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Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
20,000 babies a year, but are the records right? IVF system under fire in Australia
An Australian sperm donor has received incorrect 'family lists' that falsely identified him as the father of children born via IVF. The clinic told him he had fathered seven children across four families, yet a DNA test confirmed that none were genetically his. This revelation has sent shockwaves through Australian donors, families, and regulators, where one in every 18 babies is conceived through IVF. Approximately 20,000 babies are born each year from IVF treatment in Australia, according to the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database. The donor, known as Mark, received several misleading family updates from his clinic, in some cases, listing children with the wrong sex or birthdate. In one case, a child he believed he had fathered did not match the provided details. He told ABC News, 'I've been told these children were mine. … I was devastated'. These 'family lists' are kept to inform donors about the children conceived using their sperm. For donor-conceived individuals, these lists help connect siblings and maintain medical histories. Live Events The error has left donors unsure of their biological ties. Clinicians at Melbourne IVF, IVF Australia , and another leading clinic, all come under Virtus Health, which has faced the accusation of flawed recordkeeping. The misstep adds to a growing list of IVF scandals in Australia and calls for federal IVF regulation and DNA testing. Recent errors, such as IVF embryo mix‑ups at Monash IVF, have led to pregnancies with the wrong embryo. After this incident came to light, Monash IVF's share dropped, and their chief executive, Michael Knapp, quit the company. FAQs How much does IVF cost in Australia? The cost of an IVF cycle ranges approximately from $11,336 with out-of-pocket expenses around $5,799 for the initial cycle, and about $5,126 for subsequent cycles after Medicare rebates. Some clinics offer lower costs, around $3,869 to $4,119 after rebates, depending on services included. Is IVF going to be free in Australia? IVF is not free but is subsidized by Medicare, which covers a significant portion of fertility treatment costs, including IVF, ICSI, and frozen embryo transfer. Additional rebates apply once the Medicare Safety Net threshold is reached. Some states, like NSW, offer a one-off $2,000 rebate to reduce costs. Who is eligible for IVF in Australia? Eligibility depends on medical assessment; generally, women unlikely to conceive or carry a pregnancy without treatment or at risk of passing genetic conditions qualify. Eligibility criteria vary by state but require a doctor's satisfaction of these conditions. What is the waiting period for IVF in Australia? Waiting times vary by clinic and state. Public system waits can be longer, often several months to over a year, while private clinics may have shorter waits, depending on demand and resources. Specific waiting periods are not uniformly fixed and depend on individual circumstances and location.
Sky News AU
07-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Labor's big spending prolonging cost of living woes for vulnerable Aussies by fuelling inflation, AMP's Diana Mousina warns
Labor's "perverse" big spending has prolonged post-pandemic inflation and impacted Australia's most vulnerable, a leading economist has warned after fresh data revealed struggling Aussies were experiencing higher price increases. The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released its selected living cost indexes, which measures prices changes for different household types and how it impacts them. It revealed prices for pensioners and beneficiaries (up 1.6 per cent), aged pensioners (up 1.5 per cent) and those receiving other government payments (1.6 per cent) all rose significantly during the March quarter. The increase was just 0.6 per cent for self-funded retirees while employees experienced a 1.1 per cent jump in prices over the three-month period. A major factor contributing to the increase for pensioners and others receiving government payments was health costs - up between 6.9 and 9.5 per cent for these household types. This was due to a smaller proportion of households receiving subsidies under the Medicare Safety Net and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The price rises for the most vulnerable was a concern for AMP's deputy chief economist Diana Mousina who noted how Labor's big spending policies, which were aimed at tackling the cost of living crisis, could prolong post-pandemic inflation and hurt Aussies in their hip pockets. 'It's sort of a bit perverse in a way because we've had a cost-of-living challenge because of high inflation predominantly,' Ms Mousina told 'If you just keep on giving more money back to households you run the risk of creating an additional cost of living problem because people feel like they're cashed up again more and they can go and spend that money. 'So, the government needs to be careful, they can't just continually give people money back. That's not the right strategy to actually help with the cost-of-living environment.' Alongside health price rises, electricity also soared for all household types as most households in Brisbane had used up the $1,000 Queensland State Government rebate. Some households were slugged with higher electricity bills during the March quarter due to the timing of 2024-25 Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates. Ms Mousina argued Labor's large government spending, which has reached a several decade long high excluding the pandemic, could have an adverse long-term impact on these Aussies who are now slugged with higher prices after government subsidies phase out. 'If you look at what's happened in the last year and a half, could inflation have been lower if the government didn't spend so much? I think probably yes,' Ms Mousina said. 'We don't know to what extent. But if we just basically look at the change in government spending over the past two years, we can see that it's continually been raised up.' She also acknowledged the Albanese Government's cost of living subsidies have helped vulnerable Australians struggling with the cost increases in the short-term, but noted there were downsides when it came to the big picture. 'It's not like it's been adverse to the most vulnerable groups. It has, of course, helped those groups,' Ms Mousina said. 'But when we're talking about the macro picture, the overall level of government spending, has not helped the inflation problem.' While Ms Mousina warned about Labor's big spending prolonging inflation, the Australian Council of Social Service's CEO Cassandra Goldie called for better incomes those receiving support in the face of high medicine costs. "While governments must ensure that our health system is properly funded so people can get the care they need, including medications, it is also critical for the government to recognise that people need an adequate income to cover these and other expenses," Ms Goldie told "We know that people on the lowest incomes – people receiving income support – often go without essential healthcare and medication because they cannot afford it." She called on the Federal Government to hike incomes for people receiving government support to "have enough to cover basic costs". "Income support payments must be lifted to at least $82 a day, and supplementary payments must be in place that recognise the cost of chronic ill health, disability and other circumstances people face,' Ms Goldie said.
Perth Now
07-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Living costs rising despite cooling inflation
Australian households who depend on government payments have faced the highest increases in living costs this year, new data shows. Age pensioners and other recipients of government help faced 1.6 per cent higher living costs in the March quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Their health costs spiked after thresholds for the Medicare Safety Net and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) were reset on January 1, reducing the number of households that qualified for the schemes. While headline and underlying inflation have fallen into the Reserve Bank's target range and the central bank is widely tipped to cut interest rates later in May, many Australians are still struggling. Other recipients of government help faced the highest cost increases on an annual basis, up 3.5 per cent in a move impacted by rising rent and tobacco prices. "Rises in pharmaceutical products, medical and hospital services, electricity and fruit and vegetables have contributed to higher living costs for all household types this quarter," ABS acting head of prices statistics Neel Tikaram said. All household types faced higher living costs over the quarter, paying from 0.6 per cent to 1.6 per cent more in the first three months of 2025. Self-funded retirees faced the smallest increases in living costs over the quarter, up 0.6 per cent and helped by lower holiday travel and accommodation prices. Living costs for employee households rose 1.1 per cent over the quarter, impacted by a 1.5 per cent increase in mortgage charges and a 5.3 per cent spike in education costs. 'The effect of the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate cut in February 2025 will be seen in the June 2025 quarter due to the timing of the change in the cash rate," Mr Tikaram said. "The rise in mortgage interest charges was driven by higher mortgage debt levels and the continued rollover of expired fixed rate mortgages to higher variable rate mortgages." After other recipients of government payments, employee households had the next highest annual rise in living costs, up 3.4 per cent. "Annual growth ... in employee living costs has continued to slow this quarter and is down from the peak of 9.6 per cent in the June 2023 quarter," Mr Tikaram said. "Higher mortgage interest charges, insurance premiums, and food prices over the year contributed to rises in annual living costs across all household types." The Reserve Bank will meet on May 19 and deliver its interest rate decision the following day.
