Visas subject to condition 8501
What is condition 8501?
Condition 8501 in Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations 1994 states that the visa holder must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while the holder is in Australia.
Which visas are subject to condition 8501?
Condition 8501 is not attached to every visa — it's imposed on specific temporary visa subclasses, and mainly on work, working holiday, and some visitor and bridging visas. If you're not sure whether your grant carries it, the fastest way to check is your visa grant letter or VEVO record — condition 8501 will be listed there in black and white.
Subclasses that commonly carry condition 8501 include:
- Working visas: 407 (Training), 482 (Skills in Demand / TSS), 485 (Temporary Graduate), 489/491/494 (regional/skilled), 400 (Temporary Work Short Stay), 401, 402, 403, 408, 457 (legacy), 476 (Skilled Recognised Graduate)
- Working holiday: 417 (Working Holiday) and 462 (Work and Holiday)
- Visitor: 600 (Visitor), 601, 651, 870, plus some streams of 590 (Student Guardian)
- Bridging visas: 010, 020, 030 — a bridging visa usually inherits condition 8501 if the substantive visa it's bridging from (or to) carried it
One important exception: subclass 500 (Student) is not on this list. Student visa holders need Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), not OVHC, so it sits outside the scope of this page.
A subclass not appearing on this list doesn't automatically mean it's excluded — conditions are set case by case at grant. Always confirm against your own grant letter rather than relying on a general list, this one included.
OVHC compliance checklist: which insurers cover your subclass
Once you know your subclass, the next step is checking which OVHC providers explicitly list it as covered on their own site. Below is a snapshot of published visa-coverage pages from major Australian OVHC insurers (checked August 2026 — always verify current details directly with the insurer before buying):
| Insurer | Visa subclasses listed |
|---|---|
| Allianz Care Australia | Working: 188, 400, 401, 402, 403, 407, 408, 416, 457, 461, 476, 482, 485, 489, 491, 494 · Working Holiday: 417, 462 · Visitor: 300, 580, 590, 600, 601, 651, 870 · Bridging: 010, 020, 030 |
| nib | 401, 407, 408, 416, 417, 420, 457, 461, 462, 482, 485 |
| Bupa | Working: 400, 403, 407, 408, 417, 457, 482, 485, 489 · Visitor: 600, 601, 651 |
| Medibank | 417, 462, 590, 600, 601, 651, 870 |
| AIA Health | 188, 400, 403, 407, 408, 417, 462, 476, 482, 485, 489 |
| CBHS International | 010, 020, 030, 403, 407, 408, 417, 457, 462, 482, 485, 590 |
| Australian Unity | Working Visa Cover range (incl. 482, 485) — see caveat below |
Sources: insurer visa-coverage pages — Allianz Care (allianzcare.com.au/en/visas.html), nib (nib.com.au/overseas-working-visitors), Bupa (bupa.com.au), Medibank (medibank.com.au/overseas-health-insurance/visitors/), AIA Health (health.aia.com.au/international/overseas-visitors-health-cover), CBHS International (cbhsinternationalhealth.com.au/overseas-visitors-ovhc), Australian Unity (australianunity.com.au/health-insurance/overseas-visitor-cover/faqs). Checked August 2026.
Watch out: not every product line from an insurer qualifies
Australian Unity is a useful reminder that the insurer name alone doesn't guarantee 8501 compliance — you need to check the specific product. Its Working Visa Cover range (which includes 482 and 485 holders) is designed to meet condition 8501. Its separate Non-Working / Visitor Cover products are not. The same logic can apply at other insurers too: always check that the exact policy you're buying — not just the brand — is positioned as OVHC for your visa type, and get that confirmed in writing if it's not obvious from the product page.
How to use this as a compliance checklist
- Pull your visa grant letter or VEVO record and confirm whether condition 8501 is actually attached to your grant.
- Match your subclass against the table above to shortlist insurers that explicitly cover it.
- Check the product line, not just the brand — as the Australian Unity example shows, one insurer can sell both compliant and non-compliant products.
- If your subclass isn't listed on a provider's page, don't assume you're excluded — contact the insurer directly and ask them to confirm in writing before you buy.
- Keep cover continuous. For bridging visas, condition 8501 typically carries over from your substantive visa, and gaps in cover are one of the most common compliance mistakes — see our full breakdown of what condition 8501 requires for how "adequate arrangements" is actually assessed.
Related reading
FAQ
Q1: Can condition 8501 be removed once the visa is granted?
No. The condition is lawfully imposed as part of the decision to grant the visa and cannot be revisited with a view to removing it.
Q2: Does condition 8501 apply to all Visitor visas?
No. Condition 8501 can only be imposed on a Visitor visa granted in certain streams or in certain circumstances — check your own grant letter rather than assuming based on the visitor visa label alone.
Q3: Does condition 8501 apply to student visas?
No. Subclass 500 (Student) visa holders need Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), which is a different product to OVHC and sits outside condition 8501's usual scope.
Q4: My visa subclass isn't listed on any insurer's coverage page — does that mean I don't need OVHC?
Not necessarily. A subclass not being itemised on a provider's public page doesn't guarantee it's excluded from condition 8501, and it doesn't mean no insurer will cover you — contact the insurer directly and confirm your specific subclass before assuming either way.
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