Health Care & Legal Issues

Introduction and Methodology

This section is broken up into two parts: Health Care and Legal Rights and Responsibilities. Health Care deals with how students would be able to receive hospital care if they were injured or sick. Legal Rights and Responsibilities deals with some of the different laws in Melbourne as compared to the US. It also talks about what your rights are and what would happen if you were to be arrested. Both these issues are very important to the establishment of a project center in Melbourne.

Health Care

WPI requires that all students have some medical insurance in order to attend school. It is a good idea to check with your health care provider before you come to Australia to see if you are covered outside of the US.

After talking to a couple of hospitals in the area, they told us that the best way to go about health coverage is to pay the bill up front and to then send the bill to the insurance company when you get back home. The insurance company will then reimburse you for the hospital costs. You should double check with your insurance company though to see if this is the best procedure for you.

Some typical hospital costs are between $380-$420 for bed fees per day. This does not include doctor's fees and X-rays. Most hospitals do accept most major credit cards and bankcards (ATM). It is advisable to bring one or two credit cards and a bankcard with you to Australia in case of an emergency. (See Appendix for list of hospitals and emergency numbers.)

Legal Rights and Responsibilities

The same laws that apply in the US apply in Australia except for the drinking and gambling age, which is 18. Some behavior is socially unacceptable though and there are laws against it. For example, it is against the law to be drunk in public, to swear in public, to use indecent language, to behave in a sexually indecent way, or to urinate in public. There are often rules against spitting, and noise must be kept at reasonable levels even in your own home. If you get yourself arrested, you have the same rights as in the US such as the right to an attorney. For small offenses, you can usually get off with only a fine. For major crimes, the US embassy in Australia would be called in and you can be deported. This usually happens if you are convicted of a crime and sentenced to more than 12 months in jail. The best advice for students is to just stay out of trouble. To find out more about the specific laws of Australia and passport and visa information, you can call the Australian consulate in the US or the American consulate in Australia (See Appendix for hospitals near the city center). If you are in need of a lawyer, remember that they are called barristers or solicitors in Australia. (See Appendix for list of lawyers)

Conclusion

Health and legal procedures were two of the most important issues that needed to be researched. The safety and well being of students as well as faculty was a major concern from the beginning. After researching the local health care and legal system, we found that students and faculty can receive adequate health care coverage and that the legal system is much the same as the one in the US. With this in mind, we can conclude that the health and legal issues addressed have been answered and that health care and legal procedures are adequate for the establishment of a project center in Melbourne.