Anyone in VIC done the police check required to continue or commence IVF post-July?
I'm trying to complete the paperwork for a police records check for myself and another one for DH as one will be required for all ivf patients and their partners after 1 July 09 (at least if the ART Bill is proclaimed in July and thus becomes law - see Monash's site if you are interested in more - it says checks valid from 30/03/2009 will be acceptable). I'm usually pretty good with paperwork but cannot figure this out.
If someone has successfully done this, can you let me know what you selected for "purpose" - do we have to announce to the police force what we are getting this for?
Also - is it a record check (which costs $30.70 per person) OR name and fingerprint check ($127 per person)?
Anyone know how long it takes to get back the check?
It also says that a Child Protection Order Check is required - yet there's no paper work available to get one - does anyone know anything about this?
As if AC isn't hard enough...
This is just so ridiculous!
Last edited by buliej; April 26th, 2009 at 10:12 PM.
: additional question
Grrrrrrrrrrrr having to do this police check makes my blood boil! . Sorry Julie, just taking the opportunity to grumble aloud about such a discriminatory piece of nonsense. It is the ONLY place in the world that requires such a check for IVF. I hope I never have to step into the Victorian system ever again, and I am sorry it is going to affect so many lovely BB people such as yourself.
*off my soap box now*
I wonder if "medical" would be enough of a reason?
Part of the problem you may be facing, buliej, is that it's in the early stages and things may not be fully established with regards to procedures yet. Do you think your clinic would be able to advise you on what's needed?
I too can't believe that Victoria actually brought this in! It makes me so angry and looks as though they are trying to make infertility a criminal offence! Grrrrr!!!
I know my clinic states that we can get the Child Protection Order through them, but we have to organise the police check.
I have to admit I couldn't believe it when I saw the signs stating what now needs to be done. Its so very out there bizarre. But I have since heard a story of an abused woman forced to go through IVF so in a way I think it could have benefits.
I'm sure your clinic would be able to help. I'm certain they are very aware that this is going to be a troublesome process.
BW - we must have posted at the same time. I have called my clinic but the person who is on top of this issue is out today - so I'll have to wait.
S'rose - I think what you describe is a very unique situation and actually not what this is meant - in theory - to address (I don't even see how this requirement would reveal the situation you describe). I would hope that the situation you describe would become apparent during the mandatory counseling session (and with a good counselor, I think they would begin to sense something and request to speak to the parties independently).
I think this requirement is highly objectionable. To me, if they require this, then before they let ANY person who delivers a baby leave the hospital (or otherwise go home with their baby), they should require a police check and child protection check - there is no real difference. In fact, the true equivalent would be requiring OBs & GPs to require their patients to obtain these records as soon as a pregnancy is confirmed. Just because one needs help getting pregnant, doesn't mean that they should have to undergo some higher scrutiny. I don't even see how they could argue costs/money - as it costs no less for the state to intervene where necessary when a non-IVF baby is involved than when an IVF baby is involved - and the government provides the same medical coverage for pregnancy-related medical care to mothers of non-IVF babies and IVF babies. AND this is a State requirement - but it's not the State that funds IVF treatments but the federal government!
This is outrageous and offends on so many levels. This discriminates against infertile couples. There is no evidence to suggest this group of parents are higher risk - quite the opposite. Anyone who's been through IVF and has been lucky enough to conceive thinks their baby is so precious. You have to really want children to go through the emotional and financial strain of IVF. IVF is not a lifestyle choice, as gossiped about aging stars in womens magazines, it is a treatment for medical conditions for ordinary women and men.
This is a 3 part check requiring checks against the policy criminal records, child protection orders and fingerprint check. What is going on with society when ordinary citizens are have fingerprint checks? Is infertility now a crime? What happens with this information and does it create a record entry for people who previously were not on the police database?
This will be a double whammy for infertile couples in VIC, after the federal govt removed IVF from the Medicare safety net, increasing treatment costs by thousands of dollars. This is government and bureaucracy gone wrong. I'm sure the police, always under resourced, have some real criminals to chase.
I'm 23 weeks pregnant with a georgeuos IVF baby after trying over 7 years & 3 frozen embryos - luckily in NSW.
Most Victorians, the writer included, would support initiatives to protect at risk Children and therefore some suggestions may be helpful. Basic Internet research identified that Australian Politicians and Beauracrats may pose considerably more risk to their children than IVF couples. To support this proposition the following are listed:
Milton Orkopoulos , 2008 NSW Labour 13 years detention, 28 Child Sex Offences
Keith Wright, 1993 Qld Labour, 11 years, Child Sex Offences
Bill D’arcy, 2000, Qld Labour, 11 years, Child Sex Offences
Terry Martin, 2009, Tasmania, Court hearing in progress, Child Porn
Willian Stuart Brown, 2000, Ausaid/Australian Embassy Jakarta Child sex offences
Peter Hollingworth allowed a known Paedophile priest to continue working, whilst Archbishop of Brisbane – latter resigned as Governor General as a result of the scandal.
In view of this, it is fair for the population to demand that:
1) The Police Clearance and working with children requirements for IVF patients be removed, or that this requirement be introduced for all Victorians of reproductive age.
2) Politicians should subject themselves to special scrutiny and police clearances before being allowed to have children on the basis that there appears to be considerable more risk of children being abused by politicians than IVF parents.
To date no evidence has been produced by any politician supporting the case that there is an issue with child abuse among IVF patients. I have written to many politicians without a sensible response, excpet for the Greens who are very supportive.
and to add my twopenneth in, apart from being outreagously offensive by implication, it's also utterly utterly pointless.
I've lived in Australia for 1.5 years. Did they check with the UK police? No. So I (or DH) could have been the UK's most wanted list for 33.5 years of my existence, and moved country to escape it (as notable paedos do- like Gary Glitter - not the UK's best export), and would not have shown up on the stupid little form.
honestly. As if people live in one place all their lives.
The thing is, unless every person who wishes to fall pregnant (naturally or not) is required to undergo a police check prior to even trying, then it is discrimination.
With only a relatively small percentage of children born in Australia are a result of IVF (I think it's something like 4% Australia-wide, so an even smaller number if you just consider Victoria), that means that the majority of children born in Australia will not have had the dubious 'benefit' of having their parent's police cleared.
So to place this impost on just a few for no real reason is arbitrary and disciminatory. Unless there is a known and proven history of peodophiles undergoing IVF to conceive children (and why would they when 96% or so of them can simply do it naturally?), then there isn't sufficient reason to impose this breach of privacy on an infertile couple.
I think this is simply a case of a pollie looking for cheap point-scoring without the stats to back it up. The problem is that as IVF patients are in the minority, it got passed as being 'in the interests of the child'.
I take real issue to being considered guilty until proven innocent. Yet this is what this legislation does. All Victorian IVF patients are being treated as if they are criminals until they can prove otherwise. Disgraceful.
ITA Sushee. Even though I am in Qld, I would be willing to help out in anyway i can to get this reprehensible situation changed.
With all the changes to medicare re OB & GYN, IVF and this, it just seems like women and in particular woman with infertility issues (who are a minority and by definition a disabled minority at that) are being targeted. It is disgusting.
Anyone in VIC done the police check required to continue or commence IVF post-July?
Reply With Quote
. Sorry Julie, just taking the opportunity to grumble aloud about such a discriminatory piece of nonsense. It is the ONLY place in the world that requires such a check for IVF. I hope I never have to step into the Victorian system ever again, and I am sorry it is going to affect so many lovely BB people such as yourself.
honestly. As if people live in one place all their lives.
Bookmarks