South Australians can now have their say on regulations to support new donor conception laws which will allow all donor-conceived South Australians to access available information about their genetic heritage and relatives.
Changes to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART) Act 1988 were passed by State Parliament in March, which will allow donor-conceived people aged 18 years and over to access information about their donor and genetic siblings.
This information will also be made available to the parents of donor-conceived children under 18 years of age and donors will have access to information about people born as a result of their donation, where consent has been provided.
The changes are expected to come into effect early next year and include those who made donations under the condition of anonymity before September 2004.
Regulations outlining the full details of the new legislation have now been drafted to support the introduction of the changes and to facilitate the operation of a publicly accessible South Australian Donor Conception Register (DCR).
The South Australian DCR is an electronic register, established in November 2021 which stores available and verifiable donor conception information relating to donor-conceived people, donors and recipient parents.
Once accessible, it will become the first register of its kind so advanced in Australia to operate in real-time with retrospective effect, and will put South Australia in line with other states including New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria which all have registers.
The register will allow donor-conceived people aged 18 years and over, or parents to a donor-conceived child and donors to list their contact preferences and will support important medical and genetic information to be shared between relatives.
To support those involved in donations made under the condition of anonymity before September 2004, a government-funded intermediary support and counselling service will be available to these donors and their families as well as those immediately affected.
Public consultation will run for one month and will close at 5pm on Sunday 8 September.
To review the regulations and provide your feedback, go to the YourSAy website.
As put by Chris Picton
All donor-conceived people have the right to know about their genetic heritage and family, so we are pleased to be one step closer to making that a reality.
This information can play a significant role in the development of a person's identity and self-esteem, while having access to medical and genetic information can be important for things like family planning.
I encourage South Australians to provide their feedback so we can ensure all views are considered in the development of this landmark legislation.
As put by Department for Health and Wellbeing Acting Deputy Chief Executive, Strategy and Governance, Prue Reid
Consultation with the community has been a major element in the development of this legislation which will provide greater equality for donor-conceived people to access important information about their genetic history.
We want to hear from the wider community including their thoughts on who can access the DCR, the types of information that a person using the DCR can have access to, and the information that a person can provide for inclusion, such as information involving private donor arrangements.
We are also seeking feedback on new record-keeping requirements including those relating to ART clinic registration, with all feedback received to be considered before the draft regulations are finalised.
