Free IVF Services Will Be Rolling Out Across Vic Next Week, So Here’s Everything You Need To Know

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The Victorian Labor Government will introduce Australia’s first free, statewide public IVF service next week. We absolutely love to bloody see it.

Premier Dan Andrews announced the stellar news on Thursday.

“IVF can be incredibly hard — but some families can’t even try because of the cost,” he wrote on Twitter.

“But not for long. We’re introducing the country’s first free, statewide public IVF service — and it starts next week.

“From 18 October, public fertility care services will start at The Royal Women’s and Monash Health.”

Per a press release, both The Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health will provide face-to-face and telehealth consultations to a small number of patients, before rolling out their services to assist more people over the next two years.

Services to support regional Victorians will also be established, including satellite sites in Bendigo, Mildura, Shepparton, Geelong, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Epping, Sunshine and Heidelberg.

These locations will offer services such as initial consultations and pathology. More regional sites are set to be announced in coming months.

Seeing as IVF is super expensive — in Victoria, the initial IVF cycle at Monash IVF is nearly $5k — making the service free will be a godsend for loads of people.

It’s also a huge win for LGBTQ+ couples and people who need to access donor or surrogacy services, as well as patients who are seeking fertility preservation ‘cos of medical treatment.

The press release also outlined some of Andrews’s election promises should his government be re-elected. If successful, his Labor Government will invest an additional $13.6 million into Victoria’s public IVF service, which will “help further expand access for women and families, including more availability for Victorians living in regional areas”.

The funding will mean up to 5,000 people a year will be able to access the public IVF service once it’s fully up and running, providing up to 3,375 treatment cycles. ‘Yuge.

The Victorian election is set to take place on Saturday, November 26, with Andrews going head-to-head against Coalition leader Matthew Guy. Go and make ya vote count.

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