Claiming for Ambulance services

Because ambulance schemes vary from state to state, understanding your ambulance cover can be challenging – but we're here to help. Here's everything you need to know, including what it does and doesn't cover.

You can also get step-by-step instructions for how to claim here: How to make an ambulance claim.

State information

Ambulance schemes and what we cover vary from state to state so it’s important for you to understand how they apply to where you live – please see below.

If you live in the Northern Territory or South Australia and would like to make an ambulance claim, you can just proceed to the claiming information.

Australian Capital Territory

Eligibility

We pay benefits towards ambulance services when:

You used an ambulance for either of these two reasons:

a) transportation to a hospital or other approved facility to receive immediate professional attention because your medical condition prevented you being transported another way

OR

b) immediate professional attention, but you didn't need transportation to a hospital by ambulance.

The service is provided by a Medibank approved ambulance provider.
You have served a 1-day waiting period
You have an itemised receipt or invoice.

Exceptions

We don’t pay benefits:

Towards any ambulance costs that are fully covered by a third-party arrangement such as an ambulance subscription scheme or a State/Territory ambulance transportation scheme. However, we may pay benefits for any ambulance costs not fully covered by these schemes if the service meets our assessment criteria.
When you are transferred by ambulance between public hospital facilities while you are an admitted patient.
For ambulance transfers once you have been discharged from hospital, including transport from hospital to home.
When you’re aged 65 or over and live in WA, since you are eligible for free or subsidised ambulance services. However, if you’re eligible for subsidised services, you may be able to claim the remaining cost from Medibank.
When you live in NSW or the ACT, since you pay an ambulance levy as part of your hospital cover premium and are entitled to cover under your state scheme. If you have a Commonwealth concession card you might be exempt from paying the ambulance levy.
When you live in QLD or TAS, since you’re entitled to cover for ambulance transport under the State Government scheme.

Going to hospital?

Hospital Assist provides support before and after your hospital stay with information, advice over the phone, and access to health professionals. We're here to help.

Go to Hospital Assist

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an ambulance?

What is an approved ambulance provider?

Can I make a claim in any other circumstances?

Where the State scheme allows, here are some other situations you can claim for:

You’re an admitted patient in hospital, and the hospital requires you to be transferred from one hospital to another. (Note that this doesn’t include transfers between public hospitals.)
The air ambulance provider has received pre-approval from Medibank to provide transport by air ambulance.
A member is transported by ambulance to a hospital or other approved facility immediately following their death.

What is an "other approved facility"?

What if I injure myself skiing and need a snow ambulance?

It will depend on the service that attends to you.

For an injury in a ski resort there may be a ski patrol that would administer first aid and take you off the mountain to safety. In most cases, the ski patrol is employed by the ski resort and their services are usually provided free of charge. However, the ski patrol is not an approved ambulance provider, so if there is a charge no benefits will be payable.

If an ambulance is dispatched to you via a 000 call, this will automatically be an approved ambulance provider. This means that benefits would generally be paid because the ambulance was called to attend to provide you with immediate professional attention.

What if I injure myself and require a search and rescue operation?

Can I claim for someone else?

You can claim for someone else on your policy, but you can’t submit a single claim form for more than one person at a time. You’ll need to do a separate claim form for each person. Please keep in mind that unless we have the other person’s consent, we won’t be able to discuss the details of the claim once it has been submitted.

To authorise someone else to act on your behalf when dealing with Medibank, apply using this Authority form.

Contact us

Ambulance services – general information