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With the recent enactment of the Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Act 2024, the regulation of Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART) and management of Victoria’s donor conception registers will be transferred from VARTA to the Department of Health. The commencement date for the VARTA transition is yet to be formally proclaimed but VARTA understands it is expected to be 1 January 2025. It is therefore anticipated VARTA will cease operations on 31 December 2024.

As VARTA enters this transitional period, please note the following.

Central and Voluntary Register applications

In preparation for this transition, applications to the Central and Voluntary Registers received from 1 November 2024 will be waitlisted for processing by the Department of Health in early 2025. The Donor Conception Registry Services team will continue to process applications received before 1 November 2024.

Central Register applications made by donor-conceived people born prior to 1998 and those with special circumstances will continue to be processed during the transition period.

Import and Export

The final date to submit import and export applications is 5pm 27 November 2024. Please note, applications must be full and complete to be considered. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

From the anticipated 1 January 2025 commencement date, ART clinics and patients will no longer need to obtain approval prior to import or export donated gametes/embryos. For information regarding these changes, please contact the Department at artregulation@health.vic.gov.au.

Applications for Registration of an ART Provider

The final date in 2024 for processing applications for registration by VARTA is 5pm 27 November 2024. Please note, applications must be full and complete. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Applications received after 5pm on 27 November 2024 will not be accepted and will be transferred to the Department of Health as per continuity arrangements.

Contact

If you have any queries on how ART will be regulated from the anticipated 1 January 2025 commencement date, please do not hesitate to contact the Department at artregulation@health.vic.gov.au.

More information can be found here:

• Assisted reproductive treatment reform | health.vic.gov.au
• Reforms to health regulation in Victoria | health.vic.gov.au

For operational matters, the VARTA team can continue to be contacted via regulation@varta.org.au and importandexport@varta.org.au