DEPENDANTS CAN NOW STAY COVERED UNTIL THEY TURN 31
To make healthcare more affordable for our members, we’ve recently implemented government reforms to let dependants stay covered on their family’s health cover until they turn 31.
Children listed on your family’s cover will be automatically covered at no extra cost until the day before they turn 22. Once they turn 22, we have different options available depending on your policy and circumstances.
STUDENT DEPENDANTS
Student dependants can stay covered on some levels of cover at no extra cost. To register them as a student dependant they must be:
- a full-time student
- aged between 22-30 (up to the day before they turn 31)
- unmarried or not in a de-facto relationship
- relying on you for maintenance and support.
HOW TO REGISTER
Log in to the My Membership app or online member services and go to ‘Student Dependant Registration’ under My Cover. You can also call us on 1800 068 425 or visit a branch.
Need to re-register your dependant? You'll need to call us on 1800 068 425 or visit a branch if this isn't your first time registering your dependant.
EXTENDED FAMILY COVER
If your dependant isn’t a full-time student, married or in a de facto relationship, and relies on you for maintenance and support, you can continue to cover them on your policy until they turn 31 with Extended Family Cover. It’s available on some levels of HCF health cover* and will add a loading to your premium.
You’ll need to call us on 1800 068 425 or visit a branch to take out Extended Family Cover.
READY FOR THEIR OWN HEALTH COVER?
If your dependant is 22 or over and can’t be covered as a student dependant or with Extended Family Cover, we can help them find health cover to suit their needs and budget.
And if they take out health cover with HCF within 30 days of their birthday they won’t have to re-serve any waiting periods for treatments and services they’re currently covered for on your family cover. They’ll also maintain your HCF Thank You loyalty tier.
FAQs
Why is HCF making this change?
As Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund, our members are at the heart of everything we do. We’ve made this change so we can give more back and make healthcare more affordable for our members and their families.
Will I need to pay an excess for my dependant if they go to hospital?
You won’t pay a hospital excess for dependants on your family cover who are aged under 25 (except for Accident Only Basic cover). Dependants aged 25 and over may have an excess payable for their first hospital admission each calendar year. An excess is the amount you choose to pay if you're admitted to hospital for planned treatment. For details on your chosen excess login to online member service or call us on 13 13 34.
More info on how an excess works ➝
Can my dependants stay covered until they’re 31 on my HCF Life policy?
Yes, dependants can be covered on your family-level HCF Life or Recover Cover policies until they turn 31. This means that if a dependant is listed on your HCF family-level health cover, they’ll also be covered on your family-level HCF Life or Recover Cover policy.
Which HCF Life products are family-level?
Dependants can stay covered until they turn 31, if they’re listed on one of the following family-level HCF Life and Recover Cover range of policies: Cash Back Cover, Critical Illness Cover, Accident Cash Advantage, Accident Requiring Surgery, Extra Help - Disablement Benefit, Medical Trauma Insurance, Permanent Disability Benefit and Permanent Disability Benefit Plus.
Refer to the Policy Documents you received when you purchased your HCF Life policy and any change notices we’ve issued you since. If you have any questions about your cover and who’s covered on your policy, or for copies of your Policy Documents, call us on 13 13 34 or visit a branch.
My dependant has come off my family-level health cover, what does this mean for my family-level HCF Life policy?
Family-level HCF Life policies cover all the members listed on your family-level health cover, provided the Life policy continues to be a Family Level of Cover. So, if your dependants come off your family-level health cover for any period, they won’t be covered under your family-level Life policy during that same time.
YOUR PRIVACY
How HCF collects, uses, discloses (which may include obligations to overseas recipients in compliance with its privacy obligations) and keeps and secures personal information including how to opt out from direct marketing, how to access and correct your personal information or how to complain about a privacy breach and how this is handled by HCF is explained in the HCF privacy policy. For a copy of this policy, call our member services team on 13 13 34 or go to hcf.com.au/privacy
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
*Extended Family Cover is not available on the following covers: Healthmate Ultimate Gold, HealthClub Silver Plus, Healthmate Advanced Silver Plus, Healthmate Starter Silver Plus, Healthmate Essentials Silver Plus,Top Hospital Gold, Healthy First Hospital Silver Plus, HealthStart Hospital Silver Plus, Premier Extras, Healthcover Extras, Smart Extras, HCF Ambulance Cover, HCF My Future Basic Plus, HCF Future Care Basic Plus, Fit & Free Silver Plus and Young Singles & Couples Basic Plus.