Summary
Read the full fact sheet- Public Fertility Care is now available to eligible Victorians who want to start or grow their families.
- You need a referral from a general practitioner (GP) or relevant specialist to access Public Fertility Care services.
- As part of Public Fertility Care, there is a Victorian public egg and sperm bank. It is accepting egg, sperm and embryo donations from the community.
On this page
About Public Fertility Care
Public Fertility Care is available to Victorians who want to start or grow their families.
To access Public Fertility Care services, you need a referral from a general practitioner (GP) or relevant specialist.
Fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) can help people who want to become parents. But too often and for too many it is financially out of reach or difficult to access.
Public Fertility Care aims to make it easier and fairer for more Victorians to access these services, particularly:
- low-income earners
- Victorians living in rural and regional areas
- people who need donor services or altruistic surrogacy support, such as LGBTIQA+ and single people
- people who need fertility preservation due to medical treatment, such as people with cancer and people undergoing gender reassignment treatment
- people who need genetic testing because they are known carriers of medical conditions that may pose a threat to the life of their child.
As part of Public Fertility Care, there is a Victorian public egg and sperm bank. It is accepting egg, sperm and embryo donations from the community.
Services
The Royal Women's Hospital is partnering with health services across the state to provide Public Fertility Care to eligible Victorians. Services include:
- intrauterine insemination, IVF and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment cycles
- less invasive fertility treatments before IVF or ICSI treatment
- pre-treatment testing, counselling and fertility information
- donor services, supported by the establishment of Australia's first public egg and sperm bank
- altruistic surrogacy support
- fertility preservation where medical treatment may compromise fertility, including cancer treatment and gender reassignment treatment
- genetic testing for people who are known carriers of serious medical conditions.
Partner health services across the state are also providing Victorians with a range of fertility care services closer to home (such as fertility consultations, diagnostic tests, and ultrasounds). The exact range of services available will differ between sites, and patients are supported by telehealth where appropriate.
To find out what services are available near you, visit the provider website:
- Royal Women's Hospital
- Monash Health
- Mercy Health
- Northern Health – Epping Hospital
- Mildura Base Public Hospital
- Bendigo Health
- South West Healthcare – Warrnambool
- Barwon Health – Geelong
- Goulburn Valley Health – Shepparton
- Grampians Health – Ballarat
- Western Health – Sunshine.
Cost
The cost of the public hospital services provided will be free for most people.
Some people may have out-of-pocket costs for medication, diagnostics and/or specialised tests.
Eligibility
People who meet the eligibility criteria will be referred to a suitable Public Fertility Care provider depending on their needs.
To be eligible for Public Fertility Care, you must:
- be a current resident in Victoria
- hold a Medicare card
- have a referral from a GP or specialist.
The clinical access criteria are:
- Eggs to be fertilised must be 42 years old or younger at the time of treatment. Research evidence shows the chances of a successful outcome significantly decreases with increasing age.
- There is a maximum of 2 treatment cycles per person per lifetime. This is to ensure Victorians experiencing infertility have a fair chance of creating a family through the public service.
The clinical criteria are designed to provide Victorians with fair and equitable access to Public Fertility Care. They are based on research and clinical best practice.
How to access
If you are interested in Public Fertility Care, speak to your GP or relevant specialist.
If you meet the eligibility and clinical criteria, you will go on a waiting list to see a fertility specialist at one of the participating health services.
Waiting lists are actively managed. Participating health services will provide you with expected timeframes based on your circumstances.
You can also speak to your GP or specialist about accessing fertility care services through a private provider.
About egg, sperm and embryo donation
Bring the possibility of parenthood to more Victorians by registering your interest in becoming a donor through Public Fertility Care.
Becoming an egg, sperm or embryo donor is your opportunity to give someone a chance to start or grow their own family.
It is also a decision that needs to be made carefully and there are important considerations donors should be aware of.
Before deciding to donate, make sure you understand what the process involves, your rights, and the rights of those you’re donating to.
It’s important to know that donors cannot be paid for their donations and donations cannot be made anonymously.
Who can donate
Victorian legislation sets out certain requirements for donating eggs, sperm or embryos.
Public Fertility Care has particular expectations for potential donors, based on clinical considerations.
These aim to protect the health and welfare of donors, recipients and any donor-conceived children.
See Become a donor with Public Fertility Care to find out more about the specific eligibility criteria for donating.
Donation process
When donating eggs or sperm, a fertility specialist will tailor your treatment based on your needs and circumstances. Some common processes you can expect are:
- Screening tests and a medical check-up, as well as having to provide your medical and genetic history.
- Completion of a donor profile, which is given to potential donor recipients. This often includes things like your appearance, personality and education.
- A visit to a counsellor, who will discuss the emotional and legal implications of donation.
- The signing of a consent form before any treatment, which will explain your legal rights and responsibilities in detail.
Embryo donation
In some cases, you may already have access to an egg that has been fertilised with sperm – that is, an embryo.
If you are sure you no longer need or want your embryo(s), you may choose to donate. You can ask for your embryo(s) to be transferred to the public egg and sperm bank at the Royal Women's Hospital.
You can also donate your embryo(s) to someone you know. Staff at the public egg and sperm bank at Royal Women's Hospital will advise you on what steps you will need to take.
Rights and obligations
The Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 provides certain requirements for egg, sperm and embryo donations and donor treatment procedures occurring in Victoria.
It outlines rights and obligations for donors, recipients of donations and any donor-conceived children. This includes their rights and obligations in relation to access to information.
It is important you think about your contact preferences before you donate. For example, who you'd like to access your identifying information, and how you'd like to be contacted if someone (such as the recipient of your egg, sperm or embryo donation) wishes to connect with you.
Where to donate
Victoria has Australia's first public egg and sperm bank. It is operated by the Royal Women's Hospital and is an extension of Victoria's Public Fertility Care service.
Public Fertility Care gives more Victorians the chance to become parents by making access to these services easier and fairer – including to donated eggs, sperm and embryos.
Register your interest now if you are interested in making a donation.
To learn more about becoming a donor, see Donor egg and sperm program on the Royal Women's Hospital website.
Where to get help
- Final Report of the Independent Review of Assisted Reproductive Treatment, Victorian Department of Health.
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