Visa Medical Exam Australia: HAP ID, What's Tested, PIC 4005 Threshold
How the Australian visa medical examination works: your HAP ID, booking with Bupa Medical Visa Services or a panel physician overseas, what's tested and at what age, and the PIC 4005 cost threshold that decides the health requirement. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 Your medical is checked
- 0:10 PIC 4005 threshold:
- 0:21 Raised from $51,000
- 0:31 Every applicant gets
- 0:41 In Australia: Bupa Medical
- 0:54 Chest x-ray from age 11
- 1:06 Results: one to two weeks
- 1:16 Health clearance is valid
- 1:36 No waiver on:
- 1:49 Where to read more
Transcript
A visa medical exam isn't graded pass or fail on your health — it's checked against one number.
That number is the significant-cost threshold under Public Interest Criterion 4005 — a projected cost, over 10 years, of 86,000 dollars.
It was raised from 51,000 dollars on 1 July 2024 — nearly doubling what counts as too costly for the health requirement.
Your reference number is a HAP ID — Health Assessment Protocol. ImmiAccount generates a separate one for every applicant on the visa, including children.
Inside Australia, bookings go through Bupa Medical Visa Services, the department's contracted provider. Outside Australia, you book with an approved panel physician in your own country instead.
The exam covers a medical history and a physical exam. For most permanent and provisional visas, a chest x-ray applies from age 11, and an HIV test from age 15.
Results usually reach the department within one to two weeks. The full assessment can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to two months or more if it's complex.
That clearance stays valid for 12 months from the exam date. If your visa is still pending after that, you may be asked to do it again.
Above that threshold, PIC 4005 isn't met unless a waiver applies. Waivers exist for partner, child, parent and carer visas.
Waivers generally aren't available for the points-tested skilled visas, subclass 189, 190 and 491, so a failed health requirement there is usually final for that application.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description. And if you'd like to talk it through, you can compare registered migration agents there, and see their fees before you book anything.
Short versions
- Your medical is checked against one number (0:36)
- Every family member needs their own HAP ID (0:33)
- No waiver on these visas (0:34)
Talk it through with a registered agent
Every agent on Migratio is on the official OMARA register. Compare agents and their consultation fees.