IVF Industry Under Scrutiny Amid Trust Issues and Ethical Concerns

Australia's in-vitro fertilization (IVF) industry faces escalating scrutiny following two troubling incidents at Monash IVF, where a woman mistakenly gave birth to a stranger's child and another was implanted with her own embryo instead of her partner’s. These events have raised serious concerns about the ethics and oversight within the IVF sector, prompting calls for a national regulatory framework.

According to Mark Butler, Australia’s Federal Health Minister, while IVF has brought joy to thousands of families, the recent events have led to a significant crisis of confidence in the system. "We need to deal with some of the gaps in regulations, some of the lack of transparency that I think we now know is in this sector," Butler stated during a press conference on June 12, 2025. These incidents have highlighted the potential conflicts of interest that arise when profit motives intersect with healthcare.

In a 2022 report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, it was noted that one in sixteen babies born in Australia is conceived through IVF, with around 20,000 births resulting from approximately 109,000 cycles that year. However, the likelihood of a successful pregnancy diminishes sharply with the mother’s age; women aged 30 to 34 have a 43% chance of a live birth per cycle, while women aged 40 to 44 face only an 11% chance (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022).

Dr. Evie Kendal, a bioethicist at Swinburne University, emphasizes the precarious balance between viewing IVF as a consumer service versus essential healthcare. "As soon as there’s a financial incentive to provide these services or even upsell these services, there is a perverse incentive to not look at alternatives that may not require these services, such as lifestyle changes or ovulation tracking," Kendal explained. This concern echoes sentiments shared by fellow bioethicists Hilary Bowman-Smart and Craig Stanbury in a recent article published in The Conversation, where they characterized IVF as increasingly commercialized and driven by profit motives.

The IVF industry generated an estimated revenue of $810 million in 2025, largely fueled by the high demand for services, including non-essential add-ons often marketed to hopeful parents. These add-ons, which include treatments like acupuncture and pre-implantation genetic testing, lack substantial evidence supporting their effectiveness. Research from the University of Melbourne found that 77% of IVF clinic websites make unfounded claims about the benefits of these services (University of Melbourne, 2023).

In response to the recent controversies, the Victorian health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, announced a three-month review aimed at evaluating the need for a federally regulated IVF scheme. Thomas expressed concerns about the current self-accreditation practices of IVF providers, stating, "It simply doesn’t pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service."

The Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has also called for a consistent regulatory framework to bolster accountability and transparency across fertility services. FSANZ President Dr. Petra Wale highlighted the importance of ethical guidelines, including requirements for evidence-based practice and clear communication with patients about treatment options and success rates.

As the IVF industry grapples with these pressing issues, the implications for families seeking assistance in building their own may be profound. The call for a federal regulatory framework not only aims to restore public trust in the IVF system but also seeks to prioritize patient-centered care in an increasingly commercial landscape. Experts warn that without adequate oversight, the risk of over-servicing and misleading practices could jeopardize the very families that IVF services aim to support.