Assisted Reproductive Treatment Regulations
Learn more, have your say and help inform the development of the revised draft Assisted Reproductive Treatment Regulations.
What's being decided?
New Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART) Regulations are required to support the administration of the ART Act and to facilitate the operation of a publicly accessible South Australian Donor Conception Register (DCR).
Proposed changes to the existing ART Regulations include:
- who may have access to the DCR
- the types of information that a person using the DCR may have access to
- other information that a person may provide for inclusion in the DCR
- new record keeping requirements.
The ART Regulations also include requirements relating to ART clinic registration which are also open to review as part of this consultation.
Background
In November 2021, a South Australian DCR was established in accordance with amendments to the ART Act at that time.
Currently, only authorised SA Health and ART clinic staff are permitted to access the DCR. If a person wants to access information about a donor or a donor-conceived person they are biologically connected to, they can only seek this information from the ART clinic responsible for the donor conception treatment. This is not always possible if the clinic no longer exists.
In March 2024, the South Australian Parliament passed the Assisted Reproductive Treatment (Posthumous Use of Material and Donor Conception Register) Amendment Act 2024 (the ART Amendment Act).
Once proclaimed, the Amendment Act will make the DCR accessible to donor-conceived people aged 18 years and above, donors, and parents of donor-conceived children where the donor conception treatment was undertaken in South Australia.
New ART Regulations are required to support the amendments made by the ART Amendment Act to the ART Act and ensure that people accessing the DCR can do so safely.
The Explanatory Guide provides further information and will help you understand the draft ART Regulations.
If you need to speak to someone to help support your wellbeing we encourage you to contact one of the below organisations:
- Donor Conceived Australia (ask for contact by submitting a form)
- Beyondblue.org.au 1300 224 636
- Kidshelpline.com.au 1800 551 800
- Lifeline.org.au 13 11 14
- Mental Health Triage Line 13 14 65
- Parent Helpline 1300 364 100
- Headspace.org.au 1800 650 890
- Mensline.org.au 1300 789 978
- Relationships Australia (SA) 1300 364 277
Get involved
Find out more:
- read the draft ART Regulations 2024
- read the draft ART Regulations Explanatory Guide
- refer to the ART Act 1988 (a mock-up as to be amended)
- refer to the DCR Access Matrix 1 for donors
- refer to the DCR Access Matrix 2 for donor-conceived people
- refer to the DCR Access Matrix 3 for parents of a donor-conceived child
- refer to the DCR Access Matrix 4 for parents of a donor-conceived adult
- take a look at our FAQs
- take a look at the important links and relevant archived projects (see links below right)
Have your say by:
- asking us a question to help you complete your submission
- emailing a submission to health.donorconceptionregister@sa.gov.au
What are the next steps?
All feedback about the draft ART Regulations will be considered with a summary report being published on this page.
Following proclamation of the ART Amendment Act and the revised ART Regulations, the South Australian DCR will become available for the donor conception community to use.
Need some clarification about the draft ART Regulations or DCR? Type and submit your question below and we'll email you a confidential response, to help you complete your submission.