Going to hospital
Going to hospital in an emergency
If you’re badly hurt or very sick, you may need to go to a hospital emergency department. Learn about emergency and urgent medical care.
Planned hospital treatment
You may need to go to hospital for planned treatment if you have an illness or injury that:
- doesn’t require immediate treatment
- needs planned treatment from a specialist.
Planned hospital treatment is usually arranged by a GP or specialist.
Your state or territory will have information about going to hospital. These links will take you away from myGov.
| State or territory | Resource |
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ACT |
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NSW |
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NT |
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Qld |
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SA |
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Tas |
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Vic |
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WA |
Choosing between public or private hospital
You may have the choice between going to a public or private hospital. Find out how to choose between a public and private hospital on the healthdirect website.
Hospital costs
Find out about the typical cost of common services using the Medical Costs Finder on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
Public hospital
If you go to a public hospital as a public patient, most of your costs are covered by Medicare. Find out more about medical costs when you’re going to hospital on the Services Australia website.
Private health insurance
If you have private health insurance, your provider can tell you how much your insurance covers. You can also find out more about Australian health insurance on the PrivateHealth.gov.au website.