Australia's First Public IVF Clinic Set To Open

The nation’s first public IVF clinic will open in Melbourne tomorrow, providing free treatment for thousands of people struggling to realise their dream of parenthood.

The clinic will be run by the Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health, opening up treatment for those who currently can’t access private fertility services.

The service is set to begin on October 18, with additional locations to be rolled out across Victoria in a phased approach.

The first-of-its-kind public fertility care service will be available to those who can’t afford private services, including:

Low-income earners living in outer metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria
People who need donor or surrogacy services, such as LGBTIQ+ and single people
People who need fertility preservation due to medical treatment, such as those with cancer or undergoing gender reassignment treatment
People who need testing for monogenic conditions.

“IVF can be a game changer for people who might be struggling to have a child, but too often and for too many, it’s financially out of reach,” Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said.

“Our Australian-first public fertility service will remove the cost barrier for thousands of eligible aspiring parents – and make it easier for them to start a family of their own.”

The service will expand to sites in Epping, Sunshine, Bendigo and Mildura commencing in early 2023. More sites will eventually be established in Warrnambool, Shepparton, Ballarat, Geelong and Heidelberg.

It’s expected to help up to 4000 Victorians, saving them an average of $10,000 annually. The services will include:

Intrauterine insemination (IUI), IVF and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles including assisted reproductive treatments, counselling, information, and support
Less invasive, lower cost fertility services prior to IVF or ICSI treatment
Donor services through the establishment of Victoria’s first public sperm and egg bank
Altruistic surrogacy services
Fertility preservation where medical treatment may compromise fertility including cancer treatment and gender reassignment treatment
Genetic testing where people are known carriers of serious medical conditions.

To access the public fertility care service, a referral from a GP or specialist is needed. Those seeking treatment will then be placed on a waiting list for an initial appointment at a public fertility care service.

37 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 20 Oct 2024
    4:37 pm
I havre not heard of these centers at all so it makes me wonder how this is going. It would be awesome to have these centers in all major locations and im sure that there would be many people using this service.
I wonder if you dont live near one if you could still travel to the location

- - mom101628 said
  - 03 Nov 2022
    12:42 am
This is wonderful news for those who need IVF but couldn’t afford it. Do hope it will help many to realise their dreams.

- - Jessica said
  - 27 Oct 2022
    9:57 pm
This is an interesting concept. I wonder how it will go!

- - mom485263 said
  - 20 Oct 2022
    12:03 pm
Excellent news! I hope it is open to more than just low income earners as not everyone can afford IVF.

- - cassy26 said
  - 20 Oct 2022
    9:24 am
Wonderful news that will hopefully make a lot of peoples dreams come true!

- - mom223151 said
  - 20 Oct 2022
    1:45 am
This is absolutely wonderful news. I know what my sister went through to fall pregnant, and also the expense. Cost her a fortune.

- - Andrea said
  - 19 Oct 2022
    9:13 pm
I think this is absolutely terrific! We went through IVF in 2020/2021 and it was an incredibly scary, painful, and stressful time which was further compounded by the tremendous financial cost. I hope they eventually expand it to include more families, since even if you can “afford it”…. you may not be able to afford multiple attempts or additional costs that may be unexpected. I needed laparoscopic surgery for my egg pick up since I have stage 4 endometriosis, and it added a huge financial cost we had not planned on, and would have for each subsequent egg pick up. Perhaps if families have paid for a cycle or two with no success, they could then be eligible for the public system to provide additional support and cycles.

We are so very lucky to have welcomed our daughter earlier this year, and I’m so grateful to be her Mom. She is truly the most amazing person I know, and the greatest joy and gift in my life – which would not have been possible without IVF.

- - BellaB said
  - 19 Oct 2022
    7:10 pm
We would have been so grateful for this.

- - rovermum said
  - 19 Oct 2022
    9:45 am
Wow! IVF has definitely come a long way since I went through it 24 years ago.

- - ~Loui~ said
  - 19 Oct 2022
    2:10 am
This puts IVF in reach of many people who could only dream of it previously 🙂

- - peachesbd said
  - 19 Oct 2022
    1:26 am
This is really good. I have known people that could only afford one attempt and they were so stressed about it working that I believe the stress might impact on ivf working. Eliminating that stress will be a huge thing

- - Julzie13 said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    8:43 pm
This will help many people create a family. It gets expensive real quick, especially if needing multiple attempts to be successful.

- - Lividanke said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    4:20 pm
This is wonderful news and hopefully will make the dreams of lots of families a reality.

- - ella12 said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    2:13 pm
That is wonderful news.

- - tessie said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    1:25 pm
This is wonderful for the people living there but what about the people desperate for a child who live in other states? Hopefully if this is successful then it will be taken up by other states as well.

- - romvar said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    1:13 pm
This is amazing and I think long overdue.! I wonder what the waiting time will be for an appointment?

- - Ellen said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    8:44 am
Wonderful that this service will be available to those who can’t afford private services. I hope it won’t be misused by those who can afford it
- bankstownbrats replied
  
  18 Oct 2022 , 10:32 am
  i dare say they would need to show incomes ect ..
  there are bulk billed clinic too that millionaires can go too as they don’t ask your income details
- - sars_angelchik said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    7:22 am
It’s a great initiative, but would be interesting to see what they’d class as low income. In all honesty, should people who are already struggling to make ends meet be having a baby?
- bankstownbrats replied
  
  18 Oct 2022 , 10:36 am
  yes they should , low incomes doesn’t mean homeless or struggling, it just means low income probably $60k is classed as low income doesn’t mean they couldn’t afford to have a child …
  i had my last son at a bulk billed clinic and i’m only on a carers pension so because i’m on a carers pension saving the government thousands for me to care for my dad that i should miss out on having a baby ??
- - TraceyGail said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    7:09 am
Wonderful news. Having a child needs to be in reach of all.

- - mom459320 said
  - 18 Oct 2022
    12:49 am
This is the best topic I have ever read! I hope everyone has a chance to hold his baby