To encourage younger people to take out cover, the Australian Government introduced the age-based discount in 2019, which allows funds to reduce hospital premiums by a certain percentage based on the person’s age when they first take out cover.
The age-based discount could reduce the premiums for eligible hospital cover policies held by Australians aged 18 to 29 by up to 10%. Below is an example of the discounts available and what these savings could mean for you:
Discount |
Age* |
Discount on a $1,500 (per year) hospital policy |
10% |
18-25 |
$150 |
8% |
26 |
$120 |
6% |
27 |
$90 |
4% |
28 |
$60 |
2% |
29 |
$30 |
0% |
30 |
$0 |
Source: Private Health Insurance Ombudsman – Age-based Discount. Accessed January 2024.
*Age when you first purchase a hospital policy offering discounts. |
So, if you’re a 25-year-old and paying roughly $1,500 a year for hospital cover, you could save up to $150 each year – a percentage discount that you’d enjoy every year until you turn 41, provided that you hold a policy (or switch to a policy) that allows you to retain your age-based discount. At this age, it’ll start to decrease 2% per year until it’s no longer available to you.
The purpose of the discount is to help make health insurance more affordable for young adults and encourage them to take out cover earlier in their lives. You just need to hold continuous cover on an eligible product (meaning you can’t have any gaps where you don’t have cover) or you might lose it.