Health Australia

Maintaining good health
Your ability to study depends on your physical and mental health. An average of 30 minutes of exercise daily will help you manage stress, improve your energy levels and put you into a good mood and a positive state of mind. It will help you maintain a clear head and a great opportunity to meet friends and socialize. An excellent suggestion is a gymnasium, where you can exercise and meet some great Aussie locals.

A regular exercise pattern will help you get good nights sleep. With a poor nights sleep, your concentration levels decrease, make you irritable and even lose energy. After a few consecutive nights of poor sleep, you will notice you get sad and depressed by things easily, and you will get sick easier.

Sexual health
The rate of Sexually Transmitted Infections (or STIs) is generally low in Australia (about 0.1% of the population). The rate of other STIs, such as Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, are on the increase.

Condoms are sold in most pharmacies and chemists. They are inexpensive and available for purchase to anyone. The contraceptive pill is available by prescription from your local GP. This pill will stop pregnancies, but will not stop STIs. You can also protect yourself against infections by limiting the number of sexual partners you have.

Remember that you always have the right to insist that a condom is used. You also have the right to refuse any type of unwanted sexual advances, even verbal, and even if you are in a sexual relationship with someone. If you feel that you have been a victim of sexual assault in any way, contact the police or any school counsellor, or Lifeline can assist you, on 13 11 14.

Alcohol and other drugs
The purchase of cigarettes and alcohol is prohibited to anyone under the age of 18. You may be asked to show your identification when you purchase alcohol or cigarettes. Your driver’s license or student identification card should be sufficient. This will protect the shop owner from legal action for selling alcohol or cigarettes to people under the age of 18 years.

Illegal drugs, including marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, and ecstasy are strictly prohibited, and prosecution will occur. If you are caught, you will face severe penalties, fines, imprisonment and possibly deportation.

Doctors
Australian doctors are amongst the best skilled doctors and surgeons in the world. If in case you do fall sick during your visit in Australia, then you can be assured you will receive the best in care in a clean and sterile environment.

What kind of medical care to seek
You should never seek medical care from a hospital emergency room unless in a life threatening situation. Hospitals do not need the unnecessary stress put upon the doctors and staff of the hospital. Minor ailments such as colds, minor injuries or headaches can be treated at a General Practitioner (or GP).

General practitioners
GPs are the local doctor that you can visit to treat any minor medical condition that is not life threatening. They also can provide blood tests, urine samples, and can perform minor medical procedures, such as stitches for an injury.

GPs can be found in all areas of Australia, even in the most remote areas of the outback and country areas. GPs work in a private surgery, with one of two other GPs or in a medical centre with five or six GPs. All doctors are highly qualified, and some doctors specialize in certain areas of medicine. Medical visits are treated as strictly confidential.

To help you with your problem, always tell the truth no matter how embarrassing the problem. This is necessary to diagnose the ailment correctly and give you the correct medical care. Remember that no matter what you say and how embarrassing the problem is you, will be assured it will be treated as strictly confidential. If you feel that you do not want to se that doctor, you can request to see another doctor.

To visit a GP, you will need to make an appointment prior to your visit. The cost of your visit will be covered by your OSHC insurance. In some cases you may have to pay for your visit but you will be reimbursed later from OSHC.

Specialist doctors
In some cases, you will need to visit a specialist for a condition, for example a podiatrist, dietician, physiotherapist, etc. you will not be able to see a specialist without a referral from a GP first.  

A specialist doctor may perform tests or examinations to assess your condition, and develop a treatment plan for you to follow. You may possibly have to go back for repeated treatments to properly treat your medical condition.

Emergency room doctors
Emergency Room (ER) doctors work in hospital emergency rooms and treat life-threatening illnesses or severe injuries. Hopefully you will never have to visit an ER during your stay in Australia, but if you do, you will be in the best of care. If you or someone around you needs urgent medical attention, immediately call 000. You may be advised to go to a hospital, or depending on the circumstances, an ambulance may come and pick you up. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance staff or paramedics will attend to your emergency.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is a non-profit charitable organization providing aero medical services to people who live, work and travel in regional and remote areas of Australia. The RFDS provide 24 hour service to victims of serious illness or injury who are in a life-threatening medical emergency. A total of 47 aircraft operate from 21 bases located throughout the country and attend to a staggering average of 242,500 patients a year.
Prescription medication
Chemists, pharmacies and some supermarkets sell over-the-counter medicine for pain killers, flu tablets, cough medicine, eye drops, ear drops, bandages, plasters, and all types of medicine for minor ailments.

Your GP will issue you a prescription for prescribed medication if he feels that it will help your medical condition. A prescription is a piece of paper you are given by the GP that lists your GPs details and your name and quantity of the medication you will receive. You must then take this prescription to your local chemist or pharmacy where you can buy the medication specified on the prescription. Australian GPs usually will not give you medication themselves.

When you purchase your medication from the chemist, you will have to sign a form to declare that you have received it, and then pay for the medication. The price of the medication depends on the quantity, dosage and the type of medication prescribed. Your chemist will offer you a generic brand of medication, which will be a lot cheaper. The only difference between normal brand medication and generic brand medication is the packaging and the price. The active ingredients are all the same.

It is important that you read and understand the packaging of the medication, and follow the directions when you take it home. This information will include the dosage - how much medication to take and how often you should take it. Failing to follow these directions may make you even sicker or you may even overdose.

The Australian system for handling the dispersal of prescription medicine may seem stricter than some other countries. The Australian government has put these strict rules and regulations in order to protect your health and to prevent the abuse of prescription medication.

Bringing medication from another country into Australia
If you need to bring in medication from another country you will need to bring your medical records and medical prescriptions, also with a letter from your doctor from home with you when you travel to Australia. If this is a repeat prescription it may be a good idea to bring English translations of your prescription with you that you can give to your Australian doctor.

Dentists
Another kind of doctor that may regularly see in Australia is a dentist. A list of dentists can be found in the yellow pages. Dentists will charge a fee for their services and can sometimes be quite expensive. Your OSHC insurance may cover part of these costs. Check your OSHC policy carefully to determine what dental procedures are covered by your OHSC insurance policy. Generally, you do not need a referral to visit a dentist.