Medicare on a bridging visa: who can enrol, and the Bridging visa E orders

A bridging visa holder is eligible to enrol in Medicare while a non-parent permanent visa application is pending, if they have work rights or a citizen or permanent-resident spouse, parent or child.

A plain first-aid case beside a stethoscope and blank card

The Health Insurance Act 1973 excludes pending parent visa applicants from this route, while separate Ministerial orders cover some Bridging visa E holders.

The basis is section 3(1), paragraph (f), of the Health Insurance Act 1973. Work permission and the specified family relationship are alternatives: you do not need both. A pending parent application prevents reliance on this route, including alongside a protection application. The same statutory paragraph also excludes people covered by regulations under section 6A(1).

Under the Health Insurance Act 1973 test, the bridging visa’s letter alone does not establish Medicare entitlement.

Identify your lodged visa application, current permission to work and any applicable Ministerial order before preparing enrolment evidence. Check the Health Insurance Act 1973 route separately from Ministerial Orders No. 807 and No. 819.

Services Australia’s Documents to enrol in Medicare if you’ve applied for permanent residency gives specific evidence requirements for permanent protection applicants. That checklist is not a universal checklist for bridging visa holders.

The decision table below separates application-based eligibility from eligibility under an order. Its review-stage answers follow Services Australia’s permanent-protection-applicant guidance, not a universal rule for every visa applicant.

Sources checked against the supplied research on 3 October 2026.

Medicare eligibility at a glance

Label	What to check	Date and source
Main statutory route	Pending non-parent permanent visa application, plus work permission or the specified citizen/permanent-resident spouse, parent or child.	Health Insurance Act 1973, compilation effective 19 September 2026.
Parent application	Not eligible through the pending-parent-application route.	Health Insurance Act 1973, 19 September 2026.
Protection-applicant evidence	Passport or ImmiCard and proof of permanent protection application; additional qualifying family evidence where work is not permitted.	Services Australia guidance retrieved 24 September 2026.
Bridging visa E order routes	Unauthorised maritime arrivals; qualifying Ukrainian nationals and immediate family.	Ministerial Orders No. 807 and No. 819, status checked in the research on 3 October 2026.
Private health insurance	No general private-cover requirement for Bridging visa E holders; check any condition 8501 (maintain adequate health insurance).	Migration Regulations 1994, compilation effective 1 July 2026.

Can you enrol in Medicare on your bridging visa?

Your situation	Medicare	Why
Permanent, non-parent visa application pending, with work rights	Yes, under the statutory route, subject to its other requirements.	Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 includes an authority to work as an alternative to the specified family link.
Permanent, non-parent visa application pending, without work rights but with a citizen or permanent-resident spouse, parent or child	Yes, under the statutory route, subject to its other requirements.	Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 provides this family-link alternative. It does not extend to any relative.
Parent visa application pending	No, through that application.	Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 excludes pending parent applicants from this route. A separate entitlement route needs its own assessment.
At the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), with an appeal dated within 12 months and permission to work	Continued enrolment is supported by the verified permanent-protection-applicant guidance.	Services Australia requires proof of an ART appeal dated within 12 months and a valid visa permitting work for this protection-applicant pathway. Other applicants need a separate eligibility check.
Judicial review or Ministerial intervention	No, under the permanent-protection-application pathway described by Services Australia; check any separate order.	Services Australia’s protection-applicant guidance excludes these stages. This does not establish that a separate Ministerial-order entitlement ends.
Unauthorised maritime arrival holding a Bridging visa E	Yes, under the applicable Ministerial order.	The Health Insurance Order 2017 for unauthorised maritime arrivals holding a Bridging E (Class WE) visa, No. 807, treats this class as eligible.
Ukrainian national holding a Bridging visa E granted on or after 1 August 2022	Yes, where Ministerial Order No. 819 applies.	Ministerial Order No. 819 also covers qualifying immediate family and specified Australian-born children.

The Health Insurance Act 1973 pending-application route and the Ministerial-order routes are separate legal bases. Do not assume that a change affecting one route determines entitlement under another.

Services Australia’s “within 12 months” requirement concerns appeal evidence for permanent protection applicants. It is not a universal bridging-visa rule or a deadline for lodging tribunal review.

Can you get Medicare on a bridging visa?

Yes, you can get Medicare on a bridging visa through the Health Insurance Act 1973 route if you meet its pending-application and work-or-family requirements, subject to the Act’s other exclusions.

No entitlement arises through that route if you have a pending parent application or lack both work permission and the specified family link. Separate Ministerial Orders No. 807 and No. 819 require a separate assessment.

Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 requires a temporary visa and a permanent visa application that has not been withdrawn or finally determined. It also excludes people covered by regulations under section 6A(1), as well as the pending parent applicants described above.

Does work permission alone establish Medicare eligibility?

No. Under section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973, work permission does not replace the pending permanent-application requirement. It also does not remove the parent-application exclusion.

The Health Insurance Act 1973 uses the wording “an authority to work in Australia is in force”. Permission to work is different from actually having a job.

What about partner, skilled and subclass 491 applications?

For questions about an 820 partner application, or skilled applications described as 186, 190 or 491, check the application actually lodged. Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 tests a pending qualifying permanent application—not simply a subclass number or an intended permanent pathway.

This page does not establish a separate subclass 491 Medicare pathway or a complete subclass-specific assessment for these applications. Do not infer entitlement from a future permanent pathway. Ask Services Australia to confirm the applicable route.

The statutory explanation uses the Health Insurance Act 1973 compilation effective 19 September 2026.

How do you apply for Medicare on a bridging visa?

Apply for Medicare on a bridging visa by checking your eligibility route, preparing the evidence for that route and confirming the submission instructions with Services Australia.

Firstly, identify your eligibility route. Check the pending permanent application and work-or-family alternative under the Health Insurance Act 1973. Alternatively, identify whether Ministerial Order No. 807 or No. 819 applies to you.
Secondly, prepare the evidence verified for your route. Permanent protection applicants: Services Australia’s Documents to enrol in Medicare if you’ve applied for permanent residency identifies a passport or ImmiCard and proof of the permanent protection application. Without work permission, qualifying relationship and status evidence is also required. Its ART continuation guidance requires appeal evidence dated within 12 months and a valid visa permitting work. This is not a checklist for all bridging visa holders.
Thirdly, confirm how to submit with Services Australia. Use Services Australia’s Documents to enrol in Medicare if you’ve applied for permanent residency or its Temporary residents covered by a Ministerial order guidance. If you rely on another pathway, obtain its current checklist and submission instructions from Services Australia.

Can you apply online?

The online enrolment procedure for this reader group has not been verified for this page. Check Services Australia’s current instructions before choosing a submission method; do not assume a particular myGov process applies.

The protection-applicant evidence guidance used here was retrieved from Services Australia on 24 September 2026. General submission methods and enrolment processing times are not established here.

What happens to Medicare at the ART, in court and during Ministerial intervention?

Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) review is a tribunal stage; judicial review means court review. Ministerial intervention means asking the Minister to consider intervening in an immigration matter. These are different stages, and Services Australia’s verified Medicare guidance below concerns permanent protection applicants.

Review stage	Medicare answer	Evidence and limitation
ART review of a permanent protection refusal	Services Australia’s guidance supports continued enrolment with the specified evidence.	Services Australia’s Documents to enrol in Medicare if you’ve applied for permanent residency requires appeal evidence dated within 12 months and a valid visa permitting work.
ART review for another permanent visa application	A universal continuation answer is not established here.	The Health Insurance Act 1973 contains the application-based test, but the general evidence requirements for non-protection applicants at the ART are not confirmed here. Ask Services Australia to assess your application and review stage.
Judicial review	Services Australia’s protection-applicant guidance says this stage does not qualify under that application-based pathway.	Court review does not establish entitlement under the published protection-applicant pathway. Assess any entitlement under Ministerial Order No. 807 or No. 819 separately.
Ministerial intervention	Services Australia gives the same exclusion for the protection-application pathway.	This is not a finding that every order-based entitlement ends. Check Ministerial Order No. 807 or No. 819 independently where relevant.

The review-stage evidence comes from Services Australia guidance retrieved on 24 September 2026. The appeal-evidence requirement should not be applied as a universal rule for non-protection applicants.

Medicare on a Bridging visa E: the law and the Ministerial orders

Under the Migration Regulations 1994, Bridging visa E (BVE) is Class WE, comprising subclasses 050 and 051.

The pending permanent-application route. Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 applies its pending permanent-application, parent-exclusion and work-or-family requirements. Holding a BVE does not remove any of those requirements.
The unauthorised-maritime-arrival order. The Health Insurance (Eligible persons unauthorised maritime arrivals and holders of Bridging E (Class WE) visa) Order 2017, No. 807, F2018N00054, covers unauthorised maritime arrivals holding Class WE. Its coverage begins from 25 November 2011; the order itself is dated 26 October 2017.
The Ukrainian-national and immediate-family order. Ministerial Order No. 819, F2022N00243, covers its specified Ukrainian nationals and qualifying immediate family holding a BVE granted on or after 1 August 2022. Eligibility is effective from 1 November 2022. It also covers specified Australian-born children taken to hold the visa under section 78 of the Migration Act 1958. Do not assume that every relative falls within the order’s family class.

Revoked order—not a current enrolment route. The order made on 5 August 2024 for people from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories holding a BVE with work rights was revoked from 1 July 2025 by the Revocation Order 2025, F2025N00470. The revocation preserves late claims for services received during the eligible period.

Different bridging visa. The Health Insurance (Eligible persons and holders of Removal Pending Bridging visa) Order 2017, F2018N00058, is a separate order. It should not be treated as an order covering BVE holders.

Order status was checked in the research on 3 October 2026. Ministerial Orders No. 807 and No. 819 were in force; the Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories BVE order was revoked.

Do you need private health insurance on a bridging visa?

Yes, if your visa requires health insurance; the Migration Regulations 1994 impose no general private-cover requirement on Bridging visa E holders.

Condition 8501 (maintain adequate health insurance) in the Migration Regulations 1994 states: “The holder must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while the holder is in Australia.”

For a BVE, the Migration Regulations 1994 identify condition 8501 in weapons-of-mass-destruction-related cases under clause 050.616B and certain subclass 103/143 parent-applicant cases under clause 050.620. This BVE finding should not be generalised to every bridging visa.

Legal obligation: Check your grant notice and Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) for your actual conditions, as directed by Home Affairs’ Bridging visa E, subclass 050 page. Do not assume that Medicare automatically satisfies condition 8501.

Practical cover: If Medicare is unavailable, ask an insurer to explain the policy’s cover, exclusions, waiting periods and limits before purchasing. This is a policy-checking step, separate from assessing your visa obligations.

The health-insurance rules above use the Migration Regulations 1994 compilation effective 1 July 2026.

Medicare for parent visa applicants on a bridging visa

No, a pending parent visa application does not establish Medicare eligibility through section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973.

If your question concerns Medicare while an aged parent subclass 804 or subclass 864 application is pending, the parent exclusion is the starting point. Under the Health Insurance Act 1973, permission to work does not override that exclusion.

Do work rights change the parent-application exclusion?

No. Section 3(1)(f) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 excludes pending parent applicants from this application-based route even where they have work permission. Work permission and Medicare entitlement are different tests.

Is another Medicare route available?

A separate route may need assessment, but this page does not establish reciprocal-health-care coverage or parent-subclass-specific alternatives. Ask Services Australia to assess any separate entitlement you believe applies.

The Health Insurance Act 1973 explanation establishes the pending-parent-application exclusion, not a blanket finding about every possible Medicare route. It uses the compilation effective 19 September 2026.

Health care when a BVE holder cannot get Medicare

Check health-cover options and any health-care support pathway. Revisit private cover and any condition 8501 obligation. The Migration Regulations 1994 do not impose a general private-cover requirement on BVE holders.

Home Affairs’ Status Resolution Support Services page identifies health and mental-health support for eligible people; fuller support information sits with work rights on a BVE.

For protection-applicant context, see Bridging visa E for protection visa applicants. Subclass 051 is used in limited protection situations under the Migration Regulations 1994, but holding it alone does not establish Medicare eligibility under the Health Insurance Act 1973.
Check whether a refusal or review changed the eligibility pathway. Services Australia’s permanent-protection-applicant guidance supports continued enrolment at the ART with its specified evidence, but excludes court review and Ministerial intervention from that application-based pathway. Check any separate Ministerial-order entitlement independently.

For refusal-review context, see ART to review a refused visa. For the wider visa guide, return to Bridging Visa E Guide.

Medicare and bridging visa FAQs

Does having a job prove that I qualify for Medicare?

No. Under the Health Insurance Act 1973 application-based route, work permission is one alternative alongside a pending qualifying permanent application. Employment alone does not establish the test.

Does the Ukrainian order depend on my BVE grant date?

Yes. Ministerial Order No. 819 uses a BVE grant date on or after 1 August 2022 for its specified class.

Does the unauthorised-maritime-arrival BVE order require work rights?

The Health Insurance Order 2017, No. 807, covers unauthorised maritime arrivals holding Class WE. Its rule does not add a work-rights condition.

Is the Removal Pending Bridging visa order the same as the BVE order?

No. The Health Insurance Order 2017 for Removal Pending Bridging visa holders is separate from the order for unauthorised maritime arrivals holding a BVE.

An Australian migration lawyer can check your pending application, work permission and BVE grant date against the Health Insurance Act 1973 and Ministerial Order No. 819 before you provide enrolment evidence.

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Bridging Visa E Guide is an information publisher, not a government site, law firm or migration practice. This page provides general information, not legal advice about your circumstances.