Australia is be the kind of trip that can be long in the planning. . You might be visiting family in Melbourne, seeing Sydney for the first time, heading north to Queensland or planning a longer holiday that takes you to several parts of the country.
Australia is a long way from home, therefore there can naturally be more to think about if you are living with cancer or have previously had treatment.
Alongside travel insurance, you may be wondering how you will manage a long flight, whether to break up your journey with a stopover, what healthcare you could access in Australia and how to travel with your medication.
At Lighthouse Travel Insurance, we help people at different stages of treatment and recovery understand what travel insurance may be available for their circumstances. Whether you are currently receiving treatment, recovering, in remission or living well beyond cancer, we are here to make the travel insurance side of a long-haul trip easier to understand.
Can you get travel insurance for Australia if you have cancer?
Travel insurance may be available if you have or have had a cancer diagnosis and are planning a holiday to Australia.
When you get a quote with Lighthouse, you will complete medical screening so that we can understand your individual circumstances.
You may be asked about:
- Your cancer diagnosis.
- Treatment you are currently receiving.
- Treatment or surgery you have previously had.
- Medication you take.
- Ongoing monitoring, appointments or follow-up care.
- Your current health.
- Any other medical conditions you have.
Your answers help us assess the cover available based on your circumstances.
Cancer is not the same experience for everybody. Someone travelling to Australia several years after completing cancer treatment could have very different needs from somebody who is still receiving treatment or has only recently finished.
Our medical screening process guides you through the information we need, so you do not have to decide for yourself which parts of your medical history are relevant.
It is important to answer the questions accurately and let us know about any changes to your medical circumstances before you travel.
Click here, to find out how travel insurance medical screening works
Travelling to Australia during or after cancer treatment
A trip to Australia can require more planning than a shorter holiday closer to home, particularly if you are travelling during treatment or relatively soon afterwards.
There is no universal waiting period after cancer treatment before somebody can travel. Your diagnosis, treatment, recovery, current health and the journey you are planning can all be relevant.
If you are currently having treatment or have recently finished, speak to your healthcare team before booking. They can advise you about your individual health and any concerns associated with travelling such a long distance.
Look at the timing of your holiday carefully too.
A longer trip to Australia may need to fit around treatment cycles, scans, blood tests and follow-up appointments. If you are planning to stay for several weeks, think about whether you have enough time between appointments rather than looking only at your departure date.
You should not change, delay or miss treatment to accommodate your holiday unless this has been agreed with your healthcare team.
Our guides to Travel Insurance During Active Cancer Treatment and Travel Insurance After Cancer Treatment have more information for different stages of treatment and recovery
Preparing for a long-haul flight to Australia
For most people travelling from the UK, Australia means spending a significant amount of time in the air.
That makes the journey itself an important part of your planning.
If treatment has left you feeling more tired than usual, think about how the entire journey might affect you. Getting to the airport, waiting in the terminal, spending many hours on board and then travelling onwards after landing can make for a long travel day.
You might find it helpful to:
- Arrange airport or airline assistance if you need support with mobility.
- Give yourself plenty of time at the airport so you do not need to rush.
- Keep medication and other essentials somewhere you can easily reach them.
- Think about your comfort during the flight and follow any medical advice you have been given about moving around or staying hydrated.
- Avoid planning too much for immediately after you arrive.
- Consider how far your accommodation is from your arrival airport.
Long periods of immobility can be relevant to blood clot risk, and cancer and some cancer treatments may also increase that risk. If this applies to you, or you have recently had surgery or treatment, discuss the flight with your healthcare team.
The same applies if you have concerns about breathlessness, oxygen requirements or another medical issue that could affect flying.
You can find more detailed information in our Flying During and After Cancer Treatment guide.
Should you have a stopover on the way to Australia?
Depending on your route, you may fly directly or change aircraft in another country. Some travellers choose to turn that connection into a longer stopover.
If you are living with or recovering from cancer, breaking up the journey might appeal because it gives you time off the aircraft to move around and freshen up before continuing to Australia.
For somebody else, adding another hotel, airport and transfer may make the journey feel more complicated.
There is no single option that will suit everyone.
Think about your energy levels, mobility, medication routine and how you usually cope with long journeys. If you are unsure what would be suitable for you medically, discuss your itinerary with your healthcare team.
There is another important insurance consideration too.
If your journey involves another country, check that your policy applies to your full itinerary. You should also check the current entry, medication and health requirements for any country where you plan to leave the airport or spend part of your trip.
Even if you are only transiting, it is worth checking the latest FCDO travel advice for the countries or territories on your route before you leave.
Taking cancer medication to Australia
A long-haul holiday can make medication planning particularly important.
Before you leave the UK, make sure you have enough medication for your time away and, where appropriate, additional supplies in case your journey home is delayed.
Australia has specific rules covering medicines brought into the country for personal use. Under Australia’s traveller’s exemption, travellers can generally bring up to three months’ supply of medicine for their own use, subject to the relevant requirements.
You should carry a valid prescription or a letter from your doctor confirming the medicines have been prescribed for you. Medicines should remain in their original packaging with the dispensing label intact, and you should be prepared to declare medication when entering Australia.
Depending on your treatment, also think about:
- Whether medication needs to be kept within a particular temperature range during a long flight.
- Which medicines and medical supplies you need in your hand luggage.
- Whether you are travelling with needles, syringes or other medical equipment.
- Whether any of your medicines are controlled drugs.
- How you will manage your usual medication schedule as you cross time zones.
- What you would do if your medication or luggage was delayed, lost or damaged.
Australia is several time zones ahead of the UK, and the exact difference varies depending on where you are travelling and the time of year. If you take medication at specific times, ask your healthcare team or pharmacist how to manage the change safely rather than adjusting the timing yourself.
Remember to think about your return journey as well.
Our Taking Cancer Medication Abroad guide has more information to help you prepare.
Healthcare in Australia and Medicare
Healthcare arrangements for UK visitors to Australia work differently from a European trip.
The UK and Australia have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement. If you were living in the UK before arriving in Australia and meet the eligibility requirements, you may be able to access medically necessary healthcare through Australia’s Medicare system during your visit.
The agreement can cover medically necessary care outside hospital, medically necessary treatment as a public patient in a public hospital and some prescription medicines under Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
You may need to enrol in Medicare to access benefits. Documents that can be used to demonstrate eligibility include your passport and visa, along with evidence that you live in the UK. A UK GHIC or eligible UK-issued EHIC can be used as evidence of UK residency for Medicare enrolment, but it is the reciprocal healthcare agreement and Medicare that provide the relevant healthcare arrangements in Australia.
The agreement does not mean that all healthcare costs are covered.
For example, you may need to pay towards visits to doctors, prescriptions and other services. Ambulance transport and medical evacuation are not covered by the reciprocal agreement.
That distinction can be particularly important on a trip to Australia. If you needed to be moved for treatment or returned to the UK for medical reasons, the distance involved could make this considerably more complex than becoming unwell closer to home.
Appropriate travel insurance therefore remains important even if you are eligible for Medicare.
If you have ongoing medical needs, you may also want to check what healthcare is available close to where you plan to stay before you book.
What to do if you need medical help in Australia
For a medical emergency in Australia, call 000 and ask for an ambulance.
If you are referred to a medical facility or need treatment while you are away, contact your insurer’s Emergency Medical Assistance team as soon as reasonably possible.
They can explain what you need to do under your policy and the support that may be available.
Keep your policy details and emergency contact information somewhere accessible. It is also sensible for somebody travelling with you to know where these details are kept.
If your cancer team has told you to seek urgent medical help for particular symptoms, make sure you know what to do if they occur while you are in Australia.
Before your holiday, check where you could access appropriate healthcare around the places you are staying. Australia is a vast country, and access to medical services can be very different in a major city compared with a remote or rural area.
Planning a longer trip around Australia
For many people, travelling all the way to Australia means staying longer or visiting several places.
That can be part of what makes the trip special, but distances can be easy to underestimate.
Sydney to Melbourne, Melbourne to Cairns or Brisbane to the Red Centre are not simply short journeys between neighbouring destinations. Depending on your itinerary, travelling around Australia can involve additional flights, long drives or lengthy days in transit.
If fatigue or reduced mobility affects you, try not to treat every travelling day as a rest day. Moving between hotels, airports and destinations can take energy too.
It can help to leave some flexibility in your plans rather than feeling that you need to see everything in one visit.
If you are planning to travel into remote areas, consider how far you will be from medical facilities and pharmacies. This may be especially relevant if you have ongoing medical needs or have been given instructions about when to seek medical attention.
Heat, sun and the Australian climate
Australia’s size means conditions vary considerably depending on where and when you travel.
A summer holiday in Sydney, tropical weather in northern Queensland and a visit to Melbourne in winter can be very different experiences.
If your cancer treatment or medication has affected your sensitivity to sunlight or heat, take that into account when choosing your destination and time of year.
Follow any specific advice your healthcare team has given you about sun exposure, hydration or managing treatment side effects.
It is also worth thinking about the activities you have planned. A day exploring a city, visiting the beach or walking outdoors in hot weather may feel different if you are experiencing fatigue or recovering from treatment.
Planning around the climate does not have to mean doing less. It can simply mean choosing the time of day, pace and activities that work better for you.
Top destinations in Australia when travelling with cancer
Australia gives you an enormous amount of choice, so the right destination can depend just as much on the type of holiday you want as where you are in treatment or recovery.
Sydney can suit travellers who want to combine famous sights, restaurants, beaches and a busy city atmosphere.
If you experience fatigue or reduced mobility, you might prefer to base yourself somewhere that makes the places you most want to visit easy to reach.
You do not need to fit the entire city into a few days either. Leaving quieter days between sightseeing can make a longer holiday feel more relaxed.
Melbourne offers a mix of food, culture, sport and city sightseeing, with plenty of opportunities to travel further into Victoria.
If you are planning a road trip or several days outside the city, consider the distance between stops and what healthcare and other services are available along your route.
Queensland can mean very different holidays, from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to tropical northern Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef.
Heat, humidity and sun exposure may be important considerations depending on the time of year and the treatment or medication you have had.
If swimming, snorkelling, diving or other activities are part of your plans, make sure they are suitable for you and check whether they are covered under your chosen travel insurance policy.
Western Australia, the Northern Territory and other remote parts of the country can offer extraordinary experiences, but distances between towns and medical facilities can be significant.
If you are planning a road trip or travelling somewhere remote, think carefully about access to healthcare, medication, transport and how you would get help if you became unwell.
You may decide that a busy city holiday is exactly what you want, or that this is the trip where you would rather slow everything down.
Having had cancer does not dictate what your Australian holiday should look like. The important thing is planning a trip that works for your current health, interests and circumstances.
Why choose Lighthouse Travel Insurance?
Our policies can offer:
- Up to £10 million emergency medical expenses.
- Up to £10,000 cancellation cover, based on the trip cost per person declared.
- Up to £5,000 cover for your personal belongings, depending on the policy selected.
- 24/7 access to an Emergency Medical Assistance team.
- Cover for UK, European and Worldwide trips, provided you are not travelling against the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) travel advice.
- Access to Air Doctor Connect is available on numerous policies, allowing you to connect with over 20,000 doctors in 78 countries. Where non-urgent outpatient treatment is provided through Air Doctor Connect, your policy excess is waived, and you may claim back the cost of prescribed medication when you return home.
Please Note: Any amounts listed above are per insured person on the policy. Cover limits, benefits and exclusions vary between policies. Full details can be found in your policy wording, available in your Customer Area
Lighthouse Travel Insurance is proud to partner with Macmillan Cancer Support, helping people affected by cancer feel more confident about travelling.
