The medical examination: why you shouldn't do it too early

Of all the steps in the Australian journey, the medical examination is the one most often done at the wrong moment — and then almost always too early. That feels counter-intuitive: whoever is keen wants to tick things off. But with this step patience is literally worth money.

The rule that determines the timing

The result of your examination is valid for twelve months. Within that period your application must not only be submitted but also assessed — and between submission and decision there are easily months. Whoever does the examination "because it's on the list anyway", while the invitation is still far off, pays for it a second time later. Per person.

The same twelve-month clock applies to police certificates, and the answer is the same in both cases: the right moment is after your invitation, in the sixty days in which you complete your application. Everything before that is taking stock, not carrying out.

Not your GP, but a panel physician

The examination may only be done by a doctor Australia has designated for it — a panel physician. Your own GP may not, however thorough they are; an examination report from a non-designated doctor is simply not accepted.

Which doctors in the Netherlands are designated is on the panel physicians list of Home Affairs (see the sources). The number of locations is limited, so when planning allow for travel time and for the waiting time for an appointment — certainly if the whole family wants to go on the same day.

The result doesn't go via you: the panel physician links the results digitally straight to your application in ImmiAccount. So you don't have to send anything, and you can't "improve" anything about it either.

The whole family, including whoever isn't coming

The health requirement applies to all family members in the application — children too. And here is a detail that surprises people: Home Affairs can also ask for an examination of family members who aren't emigrating with you. So don't count on a family member staying behind remaining out of the picture; look at what is asked in your situation as soon as the invitation is there.

Be honest, also about what is sensitive. The examination isn't an exam you pass by leaving things out — a concealed condition that surfaces later is an integrity problem, and in this system that weighs more heavily than the condition itself. Most conditions are moreover not grounds for refusal; Australia is concerned with the expected healthcare costs, not with perfection.

What you can do now

Three things, all free: find out which panel physicians are reachable for you, request medical records in advance from your GP and specialists (that sometimes takes weeks, and at the examination a complete file is worth its weight in gold when questions arise), and include the costs per person in your budget — you pay for the examination yourself, at the panel physician's rate.

After that: deliberately wait. The step sits in your plan under "ready for later", and that is exactly where it belongs.