Department of Health

One year of fairer, more affordable fertility care

Victoria's affordable and accessible public fertility care services, marking one year of success.

16/11/23
Parents Erin and Anthony with baby Felix
Parents Erin and Anthony used Monash Health's fertility service to conceive little Felix

It has been one year since public fertility care services opened in Victoria.

Since launching, the Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health have accepted almost 2,000 referrals to the program. More than 1,100 patients have already started a treatment journey.

Under the service, patients are accessing a range of treatments including in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI) or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). This has resulted in 21 patients becoming pregnant, and the first baby conceived under the program arriving safely in October 2023. Parents Erin and Anthony used Monash Health’s fertility service to conceive little Felix, a healthy baby boy who was welcomed into the world on 17 October.

Several partner sites are opening across the state, including in regional Victoria, to ensure more people can access affordable fertility care closer to home. This is helping hopeful parents cut down on unnecessary travel time and other indirect expenses.

Clinics are up and running in Epping, Mildura, Bendigo and Warrnambool. Before the end of 2023, further sites will open in Shepparton and Heidelberg, and extra clinics in Geelong, Sunshine and Ballarat.

Australia's first public egg and sperm bank, an extension to Victoria’s public fertility services based at The Royal Women’s Hospital, was also launched in July. The Royal Women’s Hospital is currently screening 200 expressions of interest.

Once fully operational, this program will help up to 5,000 Victorians every year, saving them up to $10,000 in out-of-pocket costs.

To find out more, see public fertility care servicesExternal Link on our Better Health Channel website.

Reviewed 16 November 2023

Health.vic

Was this page helpful?