Wednesday, 2 August 2023

Ministers statements: public IVF services

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (14:15): I rise today to update the house on how the Andrews Labor government is doing what matters – helping more Victorians realise their dream of becoming parents through our nation-leading public IVF service. Fertility care services like IVF can be truly life changing. They provide couples with fertility challenges, single parents, LGBTIQ+ families and those with illness that impact fertility with the opportunities to start and/or grow their family. But too often and for too many, these services have not been within financial reach. There are many reasons why someone may choose not to start a family, but your bank balance should not be one of those reasons.

That is why we are investing over $120 million to deliver public IVF services right across our state. More than 550 Victorians have already started their IVF journey since these services first opened at the Royal Women’s and at Monash. I am delighted that our first public IVF baby is due to be born in just a few months with twins to follow shortly thereafter. We are ensuring that even more Victorians can access care closer to home with satellite public fertility already opening in the member for Broadmeadows’ electorate at Epping and in the member for Mildura’s electorate at Mildura, and I am sure that she joins me in celebrating this great achievement and the speed with which we have been able to deliver this service to Mildura. By the end of the year further services will be open at Bendigo, Sunshine, Ballarat, Heidelberg, Geelong, Warrnambool and Shepparton. Once fully implemented this program will help up to 5000 Victorians a year, saving families on average up to $10,000. The Andrews Labor government will stay focused on the real needs of real Victorians by delivering public IVF.