If you’re an Australian permanent resident

How to enrol

You can enrol in Medicare either:

• online through myGov
• by completing a Medicare enrolment form.

Enrolling online

You can enrol online in Medicare as either an individual or a family through myGov and track the progress.

To enrol online you and your family members need to:

• live in Australia
• have a current passport or ImmiCard
• have valid visa details from the Department of Home.

If you want to enrol as a family, we need details and identity documents for any children under 15.

If you want to include someone 15 or older, you need to give that person your application number.

They need the number to give us their details and identity documents through their own myGov account to complete their Medicare enrolment.

If you have a myGov account sign in and enrol in Medicare. If you don’t have a myGov account you need to create one.

Sign in to myGov

If your application is approved, we’ll contact you with your next steps. We’ll also send you your Medicare card in the mail to the address you gave us.

Enrolling with a form

If you can’t enrol online, complete a Medicare enrolment form. You can mail or email it with your supporting documents to Medicare Enrolment Services.

If you email us, include ‘Medicare enrolment’ in the email subject line.

Make sure your documents are:

• in PDF, JPG, PNG, GIF or BMP format
• not password protected, or in a WinZip or RAR file
• no larger than 5MB for each document
• no larger than 10MB in total for all the documents.

Find out what documents you need to enrol.

If you’re living overseas after you enrol

You’ll remain enrolled in Medicare for 12 months from the date you first left Australia.

You can’t use Medicare services from outside Australia. You may have some cover under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement. If so, you’ll need a Medicare card for this.

If you live overseas for more than 12 months, you’ll no longer be enrolled in Medicare. You also won’t be able to use a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement.

You’ll need to enrol in Medicare again when you move back to Australia. You don’t need to visit a service centre.

You can enrol through myGov or you can mail or email the Medicare enrolment form and supporting documents to Medicare Enrolment Services.

You don’t need to get your supporting documents certified. For further enquiries call us.

Find out what documents you need to enrol again.

If you’re an Afghan evacuee who has gained permanent residency

If you’re an Afghan evacuee you can continue to get Medicare entitlements if you:

• held a subclass 449 visa on or after 19 August 2021
• have now been granted permanent residency.

You’ll need to tell us so we can update your details and send you a new Medicare card.

Find out how to tell us and what documents you need if you’re a permanent resident.

If you’ve applied for permanent residency

You can enrol in Medicare if you live in Australia and have applied for either a permanent:

• residency visa, except for a parent visa
• protection visa.

You must also have either a:

• visa allowing you to work
• parent, spouse or child who is an Australian citizen
• parent, spouse or child who is a permanent resident
• parent, spouse or child who is a New Zealand citizen living in Australia.

This includes if you’ve applied for a combined spouse visa 309/100 or 820/801.

You can enrol in Medicare from either:

• the date you applied for permanent residency
• the date you arrived here to live if you applied outside Australia.

The date you apply for permanent residency may be different to the date you got your temporary 309 or 820 visa.

You don’t need to visit a service centre. You can mail or email your Medicare enrolment form and supporting documents to Medicare Enrolment Services.

Extending Medicare eligibility

If you and your family’s Medicare eligibility is about to expire you may be able to extend it online. Learn more about extending Medicare eligibility.

Find out what documents you need to enrol.

If your permanent resident application fails

If you lodge an appeal, you can apply to stay enrolled in Medicare.

Learn more about if your visa application fails.

If you haven’t lodged an appeal, you’re not eligible for Medicare. You may have some cover under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement.

If you’ve applied for a parent visa

You can enrol in Medicare once your Parent visa is granted. You may be eligible for Medicare while your visa is assessed, if any of the following circumstances apply.