As your children grow older they can still be covered at no additional cost on your family or single parent membership until they turn 21 or, if they are full-time students, until they turn 25, provided they're not married or in a de facto relationship. This is because we consider them to be your dependent children.

If you have unmarried children aged 21 to 24 who aren't studying full-time and are not in a de facto relationship we also have a membership option called families with adult children. Although you'll pay a higher premium, it can prove to be a more economical option for your children than if they were to take out their own cover at the same level. Waiting periods may apply.

When a newborn baby is in hospital with its mother, no accommodation charges apply for the baby unless the baby becomes an admitted patient in their own right. This happens when the baby requires admission to a neo-natal intensive care unit or it is the second or later child of a multiple birth.

Call us on 134 190.

If you're on a single membership:

To add a dependent child to your membership you'll need to change from a single to a family or single parent membership. If you do this within two months from the date of their birth or inclusion in your family unit (eg. through marriage, adoption or fostering) your child won't have to serve any additional waiting periods. The change will be backdated to the date of birth or the date of inclusion in your family unit. Also, this change of membership means you'll pay higher premiums.

If you're on a couple or family membership:

You can add a dependent child to your membership at any time and they won't need to serve any waiting periods already served on the membership. Adding a dependent child may affect the premiums you’ll need to pay.

It's easy to change from a single to a couple membership, but you should be aware that higher premiums apply to a couple membership and additional waiting periods may apply to your partner.

In some cases yes, in other cases no. You'll be covered for services on your new cover from the date you join if: (i) those services were also included on your cover with your former fund, (ii) you join us within two months of leaving your former fund and (iii) you've already served the applicable waiting periods. So although we'll recognise any waiting periods you've served with your former fund, if you haven't fully served the applicable waiting periods, you'll need to serve the balance with us before you're eligible for benefits.

Additional waiting periods will also apply if you've switched to a higher level of cover with Medibank or if you wait more than two months after leaving your former fund before you join Medibank.

Any loyalty bonus or other similar entitlements built up with your former fund (for example, orthodontic entitlements) will not transfer to Medibank. If you transfer to Medibank or to another Medibank cover, any benefits that may have been paid under your previous cover will be taken into account in determining the benefits payable under your new cover.

Although you as the policy holder ‘own' the membership, your partner (if he or she is also covered by the same membership) can automatically manage most aspects of the membership too, including: making claims, adding or removing dependants, changing cover, suspending the membership and changing contact and bank account details.

However, as the policy holder you're the only one who can remove yourself from the membership or cancel the membership. It's important to be aware that this means we may disclose registered membership details to both of you. If at any time you want to be the only person who can manage the membership or you require further information about the handling of personal information, please call us on 1300 509 931.

There are three terms we use when we're talking about membership: member, membership and policy holder. As a starting point, it's good to be clear on all three.

A member is simply any person covered under a Medibank Private membership.

A membership is made up of one or more members and can consist of:

just one person, (single membership)

a couple membership which covers you (the policy holder) and your partner

single parent* membership, which covers you and

any of your child dependants and/or

any student dependants

family membership*, which covers you and your partner and

any of your child dependants and/or

any of your student dependants

family with adult children* membership option, which can, for an additional cost, extend a single parent or family membership to include any of your children who:

have reached the age of 21 but are under 25,

are not studying full-time, and

are neither married nor living in a de facto relationship

*These membership categories do not apply to Young Hospital cover.

The term policy holder refers to the person who ‘owns' the membership. This is the person we contact when we need to communicate important information.

You may have different health needs at different stages of your life, so it makes sense to review your health cover regularly. This is especially important if your situation changes. For example, if you're planning to start a family, the kids have grown up or either you or someone in your family has developed a health issue. Whatever your situation, it's a good idea to call us to discuss your options on 1300 509 931 or drop into one of our stores. Alternatively you can log into Online Member Services and compare covers.

If you join but then decide you'd like to either cancel your membership or move to another cover, we have what is known as a ‘cooling-off' period. This also applies if you're already a member and have recently changed your cover.

As long as you tell us within 30 days of joining or changing your cover, and no claims have been made against your policy there's no problem. We can either transfer you to a more suitable cover or refund your premium in full.