Update on Health Processes for Australian Visas
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By Krystina Szafraniec
Thursday, 24 January 2013
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Upgrade to Health Check Processing
The Department of Immigration in conjunction with the Canadian Immigration Department has developed a new health check system called eMedical. A pilot will commence from December 2012, and providing this is successful will be rolled out to the 68 countries who are already on the current eHealth system.
This is likely to have benefits for visa applicants because:
Health checks will be processed faster with increased efficiency between the shared panel clinics
People who haven't lodged their visa application yet will be able to do their health check before lodgement.
Changes to Aged Visitor Health Checks
All visitors to Australia who are over 75 years old will now have to do a full medical examination as part of the health screening.
Health checks will be valid for 12 months, allowing it to be re used in suitable circumstances, but visitors should be aware of the additional requirement ahead of travelling to Australia.
Changes for Health Care Workers
Health Care Workers (such as Doctors, nurses, dentists and paramedics) applying for temporary work visas already need to perform additional health examinations when applying for their visas.
This requirement will now also apply to those applying for permanent visas under these occupations. This would require them to undertake additional examinations (eg Hepatitis B and C screening).
If you would like more information please don't hesitate to contact us and we'll gladly assist you.
References
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/electronic-health-processing.htm
www.mara.gov.au
