Travel-risk portal Smartraveller and leading insurers have launched a joint awareness push after new data showed medical-evacuation claims by Australians exceeded AUD 1 million in several cases last year. Travel And Tour World reports (11 March 2026) that a single air-ambulance repatriation from the United States to Sydney now averages AUD 280,000, while helicopter rescues from Japan’s ski fields can top AUD 225,000.
![Smartraveller Sounds Alarm on Soaring Overseas Medical Costs for Australians]()
Whether travellers are heading to the U.S. or Japan, they will almost always need the right entry documents first; VisaHQ’s Australian portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) makes that process painless by consolidating visa requirements, digital applications and courier services in one place. Securing permits early through the platform gives individuals and corporate travel managers more time to focus on the insurance and medical-evacuation safeguards underscored by Smartraveller.
The campaign’s blunt message—“If you can’t afford insurance, you can’t afford to travel”—reflects Canberra’s concern that a cost-of-living-driven spike in uninsured travellers will translate into higher consular-assistance outlays. DFAT’s 2025-26 Budget already boosted consular funding, but officials stress the government is not a financial back-stop. Insurers say premium-sensitive Australians are downgrading cover or opting out entirely. Yet cruise-ship infirmary fees and U.S. emergency-room bills remain among the highest in the world. Snow-sports injuries in Japan, now the top outbound destination for 31 per cent of Australian holiday-makers, also drive large claims. For global-mobility managers the advisory is a timely reminder to audit corporate travel-insurance policies. Staff seconded abroad under intra-company transfers may assume Medicare reciprocity or employer coverage that does not exist. Organisations should verify evacuation limits, pandemic exclusions and pre-existing-condition clauses, especially for high-risk destinations or cruise incentive trips. Smartraveller’s push dovetails with new health-insurance promotions—such as Allianz Care’s 8-weeks-free campaign for Overseas Visitor Health Cover—aimed at both inbound visa holders and outbound Australian travellers. Mobility teams should update pre-departure briefings and ensure employees acknowledge insurance obligations under the WHS Act and company travel policy.
Whether travellers are heading to the U.S. or Japan, they will almost always need the right entry documents first; VisaHQ’s Australian portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) makes that process painless by consolidating visa requirements, digital applications and courier services in one place. Securing permits early through the platform gives individuals and corporate travel managers more time to focus on the insurance and medical-evacuation safeguards underscored by Smartraveller.
The campaign’s blunt message—“If you can’t afford insurance, you can’t afford to travel”—reflects Canberra’s concern that a cost-of-living-driven spike in uninsured travellers will translate into higher consular-assistance outlays. DFAT’s 2025-26 Budget already boosted consular funding, but officials stress the government is not a financial back-stop. Insurers say premium-sensitive Australians are downgrading cover or opting out entirely. Yet cruise-ship infirmary fees and U.S. emergency-room bills remain among the highest in the world. Snow-sports injuries in Japan, now the top outbound destination for 31 per cent of Australian holiday-makers, also drive large claims. For global-mobility managers the advisory is a timely reminder to audit corporate travel-insurance policies. Staff seconded abroad under intra-company transfers may assume Medicare reciprocity or employer coverage that does not exist. Organisations should verify evacuation limits, pandemic exclusions and pre-existing-condition clauses, especially for high-risk destinations or cruise incentive trips. Smartraveller’s push dovetails with new health-insurance promotions—such as Allianz Care’s 8-weeks-free campaign for Overseas Visitor Health Cover—aimed at both inbound visa holders and outbound Australian travellers. Mobility teams should update pre-departure briefings and ensure employees acknowledge insurance obligations under the WHS Act and company travel policy.
