Health Minister Mark Butler has commented on a new report which calls for improved access and more Medicare support for single parents and gay people wanted to access IVF technology.
Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning Butler said the government would carefully consider the latest report from the Fertility Association of Australia and New Zealand.
The report was written by former coalition health minister Greg Hunt and embryologist and public health expert, Doctor Rachel Swift. It was released as part of a conference held in Perth last week.
“This is an active area of debate.” Minister Butler said of the most recent report, and a 2023 senate inquiry which made similar suggestions.
“This technology has been extraordinary over the last several decades in giving families who can’t conceive access to the joy of having children.
“Anything we can do to broaden access to that treatment and give even more families the joy of having children if they can’t conceive naturally, we’ve very open to.” Minister Butler said.
Butler said the most recent report from Hunt and Swift, had made recommendations which we “quite sweeping” including moving responsibility for the sector from state governments to the commonwealth.
Asked if the Albanese government would support the call to make Medicare funded IVF available to single parents and gay couples Butler said the recommendations would have to be carefully considered.
Dr Petra Wale, President of the Fertility Society, argues that Australia has a declining birth rate there is a pressing need to create a national plan for fertility care, including Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and specifically IVF.
“To provide best practice outcomes and better serve Australians, there is a pressing need to unify the disparate legislative frameworks across Australia.” Dr Wale said when the report was released.
The report contains 34 recommendations that the sector is asking the government to consider. It includes the addressing the wide range of laws relating to access to IVF for single people and same sex couples.
“The world of Australian families has significantly changed. Nowadays many of our patients are single people or couples in same-sex relationships.
“It is a serious anomaly that while heterosexual couples receive Medicare support to resolve their fertility problems and have their families, people in other family circumstances (such as same sex couples or single women freezing their eggs) receive no support at all for their fertility problems.
“Future governments should consider this serious anomaly in planning future funding to allow the same access to fertility treatment for people outside traditional male female relationships. The ten-year plan for fertility should include a recognition of the strategic importance of fertility for the nation and support for non-discriminatory access to fertility treatment.” the report said.
