Latest news with #MonashIVF
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Queensland laws which would force IVF providers to notify authorities of 'serious adverse events' delayed six months
Queensland laws that would force IVF companies to notify authorities about "serious adverse events" — such as embryo mix-ups — will be delayed by six months to allow time for "consultation". Earlier this year, Monash IVF "voluntarily" told Queensland Health about a bungle at its Brisbane clinic, where a patient gave birth to a baby that was not genetically related to her. That case and another more recent embryo mix-up in Melbourne have put the national spotlight on IVF regulation. The next stage of Queensland's Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act was meant to come into effect in September, however the Crisafulli government on Wednesday confirmed it will be deferred until March so it could "undertake proper consultation with stakeholders'. As well as mandatory "serious adverse event" notifications for providers, the laws would give Queensland Health the power to issue an improvement notice to ART providers to minimise health and safety risks. It would also allow authorities to place conditions on, as well as suspend or cancel, a provider's licence. Serious adverse events could involve "significant medical or surgical conditions" resulting from assisted reproductive treatment, breaches of law, or gamete or embryo identification mix-up, according to the bill's explanatory notes. The government said the decision to defer stage two of the laws from September to March was based on the advice from the chief health officer. "The six-month deferral will provide Queensland Health with sufficient time to consult on the draft ART Regulation 2025 that is required to operationalise the next stage of the Act," Health Minister Tim Nicholls said in a statement. His office foreshadowed likely amendments to the laws. The government said since the first stage of the act had come into force, some providers had paused IVF treatment for certain patients over concerns about meeting the new requirements. The ABC has previously reported on the case of one Queensland IVF patient who had to cancel her embryo transfer because it did not comply with the new laws, only to be later told she could go ahead with her treatment. The government also cited concerns about a lack of consultation before the laws passed. "When it comes to helping families experience the miracle of life, we must ensure the IVF industry is well-regulated while also resolving the major issues created by Labor rushing through laws," Mr Nicholls said. "This is a sensible pause while government works to get the regulation right. Families deserve clarity and care and that starts with proper consultation." Shadow Health Minister Mark Bailey was critical of the delay. He said the legislation followed what had already been "exhaustive" consultation over several months as well as an investigation by the Health Ombudsman. But a Queensland Health spokeswoman said delaying the implementation would give the department more time to consult with the donor-conceived community and fertility providers. "It is critical Queenslanders have confidence in assisted reproductive services and that [the] industry understands its obligations, which is why we must get the legislative reforms right," she said. "The revised implementation date does not change our commitment to prioritising the health and wellbeing of people accessing ART services. "We will continue to work closely with ART providers to ensure they have rigorous safeguards in place to identify and mitigate potential risks." Family creation lawyer Sarah Jefford said it was "not the time to be holding back on these reforms given there's already a lack of trust in the community towards fertility providers". She also said there should be an independent national framework for fertility providers. In June, the nation's health ministers agreed to a three-month rapid review of the IVF sector following the second Monash IVF bungle. Queensland Health said delaying the next stage of the laws would allow the department time to consider the outcomes of that national review.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Monash IVF Group Limited's (ASX:MVF) top owners are individual investors with 56% stake, while 32% is held by institutions
Significant control over Monash IVF Group by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions The top 25 shareholders own 44% of the company 32% of Monash IVF Group is held by Institutions AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early. Every investor in Monash IVF Group Limited (ASX:MVF) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 56% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). And institutions on the other hand have a 32% ownership in the company. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Monash IVF Group, beginning with the chart below. See our latest analysis for Monash IVF Group Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. Monash IVF Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Monash IVF Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Monash IVF Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited with 9.7% of shares outstanding. UniSuper Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 7.1% of common stock, and Argo Investments Limited holds about 6.3% of the company stock. Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder. While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. We can report that insiders do own shares in Monash IVF Group Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$288m, and insiders have AU$3.6m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying. The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 56% stake in Monash IVF Group, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions. We can see that public companies hold 9.7% of the Monash IVF Group shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Monash IVF Group (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of. But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
ABC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Calls for 'wild west' of online sperm donation to be regulated due to 'lifelong consequences'
A leading Australian fertility lawyer is urging governments to regulate the "wild west" of online semen donation, accusing them of being "asleep at the wheel" as women continue to turn to websites and apps to seek donors. Stephen Page is calling on health ministers to look at regulating the space as part of the three-month rapid review of the nation's fertility sector that was sparked by the second Monash IVF mix-up. "There's no regulation, you can set up a website, you can set up an app and bang the drum and get men coming along saying that they will be donors, either by AI (artificial insemination), or NI (natural insemination, or what we used to call sex)," he said. One sperm donation Facebook group, which has more than 21,000 members, asks questions around insemination methods people are comfortable to use, including NI. Last year, ABC's Background Briefing investigated Facebook group sperm exchanges and the "known donor" movement as "wait times and costs see more Australians turn away from traditional sperm banks". The sites are used by some single women and lesbian couples seeking to start a family without the big expense and delays of going to fertility companies, which can involve long wait times to access donor sperm. But Mr Page, who is also on the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) board, cited risks including the lack of a cap on the number of families a donor can donate to through social media and concerns women could be exploited. He said the need for reform was urgent. "It worries me greatly. There's been all this attention about IVF clinics and let's be clear, I think much of that is warranted, but what really worries me is these sites and apps being unregulated," he said. Mr Page said donors should have to provide the site or group's administrator with ID verification, such as a driver's licence or passport. It should then be passed on to a regulatory authority, and if the donor has surpassed the limit on how many families he can create, "remove him from the site", Mr Page said. Donors should also have to declare sexually transmitted infection status, he added. The Brisbane-based lawyer, who made it clear he was not speaking on behalf of FSANZ, believes if social media groups or sites failed to adhere to a proposed code of practice, then they should be shut down. "You can't control people on the phone, you can't control if they meet in the pub or the corner store, but you can certainly control how they communicate through an app or website, which is how most people communicate," he said. "We can't have children waking up in the morning discovering that they've got 57 siblings because there's been a failure of political will to regulate these apps and websites. Asked if any other country regulated this area, he replied: "No, not as far as I'm aware." Adam Hooper, who started Sperm Donation Australia on social media in 2015 because he believed in "known donation", said regulations would "put people in danger". "If regulations are brought in (it) will turn into the dark web where children will never know their donors (sic) identities," Mr Hooper told the ABC in response to a series of questions. "Sperm Donation Australia gives the best advice and goes above and beyond anywhere in the world for a free platform. "Recipients are told to visualise STD tests before commencing." Mr Hooper said regulations did not change human behaviour. "As adults, we all have sexual education," he said. "Their (sic) is people on dating apps right now have (sic) unprotected sex." In response to claims the online semen donation world was the "wild west", he said the "society we live in as a whole is the bigger issue and the real wild west". Mr Hooper said Sperm Donation Australia kicked people out of the group for "lots of reasons", including unreliability, being caught out lying, and having judgemental views on sexuality. "We have a very low tolerance for misbehaviour of any sort," he said. Rebecca Kerner, the chair of the Australia and New Zealand Infertility Counsellors Association (ANZICA), backed Mr Page's call for action. She wrote to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on behalf of ANZICA several times in 2023, concerned about the lack of regulation and the need for a national donor conception register. ANZICA wrote to Mr Butler again recently, further advocating for reform. Ms Kerner said it was only by establishing a national register that family limits on sperm donors could be monitored and maintained. Without it, she said the risks of psychological distress among donor-conceived children were extreme. "We need to start listening and hearing from people who are conceived in this way," Ms Kerner said. "It is about the potential impact of having large donor sibling groups. For some donor-conceived people, they can certainly feel like they've been cloned. Emily Fae, a Perth-based donor-conceived person and a co-founder of Donor Conceived Australia, said the government has a "duty" to step in. "I absolutely agree that the online donor space is the wild west," she said, adding that donors can lie about themselves, how many children they have fathered, or conceal serious genetic conditions. "Unregulated donation creates lifelong consequences for the donor-conceived people involved. "We deserve accurate medical history, the right to know our genetic relatives, and safeguards against preventable harm." A federal health department spokeswoman said the three-month review agreed to by the nation's health ministers into the assisted reproductive technology (ART) sector would be led by the Victorian government. The spokeswoman said the government was aware of the concerns raised by ANZICA about semen donors advertising online. "Health ministers will consider the outcomes of the review in the coming months, as a matter of priority," she said.
Canada News.Net
05-07-2025
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Australia's IVF industry shaken after second Monash mistake
MELBOURNE, Australia: A second embryo mix-up in just two months has pushed one of Australia's largest IVF providers back into the spotlight, prompting calls for stronger national oversight and raising fresh concerns among patients. Monash IVF said a woman undergoing treatment at its Melbourne clinic was mistakenly implanted with her embryo instead of one created with her partner's sperm, as intended. The incident occurred on June 5 and is now being investigated by regulators. The company said it was supporting the unidentified couple but did not elaborate on how the mistake was discovered or what the couple planned to do next. "The patient's embryo was mistakenly implanted under a treatment plan which called for an embryo from the patient's partner to be transferred," Monash IVF said in a statement. The incident adds to the fallout from a separate case disclosed in April, in which a Brisbane woman gave birth to a stranger's child after an embryo mix-up in 2023. That case was widely reported as the first of its kind in Australia and shook public confidence in the sector. "This mix-up, the second reported incident at Monash IVF, risks shaking confidence not just in one provider but across the entire fertility sector," said Hilary Bowman-Smart, a researcher and bioethicist at the University of South Australia. Founded nearly 50 years ago, Monash IVF was behind the world's first IVF pregnancy and, according to industry figures, today, carries out nearly 25 percent of Australia's 100,000 assisted reproductive cycles annually. The company's shares plunged 25 percent by midday on June 10, dragging them to just over half their value before the Brisbane incident. "We had thought the Brisbane clinic embryo transfer error was an isolated incident," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Craig Wong-Pan. "We believe there is now risk of a greater impact of reputational damage and market share losses to MVF's operations." Monash IVF had already commissioned an independent investigation after the Brisbane case and said it would expand the inquiry's scope to include the new error. It has also begun installing additional interim safeguards around embryo verification. The company reported the Melbourne incident to the Victorian Department of Health and the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC), part of the Fertility Society of Australia. Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the department was investigating both the company and the incident. "Families should have confidence that the treatment they are receiving is done to the highest standard," she said. "It is clear Monash IVF has failed to deliver that, which is completely unacceptable." Fertility Society president Petra Wale acknowledged the emotional toll on the couple involved but stressed that such mistakes remain rare. Society has repeated its call for nationally consistent laws around IVF. Australia's IVF sector is currently overseen by a mix of state health departments and self-regulating industry bodies, a framework some experts say is overly complex.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-06-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Victoria has had a new IVF watchdog for six months. So far, it has not taken any action
Greens health spokesperson Sarah Mansfield said the Allan government had handed fertility clinic regulation to the Health Department claiming it would have greater enforcement options; however, there was no indication any action was taking place. 'You can have all the penalties available that you want, but unless there's proper regulation happening – like people actually going out and looking into these things and using those enforcement measures – they don't really mean a lot,' Mansfield said. Loading 'The Victorian government has responsibility now for regulation of the IVF industry. It is up to them to restore Victorians' trust in the system and in their ability to provide that regulation. What Victorians want to know is that everything will be done to avoid incidents like [the wrong embryos being implanted] happening again. 'Providing transparency around adverse incidents, and the consequence of those incidents, is a really important part of rebuilding that trust.' A Premier's Department spokesperson said that because the question on notice had been asked at a June 10 hearing of the parliamentary accounts and estimates committee, its response did not take into account Monash IVF's disclosure on the same day that it had mistakenly implanted the wrong embryo into a woman at its Clayton clinic. But the response does cover the April disclosure that a woman had given birth to a stranger's baby following an embryo mix-up at Monash IVF's Brisbane clinic. Following that bungle, Victoria's Health Department requested information from its Queensland counterpart before renewing licences for Monash IVF's Victorian clinics from April 30. Loading The Health Department spokesperson said an investigation had been launched into the Clayton embryo bungle, but neither the department nor Thomas' office would comment about actions being undertaken by the VHR. Australian Fertility Treatment Families founder Michelle Galea said she was extremely concerned, but not surprised, that the new regulator was yet to undertake any enforcement action. She said the government had been too quick to shut down the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority. 'They rushed this thing through by shutting VARTA down at the end of the year,' Galea said. 'It takes time to implement new strategies, new employees, new legislation. 'It was winding down and there was no transition period, so I'd be very surprised if there was any actual regulation getting done in the last six months of last year.'
