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Individuals
You don’t need to register if you’re an individual with no dependants. We’ll register you for Medicare Safety Nets. We keep a tally of your out of pocket and gap amounts. We’ll pay you higher Medicare benefits when you reach a threshold. This means you’ll get more money back from us for certain Medicare services. We’ll keep paying you the higher benefit for the rest of the calendar year.
Families and couples
If you’re part of a family or couple, you can register as a family to combine your costs. This means you’re more likely to reach the thresholds sooner. Even if all family members are on the same Medicare card, you’ll still need to register.
You only need to register once.
If you’re registered and your family situation changes, you’ll need to let us know. This includes having a child or separating from your partner.
You can register or tell us about a change in your family situation by either:
- filling in the Medicare Safety Net couples and families registration and amendment form
- calling the Medicare program.
Families and dependants
For Medicare Safety Nets purposes, a family is any of these:
- a married couple, not separated, with or without dependants
- a couple in a de facto relationship, with or without dependants
- a single person with dependants.
For Medicare Safety Nets purposes, a dependant is someone the family supports financially and either a:
- child under 16 years
- full time student between 16 and 25 years.
A dependant can be a member of 2 registered Medicare Safety Net families. The dependants out of pocket and gap amounts only count towards one Medicare Safety Net family. They count towards the Medicare Safety Net family that pays for the medical services.
When you’re registered, we keep a tally of your out of pocket and gap amounts. We’ll notify you when you’re close to reaching your Medicare Safety Net threshold. You’ll need to confirm your family members before you’re eligible to get a higher Medicare benefit.