I think you may need to be in a health fund for a set minimum amount of time before you can claim for something like braces?? I'm not sure it would come under the normal dental waiting period or a longer one? I suppose it could also differ from each fund.

If you are getting PHI for the braces only, you would have to weigh up the cost of the PHI and the refund you would get from them. You could end up paying more than you'll get back?

Another thing is if you have an idea of who would be doing your braces, ask around, see if anyone you know has been to them and see if they did a payment plan. When I had my braces as a teen, they did payment plans for everyone.. you just paid a deposit then the remainder over 12 months.