Short answer: Start with safety and insurance, then surgeon checks, then aftercare. Smartraveller publishes clear warnings on medical tourism, including that basic travel insurance rarely covers it (Smartraveller (opens official site)).
Risks and limitations to understand first
- Medicare doesn’t cover treatment overseas (Smartraveller (opens official site)).
- If something goes wrong, fixing it can cost more than the original procedure (Smartraveller (opens official site)).
- Ahpra can’t regulate practitioners registered only overseas.
- Accreditation applies to a facility, not to your individual surgeon, and it can lapse. See how to check JCI status in Thailand.
- Standard travel insurance often excludes elective and cosmetic procedures, and may exclude dental expenses unless caused by injury. Read the PDS before you rely on a policy: travel insurance for surgery.
Suggested reading order
- Destination safety page for where you plan to go (below).
- Medicare overseas and medical tourism insurance.
- Choosing a surgeon overseas and questions to ask before you book.
- Matching procedure and cost pages (sourced AUD ranges where CSV status=sourced; otherwise Price on request, get quotes from clinics).
- Flying after surgery, DVT risk, aftercare in Australia.
- Full money picture: trip budget planner.
Official Australian starting points: Smartraveller on medical tourism (opens official site) and the country page for your destination.
Safety by destination
- Thailand safety guide
- Bali safety guide
- Turkey safety guide
- Vietnam safety guide
- Malaysia safety guide
- South Korea safety guide
- India safety guide
- Mexico safety guide
Country overviews: Thailand, Bali, Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Mexico. Full list: destinations hub.
Dental-specific: Dental tourism Vietnam: what to know.
Insurance and Medicare
- Does Medicare cover treatment overseas?
- Travel insurance for surgery
- Travel insurance for cosmetic surgery abroad
- Medical tourism insurance
- Health insurance gaps
- Thailand-specific notes: Thailand insurance and Medicare
Before you buy cover, read the Product Disclosure Statement for elective, cosmetic and dental exclusions, evacuation limits and pre-existing condition clauses.
Choosing a surgeon and facility
- How to choose a surgeon overseas
- Questions to ask before you book
- JCI-accredited hospitals in Thailand: how to check
- How to choose a medical travel agency
- Clinics and agencies hub
Hospital fact sheets (no rankings): Bumrungrad International Hospital, Yanhee International Hospital, Samitivej, Bangkok Hospital.
Flying home and aftercare
- How long after surgery you can fly
- DVT risk when flying after surgery
- What to do if surgery overseas goes wrong
- Aftercare in Australia
- Revision surgery in Australia
- Thailand recovery planning
Budget extra nights and changeable tickets. Clearance to fly is a clinical decision, not a brochure timeline.
Comparisons
- Thailand vs Turkey for plastic surgery
- Thailand vs South Korea for plastic surgery
- Dental implants by country
- Dental implants: Thailand vs Vietnam
- Hair transplant by country
- Rhinoplasty by country
- Plastic surgery by country
- Hip replacement cost comparison
Browse procedures and costs: procedures hub, costs hub.
Inbound and visas
What these guides deliberately avoid
Australian advertising rules for regulated health services restrict testimonials and before-and-after claims in many contexts (Ahpra (opens official site)). On this site you will not find patient ratings, guaranteed outcomes, or loan calls to action on cosmetic procedure pages. Cost figures stay marked Price on request, get quotes from clinics until verified; where sourced they are estimates / published clinic tariffs only, not quotes. Where a hospital is named, it is for orientation (how to find the facility or check accreditation), not a ranking.
If a brochure or agency site shows something our guides do not, treat that as a prompt to ask harder questions: who operates, what is excluded, who pays if revision is needed in Australia, and whether your insurance PDS actually covers complications of planned treatment. See complications after surgery overseas and revision surgery in Australia.
RACS also publishes patient fact sheets on the risks of going overseas for surgery, including documentation and implant issues (RACS (opens official site)). Read those alongside our destination and procedure pages.
Planning tools
Estimates only (interactive widgets live). Start at the tools hub.
Worksheets only (not quotes):
Frequently asked questions
In what order should I read these guides?
Safety for your destination, insurance and Medicare, surgeon and facility checks, then flying and aftercare. Use the suggested reading order above.
Do you endorse clinics named in guides?
No. Where we name a hospital it is for factual orientation (address, how to verify accreditation), not a recommendation.
Where is budgeting covered?
See the finance hub and trip budget planner.
Are testimonials used on this site?
No. Australian advertising rules for regulated health services restrict testimonials (Ahpra (opens official site)).
What official Australian advice should I read first?
Smartraveller on medical tourism (opens official site) and the country page for where you plan to travel.
Can Ahpra help if my overseas surgeon is not registered in Australia?
Ahpra regulates practitioners registered in Australia. Practitioners registered only overseas sit outside that system. Keep records and ask how complications will be handled before you travel.
Should I book through an agency?
Some people use agencies for logistics. That does not replace checking the surgeon and facility yourself. Read how to choose a medical travel agency and still verify registration and aftercare plans.
Where do visa questions sit?
See inbound care and visa subclass 602 for people coming to Australia for treatment, and destination pages for outbound travel document checks.
Sources
All accessed 24 October 2026.
- Smartraveller, Medical tourism: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/medical-tourism
- Smartraveller, Sun, sand and surgery: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/news-and-updates/sun-sand-and-surgery
- Ahpra, Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Advertising-hub/Advertising-guidelines-and-other-guidance/Advertising-guidelines.aspx
- RACS, Going overseas for surgery? (patient fact sheet): https://www.surgeons.org/-/media/Project/RACS/surgeons-org/files/patient-information-resources/medical-tourism-patient-fact-sheet.pdf
Disclaimer: The information on medicaltourism.com.au is general in nature. It isn’t medical, legal, financial, travel or insurance advice and doesn’t take your personal circumstances into account. All surgery carries risks, and results vary. Talk to a registered health practitioner before deciding on any procedure. We don’t endorse or rank hospitals, clinics or practitioners, and any sponsored listing is clearly labelled. See our editorial policy, medical disclaimer and how we make money.