You never know when an accident might happen and you need to be rushed to hospital in an emergency.

As Queensland Country Health Fund is… well a Queenslander, it is important to know how you may be affected by the costs of Ambulance transport depending on where you live.

Queensland

All Queensland residents are automatically covered for the cost of emergency services Australia wide. This is paid for by the Queensland State government. You don’t have to do anything further regarding ambulance if you are lucky enough to live in our great State!

If you do receive an invoice for ambulance treatment or transport provided to you by another State/Territory ambulance service, forward the invoice along with proof of Queensland residency directly to the Queensland Ambulance Service.

What do we cover

Who is covered?

We provide nationwide ambulance cover for all persons covered under a Queensland Country hospital product* who:

  • reside outside of Queensland or Tasmania (nationwide emergency ambulance services are provided for Queensland residents and state-wide emergency ambulance services are provided for Tasmanian residents. These are covered by these respective State Governments.)**

* Not available on any stand-alone Extras product.
** See Ambulance Cover by State below for more information.

What's covered?

You’re covered for one emergency ambulance transport service or one on-the-spot emergency treatment per person per Membership Year. Cover is Australia wide when provided by an organisation recognised by us (see below).

An emergency is an unplanned event where you need immediate medical treatment. Benefits are only available for an emergency ambulance transport service where, in the opinion of a medical officer, a person requires immediate medical treatment in circumstances where there is a serious threat to a Member’s life or health.

For your transport to the hospital to be classed as an emergency, the ambulance account must be coded and invoiced as emergency transport by a recognised state ambulance authority.

On-the-spot emergency treatment is where an ambulance is called to provide immediate professional attention but transport by ambulance in the opinion of the attending medical officer is not required.

The following providers are recognised by us:

  • ACT Ambulance Service
  • Ambulance Service of NSW
  • Ambulance Victoria
  • Queensland Ambulance Service
  • South Australia Ambulance Service
  • St John Ambulance Service NT
  • St John Ambulance Service WA
  • Tasmanian Ambulance Service

What's not covered?

Situations when you will NOT be covered include:

  • Non-emergency ambulance transport
    • Transportation from a hospital to your home, nursing home or another hospital for ongoing medical treatment (where you have been admitted to the transferring hospital first) or,
    • Transportation from your home, a nursing home or hospital for ongoing medical treatment, e.g. chemotherapy or dialysis.
  • Air services (including helicopter services)
  • Road transport services that are not operated by a state or territory government or an organisation recognised by us
  • Where your state Government provides an ambulance benefit (e.g. Queensland and Tasmania) or where you are covered through a state based reciprocal arrangement
  • When you hold your own ambulance subscription with your state ambulance service
  • Where compensation, damages or benefits may be received from another source e.g. compensation, third party or other liability provision.

Waiting periods

  • Emergency – There is a one day waiting period for emergency ambulance treatment

Ambulance Cover by State

Residents in different States may be covered slightly differently, depending on ambulance agreements with the various State governments. The following information broadly outlines ambulance services State by State, for more detailed information please make contact with your State ambulance provider.

Please note, if you hold a hospital product with Queensland Country Health Fund and you live in the Northern Territory, you will be covered for emergency ambulance transport, including on the spot treatment, Australia wide. The benefit is capped at one emergency service per person, per Membership Year.

Northern Territory

If you hold a hospital product with Queensland Country Health Fund and you live in the Northern Territory, you will be covered for emergency ambulance transport, including on the spot treatment, Australia wide. The benefit is capped at one emergency service per person, per Membership Year.

New South Wales or Australian Capital Territory

If you hold a hospital product with Queensland Country Health Fund and you live in either NSW or ACT, you are automatically covered for emergency services within your respective State/Territory only. If you receive an account for payment from NSW or ACT Ambulance, send it to us for processing.

For cover outside your State/Territory you will be covered under our Ambulance cover detailed above.

When somebody covered by your hospital policy resides in NSW or the ACT, but the main Member’s residential address is in another State/Territory, ambulance services will not apply to the person who is residing in NSW or ACT. You will need to make your own arrangements in these circumstances.

Victoria

If you hold a hospital product with Queensland Country Health Fund and you live in Victoria, you will be covered for emergency ambulance transport, including on the spot treatment, Australia wide. The benefit is capped at one emergency service per person, per Membership Year.

South Australia

If you hold a hospital product with Queensland Country Health Fund and you live in South Australia, you will be covered for emergency ambulance transport, including on the spot treatment, Australia-wide. The benefit is capped at one emergency service per person, per Membership Year.

Western Australia

If you hold a hospital product with Queensland Country Health Fund and you live in Western Australia, you will be covered for emergency ambulance transport, including on the spot treatment, Australia-wide. The benefit is capped at one emergency service per person, per Membership Year.

Tasmania

The Tasmanian Ambulance service provides a free service to Tasmanian residents within Tasmania only. Reciprocal ambulance arrangements for emergency treatment exist for Tasmanian residents travelling interstate.

If you are a Tasmanian resident travelling interstate and you are not covered by a reciprocal ambulance arrangement, you will be covered under our Ambulance cover detailed above.