The purpose of this grant opportunity is to support patients from two population groups who face extra costs associated with fertility preservation.

A patient is eligible for subsidised cryostorage under the program if they seek cryostorage of eggs, sperm or embryos for fertility preservation due to

• a cancer diagnosis as evidenced by medical documentation, or 
• being at risk of passing on genetic conditions, and they have undergone preimplantation genetic testing funded by the Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS), as described in MBS items 13207, 73384, 73385, 73386 or 73387.

Costs associated with the cryostorage of eggs, sperm or embryos are not currently subsidised through the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) and these patient groups often face extra costs associated with fertility preservation.

The intended outcome of the program is to reduce eligible patient’s costs for preserving eggs, sperm, or embryos through cryostorage (freezing). Under the program, patients will be eligible for up to ten years of cryostorage funding per eligible material stored.

Under the program, the Government will make a payment to subsidise the cost of cryostorage of eggs, sperm, and/or embryos for eligible patients for a maximum of ten years per patient and per stored material.

Funding

The Australian Government announced an initial amount of $11.6 million over four years for the ART Storage Funding Program in the 2023-24 Budget.

This grant opportunity is demand-driven and will run from 1 July 2023, with grant agreements initially available over 4 years from 2023-24 to 2026-27.

The subsidy amount is up to $600 per year per patient and per eligible cryostorage service. Payments of up to $300 will be made in arrears on a 6 monthly basis. The first payment period will cover cryostorage of eligible services from 1 July to 31 December 2023. The first payments will be made in early 2024.

The payment amount will be calculated on a monthly pro-rata basis: i.e. eligible cryostorage services will be subsidised for storage from the first day of the month in which they are placed in storage, to the last day of the month in which the cryostorage service ends. The subsidy amount will be periodically reviewed by the Department of Health and Aged Care in consultation with the ART sector.

The subsidy amount is subject to indexation annually on 1 July in line with the Wage Price Index (WPI).

Subsidies will be paid directly to eligible ART clinics via a payment system managed by Services Australia. No payments will be made directly to patients.

This grant opportunity makes grant funding available to the end of financial year 2026-27.

How to apply

To apply you must: 

• read all available documentation about the grant opportunity provided on GrantConnect, 
• provide all information requested, 
• include all necessary attachments, and 
• register your ART Organisation and your clinics with the Services Australia Organisation Register.

Once you are registered with Services Australia, the Department of Health and Aged Care will review your application.

Eligibility

To be eligible you must be a legal entity (ART Organisation) providing cryostorage services on behalf of eligible patients (see Section 4.1.1 in the guidelines).

Each ART clinic claiming subsidies from the program under your grant agreement must have a current licence from the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC).

You are not eligible to apply if you are an: 

• organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’, and/or 
• ART clinic not licenced by RTAC.

Other criteria

A cryostorage service is only eligible for subsidy under the program if the eggs, sperm and/or embryo commenced cryostorage on or after 1 July 2023. Materials that commenced cryostorage prior to this date are not eligible for the program.

• Email: Grant.ATM@Health.gov.au