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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-26 Daily Xml
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REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY (CLINICAL PRACTICES) (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (16:12): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Reproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1988. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (16:13): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of this bill is to amend and update the Reproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1998 to ensure that it meets the needs of South Australians requiring assisted reproductive treatment into the 21st century.

The Reproductive Technology Act 1988(RT Act) was drafted in the late 1980s when in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) was a very new area of biomedical science. At that time it was a conscience vote for all members of parliament, and I imagine it will be again this time. It certainly will be on this side of the house.

The current act prescribes the welfare of the child born as the guiding principle, establishes the SA Council on Reproductive Technology (the council) to advise the minister, sets limited eligibility criteria for treatment, provides for clinics to be licensed, and prescribes confidentiality requirements. Assisted reproductive medicine was in its infancy when this act was promulgated. It set a framework for the practice of assisted reproductive medicine and at that time was considered revolutionary. However some aspects are now past their 'use by' date.

The act required the council to develop detailed regulations for ethical clinical practice. The Code of Ethical Clinical Practice (the code) was developed in the early 1990s by the council and established as a regulation under the act in 1995.

The detailed and highly prescriptive Code of Ethical Clinical Practice regulates and details requirements for eligibility for treatment and for donation of reproductive material and specific prohibited practices and makes provisions for consent and record-keeping, most of which is now duplicated by the NHMRC ethical guidelines and the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC) national standards. This robust national regulatory scheme allows South Australia's legislation to be simplified, thereby reducing unnecessary duplication.

Assisted reproductive treatment (ART) is no longer considered novel. It is now an accepted means of family formation. South Australia's legislation does not accommodate or respond to advances in infertility treatment, emerging public health challenges or shifts in social attitudes. The act has constrained assisted reproductive medicine services and the code has further complicated practice. Advances and discoveries in assisted reproductive treatment since the 1980s have made the present legislative scheme difficult to interpret and apply.

National regulation of assisted reproductive treatment

ART is now highly regulated through a strict national accreditation and licensing scheme and comprehensive ethical guidelines, which have both evolved since the passage of the RT act in 1988 and the code in 1995. The Department of Health has contributed significantly to the regular review and revision of these national guidelines and standards over the years.

This national framework includes the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC) Code of Practice and accreditation standards and the extensive and recently revised NHMRC Ethical guidelines on the use of assisted reproductive technology in clinical practice and research 2007. Clinics must comply with these national standards, are inspected annually, and must maintain their accreditation to access Medicare funding.

The current South Australian legislation requires clinics to maintain their national accreditation and comply with the NHMRC ethical guidelines which will continue under the proposed amendments. There is now significant duplication and direct conflict in some areas between the South Australian legislation and the NHMRC ethical guidelines, and this currently poses problems for clinical practice and the provision of ART. If these amendments are passed, the legislation would be consistent with the national regulatory scheme.

Other states

South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and recently New South Wales have legislation regulating assisted reproductive treatment to varying extents. Assisted reproductive treatment in the jurisdictions without specific legislation is regulated solely by the national accreditation and licensing scheme and the NHMRC ethical guidelines, that is, reproductive treatment in those states is not subject to additional prescriptive legislation that is not imposed on other medical specialities.

Legislation and practice in other states allow access to new treatments, introduced since the 1980s, which the current act does not permit South Australian clinics to provide to their clients.

The current act's shortcomings

The shortcomings of the current act and the code include:

inconsistency with national standards and guidelines

non-compliance with National Competition Policy principles

eligibility requirements that are more limited than other jurisdictions and so drive 'reproductive tourism'

an inability to accommodate new treatments and emerging issues

legal barriers to donor registration schemes.

The Amendment Bill

The proposed bill will amend the Reproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1988 by:

renaming the Reproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1988 as the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 1988

ensuring that the welfare of the woman and the 'best interests of the child' are of fundamental importance in the application of the act and in the provision of assisted reproductive treatment

requiring clinics to continue to comply with the national accreditation and licensing scheme and the NHMRC Ethical Guidelines

removing anti-competitive licensing conditions

replacing the current licensing scheme with a registration scheme

dissolving the SA Council on Reproductive Technology

deleting the marital requirement for access to ART, to ensure consistency with the Pearce judgment in 1996

continuing to allow medical practitioners to provide assisted insemination, but extending ability to provide assisted insemination to other defined health professionals provided they are authorised by the minister to do so

extending access to ART to those at risk of transmitting serious infective conditions such as HIV

providing for the posthumous use of sperm under limited prescribed circumstances

allowing for the establishment of a donor conception register

providing for a review of the act after five years.

Renaming the Act

The amendment bill proposes to rename the Reproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1988 as the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 1988. This change is to differentiate assisted reproductive treatment from reproductive technology, which is the focus of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2003. It will also make terminology consistent with other jurisdictions. Updating the terms

The amendment bill proposes to change the term 'artificial fertilisation procedures' to 'assisted reproductive treatment', but retain the current definition. It also proposes to change 'artificial insemination' to 'assisted insemination', but retain the current definition. This would ensure terminology is consistent with clinical practice and with other jurisdictions.

Best interests of the child

Currently the functions of the SA Council of Reproductive Technology include a clause which requires the council to keep the welfare of the child as paramount when developing the code of ethical clinical practice. This bill proposes to dissolve parts 2 and 3 of the RT Act, which contains this provision.

Therefore, it is proposed to retain and strengthen the 'best interests of the child' principle and extend it to include both the child to be born and the welfare of the woman undergoing treatment as of fundamental importance in the application of the act and the provision of ART. This would mean that clinics must ensure that the welfare of the woman receiving treatment and the best interests of the child to be born are fundamental when providing assisted reproductive treatment.

Compliance with the national regulatory scheme

Current legislation requires reproductive medicine clinics to comply with the NHMRC ethical guidelines. These undergo extensive consultation, are reviewed every five years and are regularly updated. They recognise the respect due to human embryos, the welfare of the child born from ART and the interests of donors of gametes.

The NHMRC ethical guidelines provide a national ethical framework for clinical practice including details regarding:

unacceptable and prohibited practices;

use and storage of gametes and embryos;

posthumous use of gametes and embryos;

consent and counselling;

preimplantation genetic diagnosis and sex selection;

donor conception and surrogacy;

innovations, training and quality assurance; and

record keeping.

It is proposed that the new South Australian legislation continue to require clinics to comply with national NHMRC ethical guidelines, enabling duplication between legislation and national guidelines to be reduced

Replacing state licensing with state registration

South Australia introduced licensing in the 1980s to protect emerging innovative enterprises before national regulatory and oversight mechanisms were developed. It was intended to limit the number of providers in a new area, rather than control their activities. As a result, South Australia is now served by only two providers: Repromed, which accounts for the majority of activity; and a smaller facility, Flinders Reproductive Medicine. Assisted reproductive treatment is now considered mainstream and such restrictions are no longer justified.

Under the current act, new providers wanting to establish clinics in South Australia must demonstrate that there is an unmet social need which cannot be met by existing licensees, as well as establishing their practice—even before they apply for a licence. The current licensing scheme and its provisions have resulted in a duopoly of service provision in this state. There are other providers wishing to enter the SA market, but currently the law constrains them from doing so.

RTAC issues a licence to reproductive medicine clinics that achieve accreditation, and it is this RTAC licence that permits clients to access Medicare funding. This national system makes the South Australian licensing provisions under the Reproductive Technology Act redundant. In its place, to monitor activity in this area, the bill requires that established clinics register with the Minister for Health. This bill provides for a registration scheme which will impose conditions on registrants seeking to practise ART in South Australia, in addition to the national scheme. This will provide accountability and transparency for those providing assisted reproductive treatment services in South Australia. Compliance will be managed by regulations.

This bill also provides for a once off registration fee to be set. Currently clinics, when applying for a licence, do not have to pay any fees for a licence to practise in South Australia. Initially it is proposed that the fee will be set at zero, but be assessed if, down the track, more providers enter the market, which would result in an increase in workload to manage the register of clinics.

Clinics would be able to be deregistered, and therefore unable to practice in South Australia, for breach of any conditions of their registration, or for non-compliance with the act or its regulations. The bill also includes appeals and reinstatement provisions which uphold the principles of natural justice.

Rather than duplicate existing comprehensive national data reporting systems, it is proposed to require clinics to provide copies of their annual national data reports to the Minister for Health and the department, the requirements of which will be detailed in the regulations.

I will outline the conditions which will be required for registrants in South Australia further on in my speech. I will now turn to the SA Council on Reproductive Technology.

Dissolve the SA Council on Reproductive Technology

The SA Council on Reproductive Technology was given the task, under the newly established Reproductive Technology Act in 1988, to develop a code of ethical clinical practice and research. The council also had a number of other statutory functions under the act, some of which are duplicated in South Australia's embryo research legislation and so are no longer relevant.

Since its inception, the council has played an important role in developing the code, advising various ministers of health on issues that relate to ART as they arise, mediating between clinics and negotiating a consensus on policies to guide the practice of ART in South Australia The council fulfilled a much needed role at that time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the council, its current and previous members, for their dedication and hard work in laying important foundations for a well functioning, cohesive and ethical ART sector in SA. If the proposed amendments are successful, many of the council's functions will no longer be necessary.

The Health Care Act 2008 makes provision for the establishment of Health Advisory Councils (HACs) to advise the Minister for Health. An ethics HAC will be able to provide the type of advice currently provided by the council. The ethics HAC will also be supported by a number of expert advisory panels, and it is envisaged that one specifically for ART will be established to provide expert advice on ART to the ethics HAC when needed. The ART expert advisory panel will consist of experts across a range of areas including research, clinical practice, welfare of children born through ART, infertility counselling, ethics, law, and child development, and so on. The number of experts on this panel would not be limited. If extra advice is needed, additional expert advice could be sought from the assisted reproductive treatment sector itself.

Marital requirement

The current act restricts access to ART to married couples. However, this clause is in direct contravention of the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Furthermore, it has not been applied since 1996, when the South Australian Supreme Court determined that the marital provisions in the act should be read down in accordance with the Sex Discrimination Act. The marital requirements have not been applied since that decision, and the bill includes provisions to remove this redundant criterion. In other words, clinics have, since 1996, been providing treatment to infertile women, regardless of marital status or sexuality.

Access to assisted reproductive treatment

Currently, people may only access ART at a licensed clinic in South Australia if they appear to be infertile, or if there is a risk of passing on a serious genetic defect to a child born naturally. These criteria for access to ART will be retained as a condition of registration. However, I propose to extend access to ART for other conditions which I will now outline.

For several years, assisted reproductive medicine clinics in South Australia have been seeking legislative change to permit them to offer sperm washing to fertile men at risk of passing on a serious infection, such as HIV, to their partner and offspring. This can be (and is) available to infertile couples in South Australia, but currently fertile couples have to travel interstate to access such procedures.

The bill therefore extends eligibility to include cases where there is a risk of transmitting serious infective conditions to a child conceived naturally, eg HIV. This will permit access where there is a risk of transmission of serious infective conditions to a child or mother as well as the risk of a genetic defect which is currently contained in the act.

Posthumous Use of Sperm

Most recently in a widely publicised case a young widow, Ms Sheree Blake (who I acknowledge is in the chamber today), was denied access to sperm stored prior to her husband's death. Both her husband and she had received expert counselling through a reproductive medicine clinic and Mr Blake had provided specific written consent for his wife to use his sperm to achieve a pregnancy after his death. The couple had met all the criteria specified in the national NHMRC ethical guidelines (once subsequent counselling ensured that an adequate time had passed for her to recover from her bereavement and she was making a considered decision).

However, the widow was distressed to discover after her husband's death that South Australian clinics cannot assist her to become pregnant, despite the consent from her husband. She may legally inseminate herself with her husband's sperm at home, and she could take the sperm interstate to be inseminated by a clinic, but she cannot be medically-assisted in her home state because she is fertile.

This bill makes provision for this scenario, but subject to strict controls. For example, the ART must be performed on the deceased person's partner, provided he had given an express direction to that effect. The sperm must have been collected prior to the man's death and they must meet the criteria set out in the NHMRC ethical guidelines on the posthumous use of gametes, which recognise the profound significance for the person born. These include that:

a deceased person has left clearly expressed and witnessed directions consenting to the use of his sperm by his partner after his death;

the prospective parent receives counselling about the consequences of such use;

the use does not diminish the fulfilment of the right of any child born to knowledge of his or her biological parents;

advice is sought from a clinical ethics committee on the ethical issues raised in these circumstances; and

an appropriate period of time has passed before attempting conception and that counselling is available to work through these issues.

Clinics must comply with these guidelines as part of their registration, under this bill, and also as part of their national accreditation. It is a condition of their licence issued under the national regulatory scheme. I seek leave to have the remainder of the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Access to ART for future infertility

The Amendment Bill provides for other conditions of registration regarding access to treatment to be included in the regulations. One such issue under consideration is the ability to access treatment in the case of future infertility. For example, there have been cases where, a serious medical condition such as cancer may render a person infertile in the future, either due to the treatment for the disease or the cancer itself. There are other medical conditions or diseases which also could affect a person's future fertility. To be clear, this does not mean age, where reduced fertility is a natural part of the ageing process, but would be limited specifically to a medical condition, disease (or medical treatment), as defined or described in the regulations.

However as the current Act limits access to either infertility or risk of passing on a genetic defect— this has limited clinical practice to providing treatment only in these circumstances. This in effect has meant that for a person who may become infertile in the future due to a medical condition or treatment, clinics are not even allowed to harvest eggs or create embryos before that person becomes infertile. So not only do they have to face the seriousness of their illness, but they also have to deal with the potential that they may never be able to have children as well.

As a result it is proposed that the regulations allow for other conditions to be prescribed. Further consideration will be given on the details regarding the types of medical conditions, treatments etc which may render a person infertile in the future. Consultation with the sector will be useful in determining these details.

Donor conception register

In 2005, the Social Development Committee (SDC) and the Council raised concerns about the current lack of access to identifying information about gamete or embryo donors and recommended that donor registration be addressed. In 2007, the SDC again recommended that the legislation be amended to ensure that people conceived through donor conception have access to information about their genetic parentage should they request it.

Currently the Act's confidentiality provisions restrict the provision of information by clinics to a third party, a donor conception register or Births Deaths and Marriages for example. In addition expectations have been raised about a national donor register, which is being considered by the Standing Committee of Attorney's General (SCAG) in the context of a nationally consistent policy framework.

The Bill proposes to remove any impediments and allow South Australia to participate in a donor registration program approved by the Minister for Health. This could be set up as a state register or a national register.

The details of such a register such as how it would work, the information to be kept on the register and who would have access would be detailed in regulations and developed in conjunction with the stakeholders. This would ensure that consideration has been given to the model for such a register, and if a national register is established in the meantime, that there would be no regulatory impediments for SA to participate in a national scheme.

Regulations

There are a number of areas which necessitate the development of regulations. The Reproductive Technology (Code of Ethical Clinical Practice) Regulations (the Code) will expire in September 2009 and cannot be extended. This will provide an excellent opportunity to update the current Code which is outdated and constrains clinical practice to include corresponding regulations for any changes to the current Act, supported by the Parliament and in line with national guidelines.

Regulations and/or guidelines would be required for successful amendments to the RT Act including:

continue to require clinics to comply with the RTAC accreditation and licensing scheme and NHMRC ethical guidelines on the use of ART in clinical practice

outlining conditions under which registration or authorisation to carry out assisted reproductive treatments can be granted

providing for registration of new clinics with provisional accreditation

setting registration fees

detailing the access requirements for those at risk of transmitting serious infective conditions such as HIV and persons who are likely, for medical reasons, such as chemotherapy for cancer, to become infertile in the future

allowing for administrative aspects such as provision for records when a clinic closes and for other emerging issues

detailing the requirements for the posthumous use of sperm and embryos, under limited circumstance

detailing requirements for the donor conception register including information required and access provisions.

Records

Currently, there are only limited protections for patients' and donors' records when clinics are closed or a licence is cancelled. The Bill allows for other conditions to be set on registrants, therefore I am proposing that the regulations set procedures to be followed to ensure that records are safely and appropriately stored, transferred and/or destroyed when clinics or other providers of ART cease to practice.

Penalties

The Bill also increases penalties for breaches of the Act. Penalties set twenty years ago are outdated and have been increased to reflect the nature of the industry and current expectations.

Conclusion

I urge members to support the Bill, to ensure that ART meets the needs of the South Australian community now and into the 21st century. I believe that the Amendments proposed here are not radical shifts in policy, but reflect nationally accepted clinical practice. Access to treatment is still restricted to people who appear to be infertile or at risk of transmitting a genetic defect, but now includes those at risk of passing on a serious condition, such as HIV to a child conceived naturally and to those who, for medical reasons, are likely to become infertile in the future.

The Bill will ensure that the regulation of ART in SA is responsive to emerging issues and improved treatments, thereby benefiting those in need of ART for safe family formation.

I appreciate that these matters raise many ethical questions for some members, which is why the Government has agreed that Labor Party members can vote according to their conscience.

I commend the Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Reproductive Technology (Clinical Practices) Act 1988

4—Amendment of long title

This clause amends the long title of the principal Act to reflect the amendments made by this measure.

5—Amendment of section 1—Short title

This clause amends the short title of the principal Act so that it becomes the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 1988.

6—Amendment of section 3—Interpretation

This clause amends section 3 of the principal Act, changing current terms 'artificial fertilisation procedure' and 'artificial insemination' to 'assisted reproductive treatment' and 'assisted insemination' respectively. These changes reflect current national terminology and better reflect the scope of the procedures.

The clause also makes further amendments consequential upon the amendments made by this measure.

7—Insertion of section 4A

This clause inserts new section 4A into the principal Act, a section that provides that the welfare of a woman to whom assisted reproductive treatment is provided in accordance with this Act, and that of any child to be born in consequence of such treatment, must be treated as being of fundamental importance in respect of the operation of this Act, and in assisted reproductive treatment provided in accordance with this Act.

8—Repeal of Parts 2 and 3

This clause repeals Parts 2 and 3 of the current Act. The effect of the substitution is the abolition of the current South Australian Council on Reproductive Technology (current Part 2) and the licensing scheme for providers of artificial fertilisation procedures (current Part 3), and the institution of a system of registration for providers of assisted reproductive technology. The new Parts 2 and 3 are as follows:

Part 2—Registration

5—Authorisation and registration required to provide assisted reproductive treatment

This clause creates an offence if a person provides assisted reproductive treatment and the person is not authorised to do so in accordance with the regulations or is not registered under this proposed Part.

The penalty for an offence is a maximum fine of $120,000.

The clause sets out an exemption to proposed subsection (1), in that assisted insemination provided by a health professional (a term defined in proposed subsection (6)) approved by the Minister, or assisted insemination provided at no cost, may be provided without such authorisation or registration. An offence is also created in respect of an approved health professional contravening or failing to comply with a condition of his or her approval.

The clause also makes procedural provision in respect of approvals.

6—Eligibility for registration

This clause sets out when a person is eligible for registration under the proposed Part.

7—Application for registration

This clause sets out how an application for registration under the proposed Part must be made.

8—Registration

This clause provides for the registration of persons who are authorised to provide assisted reproductive treatment. Registration is required before the person can actually provide such treatment in this State.

Subclause (2) sets out the information that must be included on the Register, which is to be kept by the Minister.

9—Conditions of registration

This clause provides that the Minister must impose certain conditions on a person's registration under this Part. The kind of conditions that must be so imposed are as follows:

(a) a condition requiring the person to hold, while the person is registered under this Part, a specified licence, accreditation or other qualification that is in force;

(b) a condition setting out the kinds of assisted reproductive treatment the person may provide and any requirements that must be complied with in the provision of such treatment;

(c) a condition preventing the provision of assisted reproductive treatment except in the specified circumstances, those circumstances being—

(i) if a woman who would be the mother of any child born as a consequence of the assisted reproductive treatment is, or appears to be, infertile;

(ii) if a man who is living with a woman (on a genuine domestic basis as her husband) who would be the mother of any child born as a consequence of the assisted reproductive treatment is, or appears to be, infertile;

(iii) if there appears to be a risk that a serious genetic defect, serious disease or serious illness would be transmitted to a child conceived naturally;

(iv) if—

(A) the donor of the relevant human semen has died; and

(B) before the donor died, either—

the donor's semen was collected; or

a human ovum (being the ovum of a woman who, immediately before the death of the deceased, was living with the donor on a genuine domestic basis) was fertilised by means of assisted reproductive treatment using the donor's semen; or

an embryo had been created as a consequence of such assisted reproductive treatment; and

(C) before the donor died, the donor consented to the use of the semen, fertilised ovum or embryo (as the case requires) after his death in the provision of the proposed assisted reproductive treatment; and

(D) if the donor gave any directions in relation to the use of the semen, ovum or embryo (as the case requires)—the directions have, as far as is reasonably practicable, been complied with; and

(E) the assisted reproductive treatment is provided for the benefit of a woman who, immediately before the death of the donor, was living with the donor on a genuine domestic basis;

(v) in any other circumstances prescribed by the regulations;

(d) a condition requiring the person to ensure that the regulations are complied with;

(e) any other condition required by the regulations.

The clause provides for the variation of a person's conditions by the Minister, and creates an offence for a person who contravenes or fails to comply with a condition of the person's registration, with a maximum fine of $120,000.

10—Suspension or cancellation of registration

This clause provides that, if the Minister is satisfied that a person has contravened, or failed to comply with, a condition of the person's registration, the Minister may suspend or cancel the person's registration. In such a case though, the person must first be given a reasonable opportunity to make submissions in relation to the matter.

11—Removal from Register

This clause provides that the Minister must remove a person from the Register in the specified circumstances.

12—Reinstatement on register

This clause provides that a person who has been removed from the Register under proposed section 11 can be reinstated to the Register on application, and makes procedural provision in relation to such reinstatement.

13—Appeals

This clause provides that a person can appeal to the Supreme Court against certain decisions made under the proposed Part.

14—Related matters

This clause makes procedural provision relating to access to, and evidentiary matters arising from, the Register.

Part 3—Donor conception register

15—Donor conception register

This clause enables the Minister to keep a register that identifies the donor of human reproductive material used in assisted reproductive treatment, where the treatment results in the birth of a child.

The clause sets out the information required to be kept if the donor conception register is, in fact, kept, and also provides that the register may only be accessed in accordance with the regulations.

The clause also empowers the Minister to require a person to provide the Minister with specified information, where the Minister requires that information for the purpose of preparing and maintaining the donor conception register. A person who, without having a reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with such a requirement is guilty of an offence.

The clause also provides that the proposed section does not apply to assisted reproductive treatment provided before the commencement of this section.

9—Insertion of section 16

This clause inserts a new section 16, providing that specified persons must keep the records etc required by the regulations, and must retain them in accordance with the regulations.

10—Amendment of section 17—Powers of authorised persons

This clause makes consequential amendments, and increases the penalty for an offence against subsection (2) to a maximum fine of $10,000.

11—Amendment of section 18—Confidentiality

This clause makes consequential amendments, and increases the penalties for an offence against the section to a maximum fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for 6 months.

12—Amendment of section 20—Regulations

This clause makes consequential amendments, and increases the maximum penalty for an offence against the regulations to a fine of $10,000.

13—Insertion of section 21

This clause requires the Minister to conduct a review of the operation and effectiveness of the principal Act as amended by this measure. The review must be conducted as soon as is practicable after the fifth anniversary of the commencement of this proposed section, and a report laid before each House of Parliament.

14—Repeal of Schedule

This clause repeals the spent Schedule to the principal Act.

Schedule 1—Transitional provisions

1—Existing licensees

This clause provides that a person who is licensed to provide artificial fertilisation procedures under the current Act will be taken to be registered under Part 2 of that Act, as enacted by this measure.

2—Record keeping

This clause requires a person licensed to provide artificial fertilisation procedures under the current Act to continue to keep records etc that they are currently required to keep, despite the amendments enacted by this measure.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Williams.

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