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Health
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Australia has high standards of hygiene, and there are few exceptional health hazards - at least in terms of disease. No vaccination certificates are required unless you've come from a yellow-fever zone within the past week. Standards in Australia's hospitals are also very high, and medical costs are reasonable by world standards. For general health information while in Australia, check out the website
www.travmed.com.au
.
The national healthcare scheme, Medicare , offers a reciprocal arrangement - free essential healthcare - for citizens of the UK, New Zealand, Italy, Malta, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. This free treatment is limited to public hospitals and casualty departments (though the ambulance ride to get you there isn't covered); at GPs you pay up front (about $40 minimum) with two-thirds of your fee reimbursed by Medicare.
The whole process is made easier by the production of a
Medicare Card
, available from any Medicare Centre. Anyone eligible who's staying in Australia for a while - particularly those on extended working holidays - is advised to obtain one. Dental treatment is not included: if you find yourself in need of dental treatment in one of the larger cities, try the dental hospital, where dental students may treat you cheaply or for free. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia |