KEY POINTS:
- NSW's Affordable IVF Initiative has been given an $80 million boost.
- The $2,000 Fertility Treatment Rebate is expected to help thousands of women statewide.
- Those who have incurred out-of-pocket costs at accredited private IVF clinics are eligible to claim the rebate.
Falling pregnant can be an emotionally and financially taxing experience for women accessing IVF treatment but a first-of-its-kind NSW government program aims to relieve the costs for expecting families.
Women who have IVF treatments in private clinics can claim a $2,000 rebate as part of an $80 million expansion to .
It is estimated the rebate will help about 12,000 women statewide with out-of-pocket costs associated with fertility treatments in private clinics.
How can you apply for the IVF rebate?
The rebate, known as the Fertility Treatment Rebate, can be claimed through the MyService NSW account or in person at a Service NSW centre.
Women, and those who don't identify as a woman but can receive IVF treatment, and who are residents of NSW can apply, and they can only do so once.
You must have received a treatment from and be claiming out-of-pocket costs that have not been reimbursed by another government program or rebate.
Rebates can be backdated to 1 October 2022.
Those who have received a treatment from a publicly-supported IVF clinic, or a fertility preservation treatment are not eligible.
The program will run until 1 October 2026, or until funds are exhausted.
Gita Smith, a Sydney mother who applied for the rebate, said she had four rounds of IVF treatments, had a miscarriage and two operations for stage four endometriosis, before falling pregnant after more than three years.
"I don't want women to feel silent or feel embarrassed or inadequate because they can't fall pregnant naturally or they have fertility issues," she said.
"It can be so emotionally and physically taxing to go through that fertility journey and to have that financial support... has made all the difference to us".
She said the money has helped her undergo a fourth and final round of treatment resulting in a pregnancy that is 14 weeks along.
Scheme will make IVF more accessible: NSW treasurer
Treasurer Matt Kean, who has been a vocal advocate for women and family-friendly policies, said the investment would enable fertility treatments to become more accessible to NSW families.
"We believe no one should have to choose between managing a household budget and starting a family," he told reporters on Tuesday at Monash IVF Clinic in Sydney.
"This is all about ensuring NSW is one of the most affordable places ... to access fertility treatments and IVF."
Women's Minister Bronnie Taylor said 16 per cent of NSW couples faced fertility issues.
She lauded the program for also helping women in regional areas of the state who can now afford to come to Sydney or another major city for specialised treatment instead of feeling isolated.
"There's more women entering the workforce than we've ever seen before, more women pursuing their careers so the chances and reality ... is that people choose to have children later and that can often present (fertility) issues," Ms Taylor said on Tuesday.
