A new immigration medical services provider has been appointed in Australia and takes over later this month but there is some confusion over when.

 

If you are completing immigration health examinations in Australia, you must book an appointment with the current migration medical services provider, which is Medibank Health Solutions (MHS).

 

However, the new migration medical services provider Bupa Medical Visa Services will be replacing MHS in late July 2014, though a date has yet to be announced.

 

In the meantime, according to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), if you are booking an appointment to undergo your health examination you must continue to contact MHS.

 

Applicants are encouraged to use the online booking service for visa medical appointments. Indeed, all immigration health examinations completed in Australia are now processed online using the eMedical system.

 

For those without access to the internet, it is possible to make an appointment by telephone and also to discuss options for completing your medical history before your appointment. Special arrangements will be made if necessary, the spokesman confirmed.

 

He explained that the purpose of the health requirement is to protect the Australian community from public health and safety risks, particularly tuberculosis, and to contain public expenditure on health and community services, including social security benefits, allowances and pensions.

 

It also aims to safeguard the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to health care and community services in short supply.

 

'Most visa applicants, and in some circumstances their dependents, whether they are migrating to Australia or not, are required to meet the health requirement,' said the DIBP spokesman.

 

'To protect the Australian community from public health and safety risks, you 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,' he added.

 

What you need to do to meet the health requirement will depend on your personal circumstances and the visa that you have applied for. All permanent visa applicants and certain temporary visa applicants will be required to undergo health examinations as part of the visa application process.

 

'If you fail to meet the health requirement your visa may be refused; however this will depend on the visa subclass you have applied for. Some visa subclasses allow a health waiver to be exercised in certain circumstances. You may be required to undergo health examinations as part of the visa application process,' the spokesman said.