Last updated 4 March 2025

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) services are now regulated by legislation in Queensland, following the enactment of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2024 (Qld) (ART Act). The statutory framework requires ART service providers to be licensed and sets out key obligations that must be met concerning the provision of ART services.

The legislation regulates other specific matters, such as non-medical sex selection and posthumous reproduction (where a partner of a deceased person wishes to retrieve gametes from their deceased or dying partner for later use in an ART procedure). The ART Act also establishes a donor conception information register to ensure that persons conceived using donated gametes or embryos as well as donors have the option to access specific information as outlined in s 48 of the Act. The main aims of the ART Act are to:

  • protect the welfare and interests of persons who use ART services and persons who are born as a result of such services
  • regulate the use of ART
  • provide and regulate access to information for persons born as a result of ART.

The legislation states that the welfare and interests of people who are born as a result of ART are, throughout their lives, of paramount importance in the administration and operation of the ART Act (s 3).

Offences are created under the legislation for persons who provide ART services without a licence or for those who advertise that they are licensed ART service providers when they are not. It is also a requirement that ART services are provided by or under the supervision of a medical practitioner.

Fertility clinics in Queensland are not permitted to refuse to provide ART services based on the relationship status or sexuality of those seeking such services.