Essentials Hospital Basic Plus
A Basic Plus hospital policy from Defence Health.
- Defence Health only takes current or former members of the ADF and the Defence community and their families.
Premiums for every state, cover type and excess this policy is sold with, and what it covers, from the statement Defence Health files with the government. Monthly, before the rebate and any Lifetime Health Cover loading.
From
Single, NT, $750 excess, before the rebate.
- Medicare levy surcharge
- Exempts you
- Excess options
- $250, $750
- Ambulance
- Emergency and non-emergency, call-out fees included, no limit
- Who can join
- Restricted
The Private Health Information Statement for this price, on PrivateHealth.gov.au.
Defence Health's page for this policyAgainst every other Basic hospital policy in NSW & ACT
Single cover, each policy at its cheapest excess, corporate and restricted policies included.
- Basic66 policies$118.1533rd cheapest of 66
Monthly premium by state and cover type
NSW prices also apply in the ACT. Each price in the tables opens its official Private Health Information Statement on PrivateHealth.gov.au, with a PDF to download.
Single premium in each state
To the nearest dollar, a month before the rebate. The tables below have every price to the cent.
What a higher excess saves
Single cover in NSW & ACT, a month. The excess is what you pay towards a hospital stay before the policy pays.
- $250 excess$128.03
- $750 excess$9.88 less than $250 excess$118.15
$250 excessat most $500 a year for couples and families
| State | Single | Couple | Family | Single parent | Extended family | Extended single parent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW & ACT | $128.03 | $256.06 | $256.06 | $204.85 | $320.08 | $245.82 |
| VIC | $132.97 | $265.94 | $265.94 | $212.75 | $332.43 | $255.30 |
| QLD | $132.97 | $265.94 | $265.94 | $212.75 | $332.43 | $255.30 |
| SA | $129.86 | $259.72 | $259.72 | $207.78 | $324.65 | $249.33 |
| WA | $103.50 | $207.00 | $207.00 | $165.60 | $258.75 | $198.72 |
| TAS | $132.97 | $265.94 | $265.94 | $212.75 | $332.43 | $255.30 |
| NT | $67.36 | $134.72 | $134.72 | $107.78 | $168.40 | $129.33 |
$750 excessat most $1,500 a year for couples and families
| State | Single | Couple | Family | Single parent | Extended family | Extended single parent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW & ACT | $118.15 | $236.30 | $236.30 | $189.04 | $295.38 | $226.85 |
| VIC | $118.24 | $236.48 | $236.48 | $189.18 | $295.60 | $227.02 |
| QLD | $120.88 | $241.76 | $241.76 | $193.41 | $302.20 | $232.09 |
| SA | $115.07 | $230.14 | $230.14 | $184.11 | $287.68 | $220.93 |
| WA | $89.73 | $179.46 | $179.46 | $143.57 | $224.33 | $172.28 |
| TAS | $120.88 | $241.76 | $241.76 | $193.41 | $302.20 | $232.09 |
| NT | $61.20 | $122.40 | $122.40 | $97.92 | $153.00 | $117.50 |
6 of 38 clinical categories covered in full, 3 restricted
Restricted means the policy pays only the minimum, about what a public hospital charges, so a private hospital stay can leave a large bill. Not covered means the policy pays nothing for that treatment in hospital.
- Covered in full6
- Restricted3
- Not covered29
Covered 6
- Bone, joint and muscle
- Dental surgery
- Gastrointestinal endoscopy
- Hernia and appendix
- Joint reconstructions
- Tonsils, adenoids and grommets
Restricted 3
- Hospital psychiatric services
- Palliative care
- Rehabilitation
Not covered 29
- Assisted reproductive services
- Back, neck and spine
- Blood
- Brain and nervous system
- Breast surgery (medically necessary)
- Cataracts
- Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy for cancer
- Diabetes management (excluding insulin pumps)
- Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
- Digestive system
- Ear, nose and throat
- Eye (not cataracts)
- Gynaecology
- Heart and vascular system
- Implantation of hearing devices
- Insulin pumps
- Joint replacements
- Kidney and bladder
- Lung and chest
- Male reproductive system
- Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
- Pain management
- Pain management with device
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery (medically necessary)
- Podiatric surgery (provided by a registered podiatric surgeon)
- Pregnancy and birth
- Skin
- Sleep studies
- Weight loss surgery
Waiting periods
- Pre-existing conditions
- 12 months
- Psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care
- 2 months
- All other hospital treatment
- 2 months
Excess and other costs
Excess options: $250, $750, paid when you are admitted.
From the insurer: Access Gap available to reduce or eliminate out of pocket medical costs where the treating doctor, specialist, surgeon, anaesthestist, pathologist or radiologist agrees to use it.
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Source: PrivateHealth.gov.au data (Private Health Insurance Ombudsman) via data.gov.au, licensed CC BY 3.0 AU. Normalised by The Finance Algorithm from the extract dated 1 Oct 2026, read on 23 Oct 2026.
Premiums are monthly and shown before the Australian Government rebate and any Lifetime Health Cover loading or age-based discount. Confirm the price and the cover with the insurer before you buy; the official statement for every policy is on PrivateHealth.gov.au. This is general information, not advice, and no insurer pays to be listed or ranked here.