Claiming
Patients do not claim or receive the ART Storage Funding Program payment directly.
If you are eligible, your clinic will:
- invite you to take part in the program
- ask for your written consent to:
- claim the payment on your behalf
- share your information with us and Services Australia so we can check and process the claim
- submit a claim
- receive the payment
- give you a written statement of the payment they receive every 6 months.
If your clinic does not invite you and you believe you are eligible, please contact them.
You will need to use a clinic that holds a current licence from the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee.
No out-of-pocket costs
Your clinic must not charge any out-of-pocket costs or extra fees for an eligible cryostorage service that receives or will receive funding.
Funding amount
The funding amount is $600 per year per type of material (eggs, sperm or embryos).
We will index the funding amount every year on 1 July, in line with the Wage Price Index.
You can access funding for up to 2 types of material, for up to 10 years.
How we calculate funding amounts
If the eligible cryostorage service starts or ends mid-month, clinics can claim for the entire month.
For example, if you start a cryostorage service on 15 July 2023 and end them on 21 September 2023, your clinic can claim for the entire months of:
- July
- August
- September.
How the 10-year limit applies
The 10-year limit applies to each type of material (eggs, sperm or embryos).
This means each type of material has its own 10-year limit. The same patient can get funding for:
- sperm storage for 10 years
- embryo storage for 10 years.
The 10 years do not need to be continuous. You can store an embryo for one year, and then have a break for 2 years before storing another embryo. The break does not count towards the 10-year limit.
If you want to continue storage after you reach the funding limit, you will need to pay for it yourself.
When payments are made
Payments will be made to clinics every 6 months.
The first payment period will be 1 July to 31 December 2023. The payment for this period will occur in early 2024.
What you need to do
You need to let your clinic know if:
- your details change (such as your name, address or Medicare card number)
- you don’t need your eggs, sperm or embryos stored anymore.