Another tax question. Am I still considered a full-time student?

Can an Australian international student's Overseas Student Health Care premium payments be offset from tax?

• I do tax returns for some of my friends and one of my friends asked me an interesting question the other day. International students in Australia are mandated by law to have themselves covered for health insurance through a privately covered 'Overseas Student Health Cover' also known as OSHC. Although the student has to declare that he has the financial capacity to fund his studies, living and OSHC throughout his stay in Australia before he is granted a student visa, if he pays its premium out of his own pocket while in Australia, can it be offset from tax? And yes, International students who stay in Australia for at least 6 months are considered to be 'Australian residents for tax purposes' by the Australian Tax Office.

• Answer:

  No they cant. What happens here is that the threshold for having private health insurance (in relation to income) is removed. So all overseas students have to have health insurance, not just those who earn over 70K. Australian singles who earn over 70K and DONT have private insurance get slugged EXTRA tax.