Enrolling in Medicare
Who can enrol in Medicare
To enrol in Medicare, you need to live in Australia and be any of these:
- an Australian citizen
- a New Zealand citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- applying for permanent residency
- a citizen or permanent resident of Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island or Lord Howe Island
- a temporary resident covered by a ministerial order.
You may also enrol if you’re visiting Australia from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country.
How to enrol in Medicare
You can enrol in Medicare by emailing or posting a form to Services Australia. Find the Medicare enrolment form on the Services Australia website.
Find out more about how to enrol in Medicare on the Services Australia website.
There are other ways to enrol if you're enrolling a baby, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian or permanent resident.
Enrolling your baby in Medicare
If you need to enrol your baby in Medicare, you can do it in your Medicare online account through myGov. Find out how to enrol your baby in Medicare.
Enrolling when you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian
If you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian, and have standard identity documents, you can enrol using a form. Find the Medicare enrolment form on the Services Australia website.
If you don’t have standard identity documents, you can use a referee. You both need to fill in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medicare enrolment and amendment form on the Services Australia website.
Find out more about enrolling when you’re Indigenous on the Services Australia website.
Enrolling as a permanent resident
You can enrol in Medicare through myGov if you have:
- applied for a permanent resident visa
- been granted permanent residency
- been issued a returning resident visa.
You must also be living in Australia, 15 or older and enrolling as an individual. If you’re enrolling as a family, you need to complete a Medicare enrolment form on the Services Australia website.
Find out more about enrolling in Medicare through myGov.