Update dependent definition: Effective 1 April 2022
Emergency Service Health literature refers to a number of different types of dependents.
Our Fund Rules refer to the Contributor and dependents. Dependents are any spouse/partner and any child of the Contributor eligible to be covered under your policy.
From the 1 April 2022, the Fund Rules collectively refers to your children eligible to be covered under your policy as “dependent persons” and are made up of the following types:
- Dependent child;
- Non-classified dependent person;
- Dependent student;
- Dependent non-student; and
- Dependent person with a disability.
A dependent child is where your child is aged under 18 and a non-classified dependent person is when your child is aged 18 and over but under 21. Together, we refer to these two types of dependent persons as younger dependent children (that is, where the child is aged less than 21 years).
A dependent student is a child of the Contributor who is 21 years and over, but under 32 years of age, who is considered to be a full time student of a school, college, or university recognised by our Fund.
A dependent non-student is a child of the Contributor who is 21 years and over but under 25 years of age, and not eligible to be a student dependent.
A dependent person with a disability is a child of the Contributor and the child is participating in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and hence holds an active NDIS plan. The child may be any age 18 years and over, but would only be registered as a dependent person with a disability if they do not meet any of the other dependent person types.
In all cases a child is taken to include a natural child, adopted child, foster child or a child who is a legal ward of the Contributor or their spouse/partner.
Other than for a dependent person with a disability, a child ceases to be eligible as a dependent on a policy if they are married or in a defacto relationship.
Important Information
Once your children reach an age where they are no longer protected by your cover, they can sign up to their own Emergency Services Health policy without any Waiting Period provided they:
- Take out a policy with cover no greater than yours; and
- Join from their 21st birthday (25th birthday for Gold Combined Extended Family or Single Parent Extended Family).
Or, if your children have been covered as a dependent students, provided they:
- Take out a policy with cover no greater than yours; and
- Join from March 1 following a completed study year, or
- Join from the date they left full-time study, or
- If still a student at the age of 31 years, join from their 32nd birthday.
Or, if your children have been covered as a dependent persons with a disability, but they are no longer participating in the NDIS:
- Take out a policy no greater than yours; and
- Join from the date they ceased to participate in the NDIS.
In all these circumstances, your children have two months in which to join with their premiums being calculated from the date they ceased to be an eligible dependent.