Guide
The 1 April 2027 premium rise: what to do before it lands
Updated 14 November 2026
Health insurance premiums change once a year, on 1 April. The letter telling you your new price is the one moment most people look at their cover. Here is how to use it.
What is known so far
The 2027 increase has not been announced. Funds have put their proposed prices to the federal Health Minister, who approves them before they take effect on 1 April 2027. In recent years the announcement has come between December and early March. This page will be updated when it does.
For a sense of scale, the industry average in the last three years:
- 1 April 2026: 4.41%
- 1 April 2025: 3.73%
- 1 April 2024: 3.03%
The 2026 rise was the largest since 2017. On a policy costing $200 a month, 4.41% is about $106 a year.
Your increase is not the average
The headline figure is an average across every fund and every policy. Each fund has its own average, and within a fund each policy moves by its own amount. A policy can rise by several times the headline figure in the same year another barely moves.
Your fund has to write to you with your own new price before it starts, usually in February or March. That letter, not the news, is the number to act on.
Four things worth doing before 1 April
- Check whether your extras paid for itself. Add up what you claimed over the last year and set it beside the premiums. If the old price did not add up, the new one will not either. The extras calculator does the sum against every policy, including the one you hold.
- See what the same cover costs elsewhere. Policies are priced by fund and by state, and the cheapest for a given use is rarely from the fund you have been with longest. The rankings by what you use and the cheapest hospital cover by state are a quick first look.
- Ask about paying ahead. Most funds let you pay up to twelve months in advance at the current price, as long as the payment lands before the new price starts. That holds the old price for the period you have paid for. Cut-off dates differ by fund and are often in the last week or two of March.
- Look at hospital and extras separately. They are two products, often sold as one. Hospital cover is tied to the Medicare Levy Surcharge and the Lifetime Health Cover loading; extras is tied to neither. The hospital calculator works out what going without hospital cover would cost you before you change anything there.
If you decide to switch
For hospital cover, waiting periods you have already served carry over by law when you move to the same or a lower level of cover. You only wait again for anything the new policy adds. For extras, most funds recognise waits you have served, and count what you have already claimed this year against the new limits, but the rules are the fund’s own. Ask before you cancel anything.
Join the new fund first and let it arrange the transfer, so there is no gap between the two. A gap in hospital cover can count towards the Lifetime Health Cover loading and, above the income threshold, the surcharge.
Common questions
When do health insurance premiums go up in 2027?
On 1 April 2027 for most funds. Premiums change once a year, after each fund’s increase has been approved by the federal Health Minister. A fund can choose to start its increase later, and some have in past years.
How much will my premium go up?
Your fund has to tell you in writing before the change, usually in February or March. The figure reported in the news is an average across every fund and policy; individual policies rise by more or less than that, and some by a lot more.
Can I avoid the increase by paying in advance?
Often, for a while. Most funds let you pay up to twelve months ahead at the current price if the payment is made before the new price starts. Each fund sets its own cut-off date, so check with yours well before 1 April.
Will I have to serve waiting periods again if I switch?
Not for hospital cover you already hold: by law a new fund must recognise waiting periods you have served when you move to the same or a lower level of hospital cover. For extras, most funds do the same but are not required to, so ask first.
Does dropping extras cover change my tax?
No. The Medicare Levy Surcharge and the Lifetime Health Cover loading depend on hospital cover only.
General information, not personal financial advice. Earlier years’ averages are from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Confirm prepayment and transfer rules with your fund.