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The Advertiser
13-06-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
IVF system fails to pass the pub test, minister says
Australia's IVF accreditation system fails to pass the pub test, a government minister has said, as discussions continue following multiple embryo mix-ups at one of the nation's largest fertility providers. State and territory health ministers met with their federal counterpart on Friday, where it was agreed that a rapid nationwide review would begin to consider establishing an independent accreditation body. It comes after Monash IVF revealed staff had transferred the wrong embryo to a woman at a Melbourne clinic last week, following a similar blunder involving a separate Monash patient in Brisbane. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she hoped the establishment of an independent body could occur immediately, but claimed it was met with pushback from Queensland. "We got to move quickly," she told reporters. "It's concerning ... there may well be more errors that we don't know about. And that is because the body that currently accredits fertility care providers is made up of fertility care providers. "That's why I find Queensland's position so perplexing." A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the minister had "advocated for an informed understanding" of the accreditation and regulation framework. "Health ministers decided that Queensland would lead work to understand the issues better and to ensure a strategy would be well informed," the spokesman said. The three-month review will consider whether the state regulatory schemes are fit for purpose when it comes to safety and quality. The IVF industry is primarily regulated by states and territories. Clinics must be licensed to operate by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Thomas said the main issue for her was how fertility care was accredited. "It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service," she said. "We have work to do there." Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, who used IVF to welcome his third child, described the two recent embryo mix-ups as "frankly shocking". "As governments, we've got a responsibility to see whether there are better levels of regulation that should be put in place, and to inject some confidence back into a system that delivers such joy to so many thousands of families every year," he told ABC Radio. Monash IVF chief executive Michael Knaap resigned on Thursday after it was revealed staff at a Melbourne laboratory gave a patient one of her embryos, instead of one from her partner as intended. An investigation is under way into how it happened. The company, which has a presence across Australia, apologised to the couple, while the Victorian Health Regulator has also launched an investigation. Monash revealed in April that a woman at a Brisbane facility was incorrectly impregnated with another patient's embryo, which was blamed on "human error". The mistake was picked up after the child was born when the birth parents asked for their remaining embryos to be transferred elsewhere and an additional embryo was unexpectedly found in storage. Former Monash director Gab Kovacs, who was involved with developing earlier IVF guidelines, told AAP the mix-up was a "very rare occurrence". "However, with 100,000 cycles of IVF in Australia, even with this occurring very, very rarely, it is inevitable that this will happen," Mr Kovacs said. "It is due to human error and this cannot be eliminated. "The two incidents happened in two separate clinics, 2000km apart ... (involving) different personnel, different lab managers." About 20,000 babies conceived by IVF are born in Australia each year. Australia's IVF accreditation system fails to pass the pub test, a government minister has said, as discussions continue following multiple embryo mix-ups at one of the nation's largest fertility providers. State and territory health ministers met with their federal counterpart on Friday, where it was agreed that a rapid nationwide review would begin to consider establishing an independent accreditation body. It comes after Monash IVF revealed staff had transferred the wrong embryo to a woman at a Melbourne clinic last week, following a similar blunder involving a separate Monash patient in Brisbane. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she hoped the establishment of an independent body could occur immediately, but claimed it was met with pushback from Queensland. "We got to move quickly," she told reporters. "It's concerning ... there may well be more errors that we don't know about. And that is because the body that currently accredits fertility care providers is made up of fertility care providers. "That's why I find Queensland's position so perplexing." A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the minister had "advocated for an informed understanding" of the accreditation and regulation framework. "Health ministers decided that Queensland would lead work to understand the issues better and to ensure a strategy would be well informed," the spokesman said. The three-month review will consider whether the state regulatory schemes are fit for purpose when it comes to safety and quality. The IVF industry is primarily regulated by states and territories. Clinics must be licensed to operate by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Thomas said the main issue for her was how fertility care was accredited. "It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service," she said. "We have work to do there." Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, who used IVF to welcome his third child, described the two recent embryo mix-ups as "frankly shocking". "As governments, we've got a responsibility to see whether there are better levels of regulation that should be put in place, and to inject some confidence back into a system that delivers such joy to so many thousands of families every year," he told ABC Radio. Monash IVF chief executive Michael Knaap resigned on Thursday after it was revealed staff at a Melbourne laboratory gave a patient one of her embryos, instead of one from her partner as intended. An investigation is under way into how it happened. The company, which has a presence across Australia, apologised to the couple, while the Victorian Health Regulator has also launched an investigation. Monash revealed in April that a woman at a Brisbane facility was incorrectly impregnated with another patient's embryo, which was blamed on "human error". The mistake was picked up after the child was born when the birth parents asked for their remaining embryos to be transferred elsewhere and an additional embryo was unexpectedly found in storage. Former Monash director Gab Kovacs, who was involved with developing earlier IVF guidelines, told AAP the mix-up was a "very rare occurrence". "However, with 100,000 cycles of IVF in Australia, even with this occurring very, very rarely, it is inevitable that this will happen," Mr Kovacs said. "It is due to human error and this cannot be eliminated. "The two incidents happened in two separate clinics, 2000km apart ... (involving) different personnel, different lab managers." About 20,000 babies conceived by IVF are born in Australia each year. Australia's IVF accreditation system fails to pass the pub test, a government minister has said, as discussions continue following multiple embryo mix-ups at one of the nation's largest fertility providers. State and territory health ministers met with their federal counterpart on Friday, where it was agreed that a rapid nationwide review would begin to consider establishing an independent accreditation body. It comes after Monash IVF revealed staff had transferred the wrong embryo to a woman at a Melbourne clinic last week, following a similar blunder involving a separate Monash patient in Brisbane. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she hoped the establishment of an independent body could occur immediately, but claimed it was met with pushback from Queensland. "We got to move quickly," she told reporters. "It's concerning ... there may well be more errors that we don't know about. And that is because the body that currently accredits fertility care providers is made up of fertility care providers. "That's why I find Queensland's position so perplexing." A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the minister had "advocated for an informed understanding" of the accreditation and regulation framework. "Health ministers decided that Queensland would lead work to understand the issues better and to ensure a strategy would be well informed," the spokesman said. The three-month review will consider whether the state regulatory schemes are fit for purpose when it comes to safety and quality. The IVF industry is primarily regulated by states and territories. Clinics must be licensed to operate by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Thomas said the main issue for her was how fertility care was accredited. "It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service," she said. "We have work to do there." Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, who used IVF to welcome his third child, described the two recent embryo mix-ups as "frankly shocking". "As governments, we've got a responsibility to see whether there are better levels of regulation that should be put in place, and to inject some confidence back into a system that delivers such joy to so many thousands of families every year," he told ABC Radio. Monash IVF chief executive Michael Knaap resigned on Thursday after it was revealed staff at a Melbourne laboratory gave a patient one of her embryos, instead of one from her partner as intended. An investigation is under way into how it happened. The company, which has a presence across Australia, apologised to the couple, while the Victorian Health Regulator has also launched an investigation. Monash revealed in April that a woman at a Brisbane facility was incorrectly impregnated with another patient's embryo, which was blamed on "human error". The mistake was picked up after the child was born when the birth parents asked for their remaining embryos to be transferred elsewhere and an additional embryo was unexpectedly found in storage. Former Monash director Gab Kovacs, who was involved with developing earlier IVF guidelines, told AAP the mix-up was a "very rare occurrence". "However, with 100,000 cycles of IVF in Australia, even with this occurring very, very rarely, it is inevitable that this will happen," Mr Kovacs said. "It is due to human error and this cannot be eliminated. "The two incidents happened in two separate clinics, 2000km apart ... (involving) different personnel, different lab managers." About 20,000 babies conceived by IVF are born in Australia each year. Australia's IVF accreditation system fails to pass the pub test, a government minister has said, as discussions continue following multiple embryo mix-ups at one of the nation's largest fertility providers. State and territory health ministers met with their federal counterpart on Friday, where it was agreed that a rapid nationwide review would begin to consider establishing an independent accreditation body. It comes after Monash IVF revealed staff had transferred the wrong embryo to a woman at a Melbourne clinic last week, following a similar blunder involving a separate Monash patient in Brisbane. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she hoped the establishment of an independent body could occur immediately, but claimed it was met with pushback from Queensland. "We got to move quickly," she told reporters. "It's concerning ... there may well be more errors that we don't know about. And that is because the body that currently accredits fertility care providers is made up of fertility care providers. "That's why I find Queensland's position so perplexing." A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the minister had "advocated for an informed understanding" of the accreditation and regulation framework. "Health ministers decided that Queensland would lead work to understand the issues better and to ensure a strategy would be well informed," the spokesman said. The three-month review will consider whether the state regulatory schemes are fit for purpose when it comes to safety and quality. The IVF industry is primarily regulated by states and territories. Clinics must be licensed to operate by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Thomas said the main issue for her was how fertility care was accredited. "It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service," she said. "We have work to do there." Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, who used IVF to welcome his third child, described the two recent embryo mix-ups as "frankly shocking". "As governments, we've got a responsibility to see whether there are better levels of regulation that should be put in place, and to inject some confidence back into a system that delivers such joy to so many thousands of families every year," he told ABC Radio. Monash IVF chief executive Michael Knaap resigned on Thursday after it was revealed staff at a Melbourne laboratory gave a patient one of her embryos, instead of one from her partner as intended. An investigation is under way into how it happened. The company, which has a presence across Australia, apologised to the couple, while the Victorian Health Regulator has also launched an investigation. Monash revealed in April that a woman at a Brisbane facility was incorrectly impregnated with another patient's embryo, which was blamed on "human error". The mistake was picked up after the child was born when the birth parents asked for their remaining embryos to be transferred elsewhere and an additional embryo was unexpectedly found in storage. Former Monash director Gab Kovacs, who was involved with developing earlier IVF guidelines, told AAP the mix-up was a "very rare occurrence". "However, with 100,000 cycles of IVF in Australia, even with this occurring very, very rarely, it is inevitable that this will happen," Mr Kovacs said. "It is due to human error and this cannot be eliminated. "The two incidents happened in two separate clinics, 2000km apart ... (involving) different personnel, different lab managers." About 20,000 babies conceived by IVF are born in Australia each year.
ABC News
13-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
National review launched into IVF accreditation following second Monash embryo mix-up
All Australian states and territories will undertake a review into the implementation of an independent verification body for fertility providers. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said health ministers met on Friday and agreed to a three-month rapid-review into the sector, which is currently accredited by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee. "It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service," she said. The announcement comes after two separate embryo mix-ups by Melbourne-based provider Monash IVF were revealed in a matter of months. Ms Thomas said her preference was for the immediate implementation of a regulator, however this was rejected by Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls. Ministerial meetings by health ministers operate on a consensus, meaning all ministers must agree to make any changes nationally. "I think it's concerning that there may well be further errors that we don't know about," she said. "And that is because the body that currently accredits fertility care providers is made up of fertility care providers. that's why I find Queensland's position so perplexing." This week, Monash IVF announced to the ASX it would conduct an internal investigation into an embryo mix-up at its Clayton laboratory in Melbourne's south-east earlier this month. That announcement, which came months after the revelation another patient of Monash IVF in Brisbane gave birth to a stranger's baby in 2023, sparked calls for greater regulation of the field. Monash IVF chief executive officer Michael Knaap also resigned earlier this week. On Friday afternoon Mr Butler said he was "really worried about public confidence" in the sector, which he said needed greater transparency and independent accreditation for fertility service providers. "We know that in the last full year there were dozens of breaches of the code of conduct but I don't know, as the federal health minister, what they were," he said. "They are not reported, they are not disclosed." He said health officials across the country would provide advice on whether Australia should move towards national regulations. "There are essentially eight systems of regulation across the country," he said. "It would take a bit of time to move to more national regulation."
ABC News
11-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Millions of illegal cigarettes and smoking products seized in Mackay warehouse raid
Millions of illegal cigarettes, vapes and loose-leaf tobacco have been seized in what health authorities say is one of the largest hauls from a single raid in Queensland. The seizure at a Mackay warehouse last week included boxes containing 3.3 million cigarettes, nearly 20,000 vapes and 300 kilograms of illegal "chop chop" tobacco. The state government said the combined police and public health unit operation was a signal that illegal shops run by criminal gangs could no longer hide. "Queensland is leading the nation when it comes to cracking down on these illegal traders because we are determined to keep dangerous vapes out of the hands of Queensland kids," Health Minister Tim Nicholls said. Mackay Hospital and Health Service chief executive Susan Gannon said investigations were continuing into other illegal operators across Mackay and the Whitsundays. The health minister's office said the seized materials will be "forfeited to the state" and the Mackay Public Health Unit is expected to issue fines. Fines for illegal tobacco retailers were increased in April to more than $32,000 for individuals and $161,300 for corporations. State MP for Mackay and former police officer Nigel Dalton said the scale of the raid was extraordinary. "Only in Mackay we've got 3.3 million [illegal cigarettes]," he said. While the seizures would have disrupted local supply, he said demand was still there. "There's a lot of disposable income in Mackay and there are people who smoke these products," he said. "I'm pleading with the public to let CrimeStoppers know if you know anyone who's bringing these products into Queensland." Australian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Theo Foukkare said while law-abiding tobacco shops largely had not been targeted by fire-bombings, the impact of the illegal tobacco and vape trade was unmistakable. He said the confluence between the illegal tobacco and vape market and the increased demand for both products had become a potent incentive for organised crime groups. "The most frustrating part for legal retailers is 10 years ago the illegal tobacco market was sort of dark," Mr Foukkare said. "This is [now] happening in plain sight in communities all around the country with signs out the front saying 'cheap smokes', signs saying 'vapes here'."
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Queensland government may not release taxpayer-funded drug testing review after axing service
The Queensland government is refusing to say if it will publicly release an independent taxpayer-funded evaluation of the state's now-axed drug checking sites. The former Labor administration commissioned the University of Queensland (UQ) to assess the services, including whether they reduced harm and contributed to early warnings about the circulation of dangerous illicit substances. Documents show the evaluation, which was due to be handed to the government late last week, cost taxpayers $453,286. Drug checking services allow individuals to submit small samples of substances, meant for personal use, for testing by health professionals. In April this year the CheQpoint testing sites in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast closed their doors after the LNP opted not to provide ongoing government funding. Mobile drug checking at future schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast has also been scrapped. Despite other states recently starting drug checking services, the Queensland premier and health minister have repeatedly said they do not support the measure. Last week a spokesperson for health minister Tim Nicholls said the UQ evaluation report "will be considered by Cabinet", which could mean it is kept confidential. When asked yesterday if the report would be released, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said he had not seen it and the government's views on pill testing "haven't changed". "I should have a read of it for sure, but I make the point that our policy position won't change," Mr Crisafulli said. The Loop Australia is a not-for-profit group of chemists and health workers involved in delivering the services. Its chief executive Cameron Francis called on the government to release the report, and said a similar evaluation of Canberra's drug checking service was made public. He said the report would "show the community" the benefits of drug testing. "I know what some of the data in the report would contain, because it is the data that our service has provided to the evaluators," he said. "We know that around one in four people that come through the service will use less drugs after talking to one of our staff members, we know that we refer large numbers of people into ongoing support or treatment." Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles said Mr Crisafulli should listen to the health experts who say pill testing saves lives. "They're calling for this report to be released," Mr Miles said. "But he won't listen because he's caved into the far-right ideologies of his party — now Queenslanders are paying the price." Queensland's pill testing closures came as deadly synthetic opioids called nitazines continued to circulate in Australia causing overdoses and deaths. Mr Francis said evidence showed testing improved public safety. "Without drug checking we've got no way of warning the community about the dangerous drugs that are circulating until people have either overdosed, ended up in hospital or passed away," he said. Australia's first fixed-site drug checking service opened in Canberra in mid-2022. Victoria started pill testing at music festivals late last year and plans to open a clinic in mid-2025. New South Wales has also kicked off a 12-month drug checking trial at some music festivals. Medical groups and harm minimisation experts have slammed the Queensland government's closure of drug checking services. In April, Queensland Chair of the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP), Dr Cathryn Hester, said the state did not have overdose monitoring or early warning systems. "I fear that once these drug testing services end, we will see more overdoses because the people taking them, including young people with their whole lives ahead of them, simply don't know what they're ingesting," Dr Hester said.
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Man almost dies after allegedly taking partner's VAD drugs at Gold Coast University Hospital
Queensland's voluntary assisted dying (VAD) procedures have been "tightened" after a man nearly died allegedly taking the drugs his partner had just used to end her life. The incident at the Gold Coast University Hospital's VAD unit earlier this month is currently under investigation, Queensland Health has confirmed. The ABC understands the probe is also looking into allegations a health worker drank shots of alcohol with the couple before the drugs were taken. The VAD patient's partner had to be resuscitated with Naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, and was admitted to the emergency department, sources have confirmed. The couple's adult child was reportedly also there. A Gold Coast Hospital and Health spokesperson said, "additional steps" have been taken to "strengthen clinical hospital processes over and above the requirements of the voluntary assisted dying legislation". "All appropriate authorities had been notified, and appropriate support has been offered to the family," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said they could not comment further while the investigation was underway. A brief about the incident has been given to Health Minister Tim Nicholls, his spokesperson has confirmed. The spokesperson said a report would be prepared for the coroner, and the hospital was carrying out a review. Do you know more about this story? Email It is the second time a person has taken the VAD drugs provided to their partner to end their life. In 2023, a man died after he ingested drugs that had been meant for his partner. He had been responsible for the VAD drugs when they were delivered to the couple's home. On the day the drugs arrived, his wife was admitted to hospital with COVID-19. The wife then decided to take a VAD drug at the hospital and died in hospital. The man was told to return the take-at-home drugs within two days of his partner's death but failed to do so and instead took them to end his life. A 2024 coroner's inquest into the man's death found the laws had failed to find a balance between a patient's autonomy and lethal medication safety. Coroner David O'Connell said the self-administered process was not adequately thought through and recommended a health professional be present every time the deadly substance was administered. The former Labor government promised a review at the time, which is due to happen in January next year, according to the Health Department's VAD website. The VAD legislation was introduced in Queensland in 2021. By September last year, more than 1,000 Queenslanders had used the VAD program. Queensland Health's Gold Coast service on its website describes its VAD service as having strict eligibility criteria. It says a person must have an eligible condition, which is advanced, progressive and will cause death. They must also be expected to die within 12 months, and their illness must cause suffering that the person considers intolerable. The patient must also have capacity to make the decision and be acting voluntarily as well as being at least 18 years of age, according to the site.
