Major systems upgrade from 1 October
Due to a major upgrade of our systems all online and claiming services will be unavailable from 8pm (AEST) Thursday 1 October and we expect to be back online from 6am (AEDT) Tuesday 6 October.
For urgent enquiries during the upgrade
During this time, you may need to get in touch with us and we’re still here for you. Our customer care teams are available to help with urgent enquiries including hospital admissions, although we appreciate your patience as we will not have access to your information. If you do need to speak with us, please call 13 13 34.
If your question isn’t urgent, send us an email using our Contact Us form and we’ll respond to you as quickly as possible.
What does this mean for me?
During this time, you won’t be able to use our regular services. Here are more details on what’s affected and what this means for you, as we work behind the scenes.
CLAIMING ON YOUR HEALTH COVER
Our claiming services will be unavailable as follows:
- Online claims through Online Member Services: currently unavailable and expected to resume from 6am (AEDT) Tuesday 6 October.
- Online claims through the My Membership app: available until 8am (AEST) Monday 28 September – then offline, expected to resume from 6am (AEDT) Tuesday 6 October.
- On-the-spot claiming with extras providers (like your dentist or physio): available until 8pm (AEST) Thursday 1 October – then offline and expected to resume from 6am (AEDT) Tuesday 6 October.
- In person at one of our branches: until 5pm (AEST) Wednesday 30 September, expected to resume when we reopen Tuesday 6 October.
- Post: you can send us your completed claim form and original receipts.
There may be some delays with postal and in-branch claims as we complete these upgrades. Alternatively, we’d encourage sending your claim via the My Membership app for a faster payment once our systems are back online. Remember to keep your receipts from your provider.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS & POLICY COVER CHECKS
Policy cover checks for hospital admissions are available until 5.30pm (AEST) Thursday 1 October, – then offline, expected to resume from Tuesday 6 October. If you need to speak to us about what you’re covered for under your policy, please call 13 13 34 before Thursday 1 October.
Hospitals will contact us prior to admissions on your behalf, but if you have an urgent hospital stay during this time, please call 13 13 34.
SERVICES UPDATE
Call Centre: 13 13 34
Our call centre will be operating at reduced hours during this time and will be available from 8am to 5pm (AEST) on Friday 2 October and from 9am to 1pm (AEST) on Saturday 3 October. Our call centre will be closed on Sunday 4 October and Monday 5 October and will resume normal operating hours from Tuesday 6 October.
HCF Branches
All branches will be closed from Saturday 2 October and are expected to reopen Tuesday 6 October. All Victorian branches currently remain closed until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Dental Centres
Selected Dental Centres will be open for emergencies and by prior appointment on Friday 2 October:
- Our Blacktown, Bondi, Brookvale, Sydney CBD, Chatswood, Hurstville, Parramatta and Melbourne locations will be open for emergencies (where your dental issue is urgent and you’re in pain) or by prior appointment.
- Our Belconnen, Castle Hill, Chermside, Hornsby, Miranda and Penrith locations will also be open for prior appointments only.
Our Melbourne Dental Centre will be open for emergency treatment or by prior appointment on Monday 5 October, pending COVID-19 restrictions.
If you have a dental emergency during this time, please call your nearest HCF Dental Centre.
Eyecare Centres
Our Eyecare Centres will be open their usual hours on Friday 2 October and Saturday 3 October. For more information on your nearest HCF Eyecare Centre and opening hours, visit our Eyecare page.
ACCESSING YOUR HCF MEMBERSHIP
Reviewing your health cover details
Access to your usual health cover admin, like reviewing your cover and making changes to your policy, is available until 8pm (AEST) on Thursday 1 October – then offline, expected to resume from 6am (AEDT) Tuesday 6 October.
Get in touch with us before 7.30pm (AEST) on Thursday 1 October to speak to us about your membership:
- Call 13 13 34
- Send us an email through the form here
- Log in to Online Member Services or log into the My Membership app to manage your account.
For members wanting to prepay before the premium changes take effect on Tuesday 6 October, you can arrange your pre-payment before 5.30pm (AEST) on Thursday 1 October by calling 13 13 34. All pre-payments via BPAY must be made by 5.30pm (AEST) Monday 28 September.
Using HCF Thank You Rewards
Loyalty rewards and offers are available until 8pm (AEST) on Thursday 1 October then unavailable, expected to be back online from Tuesday 6 October. Offers that have already been purchased before 1 October through HCF Thank You can still be redeemed and used at our partner stores.
Overseas visitor health cover 24/7 helpline: 13 68 42
If you or your family need to find a doctor or hospital or have questions about your health, our regular 24/7 helpline will still be available on 13 68 42.
Pet Insurance
Members with HCF Pet Insurance will be able to contact PetSure, who manage our pet policies, by logging in to the self-service portal or getting in touch with them by email, you can do so by:
- Visiting the PetSure HCF self-service portal
- Sending us an email: HCF@petsure.com.au
Life policies and claiming
If you have a query regarding your life policy, please call us on 13 13 34 before 7.30pm (AEST) on Thursday, 1 October. For any life claims during the outage period, email us at lifeclaims@hcf.com.au. We’ll do our best to minimise any impacts on your claims’ assessment, but there might be a delay during this period.
We appreciate your patience while we make these changes.