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For new members who join and keep eligible hospital and extras cover. 12 weeks applied over 26 months. Offer ends 9 December 2025. Full eligibility and T&Cs.
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What matters most is
Switching to HBF?
We’ll do the paperwork for you.
Follow the normal sign-up process, and you’ll be given instructions to provide your current membership details.
The process may take a few weeks behind the scenes, but it won’t require much from you at all. Plus, you won’t need to re-serve waiting periods if you’re switching to an equivalent level of cover with us.
Helpful terms to know
Waiting periods
A waiting period is a set amount of time during which you must continuously hold your level of cover before you can claim a benefit. Waiting periods exist to stop people from signing up when they need treatment, claiming and leaving without contributing premiums to the fund which drives premiums up for all other members of the health fund. Waiting periods may apply when you:
- Purchase health insurance for the first time
- Change your level of cover and end up with new services that were not on your previous cover. You’ll have to serve the relevant waiting periods for the new services before you can claim any benefits
- Change your level of cover and end up with higher benefits and/or limits. You’ll have to serve the relevant waiting periods before you can claim the increased benefits and/or limits. During this waiting period, you may be able to claim as per your previous cover
- Decrease your hospital excess. You’ll have to serve the relevant waiting periods before you can pay the lower excess. During this waiting period, you may be able to claim and the excess on your previous cover will apply
- Re-join a fund after a break from cover
Where you have continuous hospital cover and switch to HBF, we’ll honour any waiting periods you served on your previous health cover, so you won’t have to re-serve them. If you are part-way through a waiting period, you’ll just have to serve the remainder before you can claim.
Hospital excess
A hospital excess is the amount of money you agree to pay upfront when you’re admitted to hospital for treatment.
With HBF, you’ll only pay the excess once per person, per calendar year, no matter how many times you are admitted to hospital.
Exclusion
An exclusion is a service, treatment or good which is not included on your cover. No benefits are payable towards excluded treatments, services or goods. If you choose to get treatment for an excluded service, you may incur significant out-of-pocket costs.
For example, if your hospital insurance policy excludes Assisted reproductive services and you choose to get IVF, we won’t pay anything towards the cost of those services.
Restriction
A restriction is a treatment or service for which your health fund will only pay the minimum default benefit (this is set by the government). If a procedure or service is listed as restricted on your policy, you’ll be covered for it, but only to a very limited extent, leaving you with an out-of-pocket cost to pay.
For example, if you need Hospital psychiatric services but it’s listed as a restricted service on your policy, we will only pay the minimum default benefit for that service. That would leave you to pay the rest of the bill out of your own pocket. You can learn more about minimum default benefits on the Australian Government’s Private Health website.
When you review your cover options, consider your current and future health needs to ensure you get the right level of cover. If a policy has restricted services, think about whether you’ll need that treatment in future. If the answer is yes, you may want to consider a higher level of cover.
Hospital out-of-pocket
An out-of-pocket is the portion of a hospital bill that you pay from your own pocket for which you won’t be reimbursed – by either us or Medicare.
Member Benefits
HBF Member Perks
HBF members get access to a range of offers as part of our Member Perks program. You’ll find discounts on gym memberships, shopping, entertainment and more. *
Health support programs
Eligible HBF members* can access a range of health programs to help manage chronic health conditions like osteoarthritis, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Do you need hospital, extras or both?
Get more with private hospital cover
- More choice. Choose both your doctor and hospital.
- A private room. Rest easy in a private hospital room.*
- No public waiting lists. Avoid waiting lists that can be over a year long in the public system.
Choose your cover
Let HBF do the paperwork
If you're switching from another health insurer, just tell us during sign up. We'll then contact you to get your member number (or policy number), and we'll contact your health insurer to organise the transfer.
Getting cover for the first time, or changing your HBF cover? Explore your cover options and sign up below.
It may take up to 14 days for other funds to issue a Clearance Certificate. A Clearance Certificate, also called a Transfer Certificate, serves as a record of your health cover and contains information about the type and level of cover you held, when you joined, and when you cancelled. Until a certificate has been received and assessed we will not be able to finalise any claims submitted.
Why trust HBF for your health insurance
We're not-for-profit
We’ve been in the business of health since 1941
Mix and match
Frequently asked questions
What is hospital insurance?
Also known as hospital cover, hospital insurance helps cover costs when you're admitted to hospital. It covers things like your doctors' fees, accommodation and theatre fees.
Do I need hospital cover?
It's entirely up to you. Many Australians initially get hospital cover to avoid government penalties like the Medicare levy surcharge, but the real value of private hospital insurance is in the freedom and control it gives you over your healthcare.
With hospital cover, you can go to a private hospital for treatment and your health fund will help cover some of your costs. You'll be able to choose your specialist and 'avoid the public hospital waiting list.
If you don't have hospital cover but choose to be treated in a private hospital, you will have to fund your own treatment. If you don't have hospital cover and go to a public hospital for treatment, you won't have a choice of specialist and will have to wait on the public hospital waiting list — this could mean months, or even years before you receive treatment.
What are the benefits of hospital cover?
While Australia has one of the best health care systems in the world*, there are many benefits to having hospital cover.
Hospital insurance helps cover some of the costs when you're admitted to hospital. It can help cover some of the costs for things like doctors' fees, accommodation and theatre fees.
With hospital cover, you'll also be able to choose your preferred hospital and doctor to receive treatment from, avoid long public waiting lists and gain access to a private room*.
Learn more about the difference between private and public hospitals
What does hospital insurance cover?
Hospital insurance helps cover the cost of 'inpatient' services — these are treatments you receive when you're admitted to hospital for care (e.g. for surgery). Hospital insurance helps cover your medical specialists' fees, as well as accommodation, approved prostheses and theatre fees.
The specific hospital treatments and services you're covered for (e.g. chemotherapy, a colonoscopy, tonsil removal, knee reconstructions etc.) depend on the level of hospital cover you choose.
What isn't covered by hospital insurance?
Your hospital insurance cannot cover ‘outpatient’ services—these are treatments you receive when you haven’t been formally admitted to hospital, for example, tests and examinations (like x-rays and blood tests). In most cases, Medicare will help cover these services.
If you visit your doctor or specialist at a hospital, without being admitted, this is classed as outpatient hospital treatment, for which your private health insurance cannot pay a benefit. Please call us to get a quote if you’re unsure.
Depending on your level of cover, you may also have exclusions and/or restrictions. If a service is excluded, it’s not covered at all. Restricted services receive the minimum default benefit, which generally means a large out-of-pocket.
How much will I get back when I make a hospital insurance claim?
Where your treatment is an included service on your hospital cover, your hospital costs will either be fully or partially covered depending on the type of agreement your health fund has with your specialists and hospital.
With HBF, when you’re admitted to hospital for treatment you will get 100% back for the cost of your hospital accommodation and specialists so long as you choose providers that have ‘no-gap’ (otherwise known as ‘fully covered’) agreements with HBF. Just be aware of out-of-pocket costs, which can include excess or co-payments. Please note, outpatient services are not covered under hospital insurance.
Before you book hospital treatments, contact us and we’ll help you understand what you can claim, how much you can claim, and if any excess, co-payments or waiting periods apply. To ensure we give you accurate advice, please have a written cost estimate from your provider on-hand.
What are the waiting periods for hospital cover?
At HBF, the waiting periods for hospital services are as listed below.
Rehabilitation
2 months
Palliative care
2 months
Hospital psychiatric services
2 months
12 months
Pregnancy and birth
12 months
Accident cover
1 day
All other services
2 months*
Can I purchase HBF hospital cover only?
Yes. With HBF, you can purchase hospital cover on its own. Hospital insurance helps cover some of the costs when you're admitted to hospital. It can help cover some of the costs for things like doctors' fees, accommodation and theatre fees.
Can my partner and I have separate health insurance policies?
Yes. You and your partner have the option of either being on a couples health insurance policy, or taking out two separate health insurance policies.
With HBF, a couples health insurance policy costs the same as paying for the same products on two singles policies (before applying the Australian Government Rebate on Private Health Insurance or Lifetime Health Cover loading). It's entirely up to you to decide what suits your needs best — we recommend exploring all available options before making a decision.
How long can my kids stay on my policy?
Your kids can stay on your policy if they meet the criteria of a dependant.
A dependant is a child who is under the age of 21 and is:
- covered by a family or single parent policy; and
- is not married or living in a de-facto relationship.
At HBF we also choose to cover dependants under 25 years of age provided they meet the criteria in the 2 points noted above and they:
- are a full-time student; or
- earn no more than $24,500 taxable income per calendar year.
