Anyone in VIC done the police check required to continue or commence IVF post-July?

[~shazz~]

thats digusting why just discriminate against victorian couple you'd think that if they are going to bring in such a ridiculous law then it would be across the board it just sounds so sus (sp) again ladies & DH's i'm so sorry if there are letters to be written count me in

[Bengal]

Hi all

I went to a meeting at our new clinic in Melbourne last week, and they announed that the powers that be, had to extend the date for the police checks, they didnt realise the logistics of it all, it is now the 1st September 09..

[dusty]

they didnt realise the logistics of it all

Thanks for letting us know hun. xx

[buliej]

Thanks WLAB - but what about the child protection order search - was that postponed too?

[Bengal]

Oh I can't remember

I would say so, probably best to talk to your clinic when you are next there

[Persephone1]

I've been discussing this with another friend going through IVF recently. We're both in Victoria and are affected by the legislation. We're also both lawyers, and have sought advice from Human Rights lawyers on this issue.

The Bill that included this little gem included the changes to the provisions for IVF access for lesbian couples. The media focus at the time was on these changes, and the police checks provisions largely went by unnoticed. The submissions received on the legislation was mainly from religious organisations objecting to the lesbian access provisions.

There is an argument that the police check and Child Protection check provisions contravene anti-discrimination law, but unfortunately this is unlikely to succeed. Most anti-discrimination provisions relate to employment, etc. The Victorian Charter of Human Rights does provide that no one should be discriminated against in the provision of goods and services, but again it would be difficult to make it stick. The advice I've been given is that in order to have a 'cause of action' (a case to argue) an IVF patient should either:
a) obtain a police check and if what is on their police check results in them being refused access to IVF, making a complaint of discrimination, or seeking an administrative review of the decision, or
b) refuse to obtain the police check, recieve an official refusal from the IVF provider, and then make a complaint of discrimination.
Obtaining a police check that is 'clean' and proceeding to IVF will not result in a cause of action.

I should add that the three HR lawyers I've spoken to have given me two and half different responses. Besides that, the obvious downside is that none of us want to delay our IVF treatment with our own political activism and court cases.

What I have done is spoken to the Human Rights Legal Resource Centre in Melbourne. They are going to continue to look into it (although they have limited resources), but they have indicated that one way of getting a 'test case' for them to take on board is to wait for someone to be refused access to IVF on the basis of their police record/child protection check and then go in all guns a'blazing. HRLRC is considering contacting Melbourne IVF in the hope that such a patient would be referred to HRLRC when this happens.

I hate these provisions. I wrote to the Attorney-General at the time the Bill was being debated and told him exactly that. It is so discriminatory, and you know what? DH and I have already wondered what it is that makes us less 'deserving' to be parents, and we don't need the government scrutinising us any more. And in my line of work, I see plenty of people who would fail the police checks, if only they weren't so fertile.

If anyone has been refused treatment on the basis of their police checks or child protection checks, they are welcome to call the HRLRC.

And of course the irony is that the demographic of people accessing IVF are probably not the same demographic who have dirty police records...

Oh, and if you want to keep track of what's happening at MIVF, see http://www.mivf.com.au/ivf/bulletinb...e=LN&cat=sub18

[dusty]

Persephone1 you are a legend

Thanks for sharing what you are learned. I really hope noone gets refused treatment, but one day it may happen. I just really hope that it wont be a serious case that the Government can then use to justify their position. Time will tell.

Once again thanks to you and your friends for thinking this through. I did look into Fed Anti-Discrimination laws but it doesn't seem that they extend to this scenario.

ETA: I have to share some reputation around first but you deserve it IMO.