1. About the program
1.1 Objectives
The Fertility Treatment Rebate Program (Program) is administered by Service NSW and the Ministry of Health. This Program is one part of the ‘Affordable IVF Initiative’ announced by the NSW Government in May 2022 and aims to increase access to fertility treatments for women in NSW. For more information visit NSW Affordable IVF Initiative.
The objective of this Program is to assist with costs associated with fertility treatments such as IVF and other Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). A rebate of $2,000 is available for Eligible Women.
1.2 Application open and close dates
a. Applications will open by 1 January 2023.
b. Applications will close on 1 October 2026 unless funds are expended earlier. Funds will be allocated to successful applications from a limited funding pool in the order they are received by Service NSW.
c. All Eligible Claims must be submitted by the Program close date.
1.3. Available funding
a. The rebate will be available to women who demonstrate eligibility in compliance with criteria at clause 2 (Eligible Women), unless extended by amendment to these guidelines or by announcement.
b. Eligible Women will be provided a rebate of $2,000 for Eligible Claims (see clause 2.2).
2. Eligibility criteria
2.1 Customer Eligibility
a. To be eligible, the applicant must be a woman who:
i. is a resident of NSW
ii. has undergone an ART treatment with an Eligible Provider (refer to clause 2.3) from 1 October 2022
iii. incurred Eligible Costs (refer to clause 2.2), and
iv. can satisfy the evidentiary requirements in clauses 3.2 and 3.3.
2.2 Eligible Costs
a. Eligible Women can claim the rebate if they have incurred out-of-pocket costs for ART treatments:
i. provided by Eligible Providers
ii. that have been confirmed to be ART treatments by the Eligible Provider in the Fertility Treatment Rebate Declaration Form
iii. received from 1 October 2022 and before program closure as per clause 1.2 (b).
b. The following costs are ineligible:
i. any component of cost for treatment that has already been reimbursed by another government program or rebate, such as Medicare
ii. costs for treatments that are for the sole purpose of fertility preservation
iii. costs for treatments incurred from the publicly supported lower cost IVF programs at the following clinics:
- Fertility Unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- Westmead Fertility Centre linked with Westmead Hospital
- Fertility and Research Centre at the Royal Hospital for Women
iv. costs for male treatments.
2.3 Eligible Providers
a. An Eligible Provider is an ART Provider who:
i. is certified to deliver ART treatments by RTAC as per the RTAC Australia and New Zealand Code of Practice, and
ii. is authorised to operate in Australia.
3. Application and claims
3.1 Applying for the rebate
a. Customers may apply for the rebate:
i. online through their MyServiceNSW account
ii. in person, at their Service NSW Centre (via the Digital Kiosk).
b. Eligible Women may claim the $2,000 rebate once.
3.2 Evidence in support of eligibility
a. To be eligible, customers will need to provide:
i. verification of their identity via their MyServiceNSW Account
ii. the name of their fertility specialist
iii. proof of residency in NSW, which may include:
- a utility bill in the name of the applicant showing relevant address details
- a copy of the applicant’s current lease agreement or a screenshot from the Rental Bond Database showing details of the relevant lease
iv. the Fertility Treatment Declaration Form completed, dated, and signed by an authorised representative of the Eligible Provider providing the fertility treatment
v. evidence of eligible out-of-pocket costs already incurred (only one receipt is required, and this can be for less than $2,000), containing the information required at clause 3.3 (b), and
vi. bank account details for receiving the rebate if the claim is successful.
3.3 Claiming the rebate
a. Eligible Women can claim the $2,000 rebate once. Irrespective of the out-of-pocket cost, the $2,000 rebate will be paid in full if the claim is successful.
b. Eligible Women must supply a Fertility Treatment Declaration Form fully completed by the Eligible Provider’s authorised representative (per clause 3.2(a)(iv)) and evidence detailing:
i. the full name of the person who received the treatment
ii. a description of the ART treatment received
iii. the date the treatment was received
iv. the out-of-pocket amount of each treatment claimed
v. details of the Eligible Provider, including the fertility specialist’s name, the Eligible Provider’s name and address providing the ART treatment, and the RTAC certified Unit Number as per clause 3.2 (a) (iv).
Service NSW and NSW Health reserve the right to withdraw or amend the payment or these guidelines and application terms at any time as they deem appropriate without notice. Further information may be found at the Service NSW website.
4. Compliance
4.1 Applicants must declare the information provided in their application is true and correct. Penalties may apply for false or misleading information. Where false or misleading information is provided, applications may be referred to law enforcement.
4.2 If any information provided in connection with this Program is found to be false or misleading, the rebate will be repayable on demand. It is an offence to provide false or misleading information to a public authority, pursuant to the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
4.3 As part of the application assessment process, Service NSW may compare information you provide with relevant Commonwealth, State Government agencies and departments or health care providers for the purpose of verifying your application. Information will be handled in accordance with the Program Privacy Collection Notice.
4.5 Eligible Women must retain records of evidence provided, including evidence of payment for all claims submitted under this Program for a 7 years following the closing of the program (per clause 1.2(b)).
4.6 Eligible Women may be subject to audit by the NSW Government or its representatives for a period of 7 years after the closing of the rebate. Under the audit, applicants may be required to produce further evidence, including but not limited to, evidence demonstrating that they meet requirements of these guidelines.
4.7 Applicants must give consent, for Service NSW, NSW Health, and the Department of Customer Service to undertake data validation with and collect and disclose information including personal information and health information to relevant Commonwealth and State Government agencies and departments including but not limited to NSW Health, Services Australia and health care providers, for the purpose of verifying the particulars of the applicant’s application.
5. Program Evaluation
The NSW Government is committed to providing excellent service that responds to your needs through well-targeted programs. For this reason, the NSW Government evaluates its programs. This sometimes includes contact with customers to ask about your experience of the assistance you received, for example via surveys. The NSW Government will always treat the responses you provide as confidential and use the information only for the purposes it was collected.
Definitions
ART has the meaning given it to it in the RTAC Code of Practice, which at the time of publishing these guidelines means “clinical treatments; counselling services; and laboratory procedures for the assessment and preparation of human oocytes, sperm or embryos and includes in vitro fertilisation; gamete intrafallopian transfer; intracytoplasmic sperm injection; embryo or gamete cryopreservation; surgical sperm recovery; oocyte, semen or embryo donation; embryo biopsy or non-invasive sampling for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT); gestational and traditional surrogacy and intrauterine insemination (IUI)”, and also includes:
- the storage of gametes and embryos for use in ARTs
- the obtaining of a gamete from a gamete provider for use in ARTs or for research in connection with an ART, and
- treatments determined by the ART Provider to be performed for the purposes of an ART treatment.
ART Act means the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007.
ART Provider is a provider of ART treatments who is certified by RTAC and authorised to operate in Australia.
Eligible Claims has the definition given in clause 2.2.
Eligible Provider means an ART Provider who satisfies the requirements in clause 2.3.
Eligible Women has the definition given in clause 1.3 (a).
Program has the meaning given in clause 1.1.
RTAC means the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee.