (I have travel healthcare but it does not cover pregnancy and I cannot apply for Australian private since I am already pregnant and it's a 12 month waiting period)? Or if I can't get on Medicare will they reimburse us later if we pay out of pocket? Has anyone been through this or know who we can talk too? I haven't been to the doctors yet (only a few weeks along) since we found out while on holidays and just got back.
Also I am unsure of the procedures out here for pregnant women, used to having a personal doctor in the states. Should I go to a medical centre or set up an appointment with the obstetrician at the local hospital?
If there is already a post out there for this please send me the link and any information would be appreciated. We are located in Wollongong, NSW if that helps for any locals out there. Thanks.
Hi Rachel and welcome to the forum,
And there you go, some info from a soon to be mum already and much of what I would have said from a dad's experience perspective.
But like Carla says, this is a happy time for you and so do not let anything get you down, OK!
For sure here in Oz., if the pregnancy moves along without complications and you do not have any underlying health issues yourself, visits to a doctor can be minimal and what you need to do in the first instance is find a practice that'll suit you.
Some may have quite a few doctors, perhaps even a female doctor if you prefer and then you may find that some of the doctors do handle different medical issues without being at the specialist level.
But even smaller practices GPs will be as knowledgeable as they need be and refer on to a specialist if need be.
You'll find they'll have advice that Carla refers to re attending a community health centre and thus all costs can be kept to a minimum.
If your partner has family in the Wollongon region, they may be able to assist re knowing of a good practice/doctor.
As for getting on Medicare, the US/Oz do not have a reciprocal agreement unfortunately.
I have read a couple of times of people being covered by medicare even when they have a visa application in but not granted and that did surprise me a bit but it is there -
Partner Visa: Onshore Temporary and Permanent (Subclasses 820 and 801) but with the condition of being married.
There is a catch to you also getting an application in if you have not been in a relationship for 12 months and if you do not meet that requirement your application is likely to be rejected.
Getting married removes the 12 months relationship requirement though you still need to show evidence as you'll find reference to in
Booklet #1 - a link in the visa info or in our sticky thread on info.
Without getting on to Medicare, births these days are very much an in and out of hospital practice ASAP, some women perhaps in only for a couple of days and perhaps they'll get that down to overnight visits or even day in hospital births if it goes well and so the cost can not be too exhorbitant, but there'll not be a re-imbursement after the event.
Best wishes and do get back with further queries if you need to.
EDIT: And as for information, you'll probably be able to find heaps of sites online and one I've used as a reference from time to time for general medical issues is
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/hl_pregnancy?OpenDocument
It is a government site you can see [gov] and NSW may have one too but the Vic one always pops up for some reason or other and their info will be no less applicable.
The local council offices will also have information om their community welfafe health services and if your partner is a resident in the area that ought to be sufficient re accessing any local services .
A second Edit:
Re chances of getting a partner visa ASAP.
There is a provision where if defacto couples register a relationship, the 12 months relationship requirement by Immi is waived, the relationship registration being a state legislation matter which is currently in effect for ACT, Victoria and Tasmania.
Just watching tonights News there was mention of the legislation close to being passed by NSW, maybe something to do with Mardi Gras coming up!
But keep an ear/eye out for announcements in next few weeks/months and you may find you can register.
It is primarily developed more for Australian residents [ in Victoria anyway ] but still means for a non-resident to also be on a registration.
Once you have that, you'll be able to then put in a partner visa without the 12 months relationship but you'll still need to support your application with relevant info, so have a look at the
eligibility section and
Booklet #1 and you can start getting everything organised.