We are in a fertility crisis, so why is Labor axing IVF?

Published 11 March 2025

Published in the Daily Telegraph 

Few symbols capture the quiet heartbreak of modern Australia more than the shrinking family table - fewer children, fewer siblings, fewer grandkids.

Australia has gone from baby boom to baby bust in a few generations, a demographic shift that is reshaping the country's future.

Young people are having children later, if at all, squeezed by housing unaffordability, and the rising cost of everything from groceries to energy bills to childcare. Meanwhile, fertility - stubbornly tied to biology, not economic convenience - quietly declines with age.

Australian women are now having on average 1.5 babies. We need to have 2.1 just to maintain our population. The nation's cradle is growing quieter and the economic and societal consequences cannot be ignored.

If we're serious about reversing this trend, it's time for policymakers to stop treating IVF like a luxury for the desperate few and start making it an investment in our future population.

Last month, the NSW Coalition's $2000 IVF rebate was officially wound back by the Minns government, which has means-tested it virtually out of existence.

If you earn more than $116,000 as a couple - $58,000 each - you are ineligible.

That means key workers such as nurses and teachers and junior police officers miss out.

Premier Chris Minns in question time defended the move as a “difficult decision” to balance the books.

But this was a cruel case of belttightening by Labor - hurting thousands of couples who are going through an emotionally painful and very expensive reproductive journey.

The average IVF cycle costs close to $12,000, with half of that being outof-pocket costs. Many couples require multiple rounds.

The $2000 rebate by the Coalition did not cover all the costs, but it signalled to couples that we have your back - we're going to get you started, and your investment is also important to our state.

IVF is a modern-day reality. One in 16 children is born via IVF in Australia. One in seven couples has fertility issues.

To those who say it's not the state's job to pay for people's families, I'd say this. We need future taxpayers. A future workforce. Who is going to look after our ageing population? The alternative is a reliance on greater immigration.

Investment in families is not a unique concept. In 2002, thentreasurer Peter Costello famously encouraged Australian women to have one for mum, one for dad and one for the country. And it had the desired effect, with Australian women having an average two children each and spurring a brief post World War II baby boom.

IVF support is our modern-day equivalent of Costello's baby bonus. If governments want to encourage couples to have one “one for the country” then they must provide the economic support to help them do that.

So, with another International Women's Day now passed, instead of simply celebrating the achievements of women and talking about the importance of opportunity, how about we do something tangible and reverse the IVF cuts in NSW?

The rewards for that support will be immense and multi-generational.