Most short-stay applicants need no medical at all — and for permanent visas the question is not whether you are healthy, but what your condition would cost against an AUD 86,000 threshold.
Overview
Australia's visa health requirement is set out in Public Interest Criteria 4005 and 4007 of the Migration Regulations and administered through eMedical, the Department of Home Affairs' electronic health-processing system. Inside Australia, examinations are conducted by Bupa Medical Visa Services, the Department's contracted provider; outside Australia, only Department-approved panel physicians and clinics can examine you. What you actually undergo depends on the visa: short temporary stays usually need nothing, longer temporary stays from higher tuberculosis-risk countries need a medical examination and chest x-ray, and permanent and provisional visas require the full set — medical examination, chest x-ray (generally from age 11) and HIV test (generally from 15). A condition only fails the requirement if a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth estimates its health and community-service costs above the significant cost threshold — AUD 86,000 since 1 July 2024, up from AUD 51,000 — or if it poses a public-health risk such as active tuberculosis. PIC 4005 visas allow no waiver; PIC 4007 visas (partner, child, humanitarian and some others) do. Verified against immi.homeaffairs.gov.au as of June 2026.
Who Examines You, and How the Plumbing Works
- HAP ID first: When you lodge (or use the Department's health declarations process), ImmiAccount generates a referral letter with a Health Assessment Portal (HAP) ID — clinics cannot examine you without it.
- In Australia — Bupa Medical Visa Services: The Department's contracted onshore provider, with clinics in the capital cities and regional partner sites. Book online with your HAP ID and bring your passport.
- Overseas — panel clinics only: Examinations must be done by physicians and radiologists approved by the Department in each country; results from your own GP or a non-panel hospital are not accepted. The Department publishes the panel list per country.
- eMedical: Results go electronically from the clinic into your application — you do not receive or carry reports, and most cases clear automatically without human review.
- Referred cases: Findings outside set parameters route to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC), whose opinion on the health criteria binds the visa decision-maker. MOC referral, not the examination itself, is what adds weeks or months.
- Fees: Set by the examining clinic, not the Department — they vary significantly by country and by which tests your visa requires.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a medical examination for a short visit or a 482 work visa?
For genuine short visits under six months, usually not — unless special circumstances apply, such as intending to work in healthcare, train in a hospital, or work with children, where examinations are required regardless of stay length. For longer temporary visas like the 482, it depends mainly on tuberculosis risk: applicants who are from, or have spent significant time in, countries the Department rates higher-risk need a medical examination and chest x-ray. ImmiAccount tells you exactly which examinations apply when it issues your HAP ID — don't book anything before that, because clinics can't examine you without the referral and you may need fewer tests than you assume.
I have a chronic condition — will Australia refuse my visa on health grounds?
Only if a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth estimates the condition's cost to Australian health and community services above the significant cost threshold — AUD 86,000 since 1 July 2024 — over the relevant assessment period, or if it poses a public-health risk like active TB. Managed diabetes, treated hepatitis, stable mental-health conditions and many disabilities routinely pass, especially since the threshold rose from AUD 51,000. The visa subclass matters enormously: most skilled visas use PIC 4005, where a failed health requirement compels refusal with no waiver; partner, child and humanitarian visas use PIC 4007, where a waiver for compelling circumstances exists. Get the cost arithmetic assessed before lodging, not after.
What is a HAP ID and can I do the medicals before applying?
The HAP (Health Assessment Portal) ID is the reference number that links your examinations to your application inside eMedical — clinics cannot examine you without it. You normally receive it through ImmiAccount after lodging, and then book with Bupa Medical Visa Services in Australia or a panel clinic overseas. The Department also offers a route to complete health examinations before lodging certain applications through ImmiAccount's health declarations service, which can shave weeks off processing for visas where medicals are certain to be required. Either way, results upload electronically and are valid for about 12 months — time them so they don't expire while the application is queued.
Why can't I just use my own doctor for the visa medical?
Because the health requirement runs on a closed, audited network. Inside Australia only Bupa Medical Visa Services, the Department's contracted provider, can conduct immigration examinations; outside Australia only panel physicians and radiologists approved by the Department in each country can. Their findings go straight into eMedical — you never handle the reports — which protects the integrity of the results and lets most cases clear automatically. Your own doctor's role is preparation: getting specialist letters, stabilising treatment and documenting management of any condition so that, if your file is referred to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, the cost picture is complete and favourable on first review.
My chest x-ray shows old TB scarring — what happens now?
Expect additional screening rather than refusal. Australia's absolute health criterion is freedom from active tuberculosis, so findings suggesting previous TB trigger further investigation — typically sputum testing and review by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth — to confirm the disease is inactive. Cleared applicants are then commonly granted the visa subject to a health undertaking: a signed obligation to report to health authorities in Australia for follow-up monitoring after arrival. Build in extra processing time, bring any historical treatment records to the examination, and comply with the undertaking after arrival — it is a condition with consequences, not a formality.
How much do the visa medicals cost and how long are they valid?
Fees are set by the examining clinics, not the Department, so they vary by country and by which examinations your visa requires — a full permanent-visa set (medical examination, chest x-ray, HIV test) costs materially more than a single x-ray, and a family of four should budget a four-figure sum in most countries. Results are generally valid for 12 months. The expensive mistakes are doing examinations before you have a HAP ID (they won't count), doing them so early they expire during processing, and turning up without specialist reports for a known condition — which converts a same-day clearance into a months-long MOC referral.