Australia Visa Health Requirement

The purpose of health requirement while coming to Australia is to:

• Protect the Australian community from public health and safety risks, particularly active tuberculosis.
• Contain public expenditure on health and community services, including social security benefits, allowances and pensions.
• Safeguard access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to health care.

Most of the visa applicants, and in some circumstances their dependents (whether they are migrating to Australia or not), are required to meet the health requirement.

To meet the health requirement who want to apply for Visa, must be free from a disease or condition that is:

• Considered to be a threat to public health or a danger to the Australian community. The one that transfers from one to others.
• Or something that is likely to result in significant health care and community service costs to the Australian community.
• Likely to require health care and community services that would prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to those services in short supply.

‘Prejudice to access’ refers to circumstances where the visa applicant’s condition is likely to limit access of Australian citizens or permanent residents to health care and community services that are in short supply.

In some circumstances to meet the health requirement the applicant may be asked to sign a Health Undertaking by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC). For example, if the applicant is assessed as having a condition or disease that requires a follow up medical examination after arriving then will need to sign a Health Undertaking before being considered to have met the health requirements.

Threats to Public health
To protect the Australian community from public health and safety risks, the candidate/applicant must be free from a disease or condition considered to be a threat to public health or a danger to the Australian community in order to meet the health requirement. Few who are banned to come to Australia are: 

1. Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a very serious disease which has been declared an epidemic and a global emergency.
Therefore, Visa Applicant will be tested for tuberculosis if he/she is applying for a permanent visa. You must undergo testing for tuberculosis as part of the visa application process.

If applying for a temporary visa then he/she may be asked to undergo tuberculosis testing on a risk management basis. 

    

2. HIV and hepatitis

You are required to have an HIV test if you apply for:

• A permanent residency visa and you are 15 years of age or older.
• A temporary visa and you intend to work as, or study to become, a doctor, nurse, dentist or paramedic in Australia.
• A permanent visa and you are aged less than 15 years of age and:
• Applying for an adoption visa.
• Have a history of blood transfusions.
• Have any other clinical indications that you may be HIV positive.
• Your biological mother is (or was) HIV positive.

Evidence of HIV or hepatitis
HIV and hepatitis are not generally considered to be threats to public health. Therefore, if the application is for temporary visa, which is assessed as having these conditions then may be found to be a threat to public health if the applicant:

• intend to work as a doctor, dentist, nurse or paramedic whilst in Australia
• have a viral load of a certain level
• intend to undertake Exposure Prone Procedures as part of your duties. This refers to procedures where there is a risk of contact between the worker’s blood and the patients open tissue.

3.  Yellow Fever
If the applicants are travelling to Australia then must hold an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever before travelling to Australia only if they are one year of age or older, and have stayed overnight or longer in a declared yellow fever infected country within six days before the arrival to Australia.

Significant Costs and Services in Short Supply
The health requirement is designed to protect the demand on the Australian health care system and ensure that additional pressure is not put on health care and community services that are in short supply.