Best restricted membership health insurance funds
Despite their name, restricted health funds may be more open than you think.
Last updated: 13 Feb 2026
Restricted membership health funds offer private health insurance for people who work in particular industries. They often let immediate and extended family members join too, and you don’t necessarily need to be currently working in the industry.
On this page:
They usually offer good policies at a lower premium than open membership funds (regular health funds), especially if you’re after Gold cover with no or low excess.
Who can join a restricted health fund?
Restricted funds cater to customers in specific industry groups, such as teachers, police, the military, or medicine. The Commonwealth Bank Group also has a fund for its staff. Depending on the fund, you can become a member even if you’re no longer in the relevant profession.
Some of these funds are also generous with family memberships. For most funds, if you qualify for membership, then so do your parents, partner, children (even if they’re grown), children’s partners, grandchildren, siblings, and siblings’ partners and children.
Once you sign up, you’re allowed to stay a member if your circumstances change. This means that the fund won’t boot you even if your sibling quits being a teacher, or your relationship with your doctor partner ends.
If you or a family member have ever been employed in one of the following industries you may be eligible for a restricted membership health fund:
- Defence
- Education
- Health
- Police and emergency
- Banking
- Member of any union.
If you can access a restricted fund, it’s at least worth considering. Especially if you’re interested in a Gold policy as the restricted fund policies we recommend offer the same level of cover as open funds, often at a lower premium.
What are the restricted health funds in Australia?
There are 11 restricted health insurers in Australia, listed below. You can also select the insurer name to read more about each insurer, member eligibility, and how we rate them for complaints and gap cover.
- ACA Health Benefits Fund: Current or former Seventh-day Adventist Church employees (including SDA-affiliated companies)
- CBHS Health Fund: Current or former employees, contractors and franchisees of Commonwealth Bank Group
- Defence Health: Current or former members of the ADF, reservists, civilian employees of Department of Defence (or related departments), employees of Defence contractors
- Doctors’ Health Fund: Current or former doctors and health practitioners, their employees, and medical students
- Emergency Services Health: Current or former employees or volunteers in fire, ambulance, medical, water, state emergency response and recovery services, and their related unions or associations.
- Navy Health: Current or former Australian Defence Force service personnel, civilian employees and contractors
- Nurses & Midwives Health: Current or former people in nursing and midwifery professions, including students and assistants, with membership in a nurses union.
- Police Health: Current or former federal, state and territory police or police union employees, and police employees who retired after 2000. Police Health also operates Emergency Services Health.
- Reserve Bank Health Society: Current or former employees of the Reserve Bank of Australia or Note Printing Australia.
- Teachers Health Fund and UniHealth: Current or former teachers and academics (primary to tertiary), teacher aides or non-teaching support staff, with membership in their relevant union. Teachers Health also operates UniHealth the Nurses & Midwives Health fund.
- TUH Health Fund and Union Health: Current or former members of any union
Are restricted health funds cheaper?
Restricted membership funds are generally known for providing good value but obviously it depends on what’s available to you. Most people will only be eligible for one or two restricted funds, if any. However, looking at overall average prices, there’s not much difference between the average price of Bronze or Basic polices from open and restricted funds. On average Silver and Silver Plus polices from restricted funds are between 2% and 7% cheaper, except in Northern Territory where open funds tend to be cheaper.
The greatest difference in pricing is seen in the Gold tier insurance, with average prices being about 20% cheaper than open funds. Again, except in the Northern Territory where open funds are cheaper on average.
So if you are eligible for a restricted funds, it’s definitely worth comparing the options available to you with open funds.
Which Gold policies from restricted membership funds are good value?
Exclusively for CHOICE members, we compared the price of Gold health insurance from 11 restricted membership funds with policies from over 40 open membership funds to uncover which restricted health funds provide better value.
Unlock this article and more
- Information you can trust
- See the best brands
- Avoid the worst performers
Related
Uta worked at CHOICE from 1998-2024, finishing as a senior content producer with the money and travel team.
You can find Uta on LinkedIn.
Uta worked at CHOICE from 1998-2024, finishing as a senior content producer with the money and travel team.
You can find Uta on LinkedIn.
Jane Bardell is a Content producer in the Insurance and utilities team. She writes about home, car, pet and health insurance. Previously at CHOICE, she checked facts, figures and statistics as a Verifier with the Editorial and investigations team.
Jane has a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.
Find Jane on LinkedIn.
Jane Bardell is a Content producer in the Insurance and utilities team. She writes about home, car, pet and health insurance. Previously at CHOICE, she checked facts, figures and statistics as a Verifier with the Editorial and investigations team.
Jane has a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.
Find Jane on LinkedIn.
