Medicals

[Helchi]

Hi

I have a question regarding the medical tests.

My baby has a congenital heart condition (atrial septal defect) which might need surgery when she turns 2yrs old, or might heal by itself and require no intervention. She also has asthma.

Is there any way to find out if this will disqualify us for visas before we take out huge amounts of money?

I desperately want to get my family out of this country, but feel that this could be keeping us here.

Any advice?

[Hanneke12345]

I would also like to know, because we are currently waiting for our visa to get approved. We had a bit of a medical setback as well. All I know is that if it will cost Australia's health system more than 35000 dollar in the next 5 years they will reject the visa. That is what I've heard and I couldn't find more info online really. I would also like to know exactly when they will reject it and with what type of diseases etc.

[ChrisH]

The list of panel doctors are available online, why not schedule an appointment and ask them.  As far as I know they are the ones to estimate the costs to the Aussie government.

[monsta]

When I did my medical, the doctor told me that he did not make any decisions. He was just a glorified data gathereer.  But that was 5 years ago. 

 

I would contact a migration agent. Just use the search function on this site and search for details and recomendations on migration agents. An agent is not a doctor and does not make these sorts of decisions for the australian government. But he/she can tell you things like

 

"I had a client who had xxx  and was rejected "  "But I had a client with yyyy and got their visa". 

 

I guess he or she can better explain the risks and the costs of you applying now. You can make a decision from there. At the end of the day, these cases are exactly where migration agents become truly beneficial.

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by monsta

[ChrisH]

27 minutes ago, monsta said:

the doctor told me that he did not make any decisions. He was just a glorified data gathereer.

 

You're right they definitely don't make the decisions, but if I'm not mistaken they do estimate costs.

[TracyClare]

We have traveled this road, we realized in the middle of getting our application together that we may not pass the medical. We went to see a doctor that used to be a panel doctor for advice. He said he would not be able to predict an outcome as the decision rest solely on the Australian medical review. His advice was if we really wanted to go then we should continue with the application. So we have and we are awaiting a review of a no decision. It is extremely difficult. Mostly I have heard that the migration agents would be able to speculate for you, but even then you are not going to get a concrete answer, unless its very severe. I know this sounds vague and I am tired of vague I kept looking for documents outlining what they would and wouldn't accept but there really isn't much. I did find something which I don't have with me I will PM you later. 

[Hanneke12345]

Thanks Tracy. We lodged our visa on the 8th of March but only submitted our medicals last week Friday. My medical status said the following: Health clearance provided – no action required, but my husbands status said: Examinations ready for assessment – no action required which is a bit worrying. We know what the complication was but we are not sure if they will accept or reject the application. The waiting right now is probably the hardest part of the whole visa application!

[wonderer]

@Helchi, any luck with info, hope you find someone that can help.

 

Does anyone know if Rheumatoid Arthritis will be a disqualifier? 

[Helchi]

Our agent send the details to the panel doctor. His response was basically:

I  would  probably  “ B”  grade  this  situation, which  does  not  mean  that  the  person does  not  meet  health  requirements.  All  it  means  is  that a  medical  officer in Australia  will  look  at  the  file, and  probably  ask  for  more  information.  As  you  mention, the  panel  doctor  doesn’t  make  any  decisions. 

 

Australia  looks  at  each  case  individually,  so  there  is  no general  rule (  besides  active  Tuberculosis)  which  covers a  specific  condition.

 

The medical examination for Australian visa applicants aims to detect three main types of problem:

 

1. Public health risks arising from tuberculosis and other infectious diseases

 

2. Cost: If the person will require significant health or  social services expenditure by the Australian government there needs to be careful scrutiny of whether the reasons for seeking the visa are strong enough to justify the cost.

 

3. Scarce physical resources: There are significant waiting times for treatment in Australia for some conditions .The health assessment process seeks to determine if the person who would be granted the visa would represent an additional burden on the health system, social or educational services.

 

As the doctor examining you my role is to report on your current health status. I do not assess whether you meet the "health criterion" which you must satisfy in order to be granted a visa - this decision is made by staff of the Department of Immigration, who will consider my medical report

against the three criteria above. I will not be advised of the outcome of that assessment and am therefore unable to advise you of it.

 

(So in other words... apply, pay R100 000 and see how the dice roll on the day. Frustrating! In particular in the light of the review of visa conditions...)