Defence Health
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1953
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Defence Health firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Defence Health
- Legal name
- Defence Health Ltd
- Website
- https://defencehealth.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1953
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Defence Health industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Health Insurance
- NAICS
- Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers (524114), Health and Welfare Funds (525120)
- SIC
- Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Voluntary/Worksite Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity (Employee-Paid) (FSAIAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Individual/Retail Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity (FSAIAKAE), Individual Supplemental Health (Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness, Accident) (FSAIAEAD)
Keywords
Where Defence Health is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Defence Health business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Health Insurance Premiums: Defence Health generates revenue through private health insurance premiums charged to members. As a not-for-profit health insurer, premiums are set to cover claims and operational costs rather than generate shareholder returns. Revenue comes from hospital cover, extras cover, and combined policies billed on a fortnightly or annual basis.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Defence Hospital Basic Plus Employee - entry level hospital cover |
| Subscription | Monthly | Defence Hospital Bronze Plus Employee - affordable hospital cover |
| Subscription | Monthly | Defence Hospital Silver Plus Employee - mid-tier hospital cover |
| Subscription | Monthly | Defence Hospital Advantage Silver Plus Employee - Silver Plus with additional benefits |
| Subscription | Monthly | Defence Hospital Gold for Employees - comprehensive hospital cover |
| Subscription | Annual | Value Extras - mid-level extras cover |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Defence Health product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Defence Health is a not-for-profit, restricted-access private health insurer selling hospital cover, extras cover, combined hospital and extras policies, and travel insurance to the Australian Defence community. Coverage is offered across tiered product levels (Basic Plus, Bronze Plus, Silver Plus, Advantage Silver Plus, Gold) with corporate variants for Defence industry employees, billed fortnightly or annually. The company also operates dental and optical provider networks that offer no-gap preventative services to members.
Product overview
Defence Health is a not-for-profit, restricted access private health insurer established in 1953 to serve the Australian Defence Force community. The company offers a portfolio of health insurance products organized around hospital cover and extras cover, with multiple tier options (Gold, Silver Plus, Bronze Plus, Basic Plus) and corporate variants for Defence industry employees. The core products include Hospital Cover, Extras Cover, and Combined policies, supplemented by provider networks for dental and optical services. Corporate Health Cover is available for Defence-related organizations. The company operates as a not-for-profit, prioritizing members over shareholders, with a focus on the Defence community including serving ADF members, veterans, and their families.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hospital Cover Competitively priced hospital cover available across multiple tiers (Basic Plus through Gold) covering in-hospital treatment for Defence community members.
- Extras Cover Coverage for allied health treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, psychology, and other ancillary services to keep members well.
- Combined Hospital and Extras Cover Mix-and-match combined policy that bundles hospital and extras cover into a single membership for full-spectrum protection.
- Defence Hospital Gold for Employees Top-tier corporate hospital cover for Defence industry employees covering pregnancy, joint replacements, cataracts, and comprehensive inclusions.
- Defence Hospital Advantage Silver Plus for Employees Silver-tier corporate hospital cover excluding pregnancy and weight loss surgery while covering joint replacements, dialysis, and cataracts.
- Defence Hospital Silver Plus for Employees Silver-tier corporate hospital cover including home nursing, heart and vascular system treatment, and sleep studies for Defence industry employees.
- Defence Hospital Bronze Plus for Employees Affordable bronze-tier corporate hospital cover including implantation of hearing devices, plastic reconstructive surgery, and palliative care for Defence industry employees.
- Defence Hospital Basic Plus for Employees Entry-level corporate hospital cover for Defence industry employees and singles covering chemotherapy, radiotherapy, ENT, and skin treatments.
- Corporate Health Cover Exclusive corporate health insurance products offered to Department of Defence, Department of Veteran Affairs, and Defence industry employers for provision to their employees.
- Optical Network Partner optical provider network offering no-gap glasses and discounts through OPSM, Laubman & Pank, Bailey Nelson, George & Matilda Eyecare, Q Optical, and Specsavers at over 600 outlets Australia-wide.
- Dental Network National preferred dentist network including National Dental Care, Pacific Smiles Dental, Primary Dental, Maven Dental, 1300SMILES, and independent clinics offering no-gap preventative dental on selected extras products.
- Travel Insurance Travel insurance offered in partnership with Allianz Assistance via a dedicated portal for Defence Health members and eligible Defence community prospects.
- Value Extras Mid-level extras add-on providing benefits for dental treatment, optical, psychology, physiotherapy, speech therapy, medical devices, and ambulance services for members.
Companies that use Defence Health
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Defence Health technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Defence Health partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Allianz AssistancecoreAllianz Assistance provides travel insurance products offered through Defence Health's website. Defence Health members and eligible prospects can access travel insurance quotes through a dedicated portal at allianzassistancetravel.com.au/defencehealth/get-travel-insurance.
- National Dental CarecoreNational Dental Care is part of Defence Health's preferred dental network, providing members with access to quality dental care at special member prices and no-gap preventative dental visits on selected extras products.
- Pacific Smiles DentalcorePacific Smiles Dental is a major provider in Defence Health's national dental network across multiple states and territories, offering members affordable dental treatment through agreed fee structures.
- Primary DentalcorePrimary Dental participates in Defence Health's preferred dental network, providing members with access to quality dental care at network pricing across their clinic locations.
- Maven DentalcoreMaven Dental is part of Defence Health's dental network, offering members affordable dental services through their network of practices across Australia.
- 1300SMILEScore1300SMILES dental practices participate in Defence Health's preferred dental network, providing members with access to quality dental care at network pricing.
- OPSMcoreOPSM is a major optical network partner offering Defence Health members no-gap glasses options, discounts on frames and lens options, and free UV coating at over 600 outlets Australia wide.
- Laubman & PankcoreLaubman & Pank optical partner offering Defence Health members no-gap glasses, with frames valued up to $189 for one pair or two pairs on selected offers, subject to availability and extras cover.
- Bailey NelsoncoreBailey Nelson optical partner providing Defence Health members with no-gap glasses options including one complete pair or two complete pairs, along with 20% off contact lenses.
- George & Matilda EyecarecoreGeorge & Matilda Eyecare optical network partner offering Defence Health members two complete designer pairs with no gap, free advanced 3D eye scan with comprehensive eye tests, and other member benefits.
- SpecsaverscoreSpecsavers optical network partner offering Defence Health members no-gap glasses options including one complete pair or two complete pairs, with various lens and coating options included.
- Department of Defence (Australia)flagshipThe Department of Defence is an eligible corporate partner for Defence Health. The relationship recognises the Defence community connection, allowing Defence employees and related organisations to access exclusive corporate health cover options.
- Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA)flagshipDepartment of Veteran Affairs employees and related organisations are eligible for Defence Health corporate partnership programs, providing veteran-serving health insurance options.
- Defence Industry ContractorscoreCompanies contracted to the Defence Industry are eligible for Defence Health corporate partnership, allowing these employers to provide health insurance benefits to their employees at competitive rates.
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Defence Health competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Medibank Private: Australia's largest private health insurer with both restricted and open membership. Directly comparable as a PHI carrier targeting similar consumer segments, but with significantly broader product and geographic reach than Defence Health's Defence-niche focus.
- Bupa Australia: Major Australian PHI provider offering hospital and extras cover across consumer and corporate segments. Comparable business model to Defence Health (subscription hospital/extras insurance) but operates at national open-membership scale.
- HCF (Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia): Large Australian not-for-profit health fund offering hospital and extras cover nationally. Comparable as a not-for-profit PHI alternative competing for the same Australian consumer wallet share, though with open rather than restricted membership.
- NIB Holdings: Listed Australian private health insurer with strong digital and brand positioning. Competes with Defence Health for Australian PHI customers and corporate schemes, with materially greater scale and marketing investment.
- Australian Unity Health: Australian member-owned wellbeing and health insurer offering hospital and extras cover. Comparable PHI product offering and mutual-style positioning, though Australian Unity operates across broader wellbeing verticals beyond health insurance.
Direct peers
- Teachers Health: Restricted-access Australian not-for-profit health fund serving the education community. Highly comparable to Defence Health in structure — restricted membership, not-for-profit, similar hospital/extras product set — making it the closest direct peer.
- CBHS Health Fund: Restricted-access Australian not-for-profit health insurer established for the banking and finance community. Closely mirrors Defence Health's restricted-membership, not-for-profit PHI model, providing a directly comparable niche fund benchmark.
- Police Health: Restricted-access Australian not-for-profit health fund serving police and emergency services communities. Same operating model and product structure as Defence Health, restricted to a specific uniformed profession's community.
- Emergency Services Health: Restricted-access Australian health fund for emergency services personnel. Mirrors Defence Health's restricted community fund model, providing a strong comparable for uniformed-service community segmentation and product design.
Regional players
- GMHBA: Regional Australian not-for-profit health fund headquartered in Geelong. Comparable as an Australian mutual-style PHI offering hospital and extras cover, but with a stronger regional concentration than Defence Health's national Defence focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Defence Health social profiles
Digital presenceDefence Health financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Defence Health leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Defence Health funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Defence Health M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Defence Health
What does Defence Health do?
Defence Health is a not-for-profit, restricted-access private health insurer selling hospital cover, extras cover, combined hospital and extras policies, and travel insurance to the Australian Defence community. Coverage is offered across tiered product levels (Basic Plus, Bronze Plus, Silver Plus, Advantage Silver Plus, Gold) with corporate variants for Defence industry employees, billed fortnightly or annually. The company also operates dental and optical provider networks that offer no-gap preventative services to members.
Is Defence Health a public or private company?
Defence Health is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Defence Health founded?
Defence Health was founded in 1953. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Defence Health based?
Defence Health is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Defence Health make money?
One revenue line is on record: health Insurance Premiums.
Who are Defence Health's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Medibank Private, Bupa Australia, HCF (Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia), NIB Holdings and Australian Unity Health. Direct peers are Teachers Health, CBHS Health Fund, Police Health and Emergency Services Health. GMHBA is listed as a regional player.
Does Defence Health have an API?
No public API is recorded for Defence Health.
What industry is Defence Health in?
Defence Health's product category is Private Health Insurance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAIAKAF, Voluntary/Worksite Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity (Employee-Paid), with a secondary code of FSAIAKAE, Individual/Retail Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity. Its NAICS code is 524114 and its SIC code is 6324.