Patient Review Panel telehealth is OK for Victorian surrogacy counselling
Tuesday March 31, 2020

The Victorian Patient Review Panel (which gives approval for Victorian surrogacy arrangements) has written to infertility counsellors in Victoria saying that they can undertake surrogacy counselling via telehealth. HOORAY! Previously the PRP has always been insistent that this counselling occur face to face. I am glad that this commonsense approach has been adopted in light… Read More »Custom Single Post Header

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award
Member of Queensland law society
Family law Practitioners Association
International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL
Mediator Standards Board

Patient Review Panel telehealth is OK for Victorian surrogacy counselling

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

The Victorian Patient Review Panel (which gives approval for Victorian surrogacy arrangements) has written to infertility counsellors in Victoria saying that they can undertake surrogacy counselling via telehealth. HOORAY!

Previously the PRP has always been insistent that this counselling occur face to face.

I am glad that this commonsense approach has been adopted in light of Government guidelines about COVID-19 and the strong statements from the Federal Government for doctors and allied health (including psychologists) to use telehealth where possible.

The publicly stated position of the Patient Review Panel is:

 

Manner of counselling
While Panel understands that it is not always possible to conduct all counselling in face‑to-face sessions, it has a strong preference that the parties to the arrangement have received at least one face‑to-face session each and one face-to-face group session. Where counselling is not conducted in face-to-face sessions, it should be done via videoconferencing (e.g. Skype) rather than via telephone.
Clinic counsellors should ensure that all parties to the arrangement are provided with, and have read, the counselling report before making an application to the Panel.

I hope that the Panel will now also use video or phone conferencing, such as Zoom, to be consistent with Government health requirements – instead of its insistence in the past of in person hearings.

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

Forced Marriage

On November 1st 2023, Accredited Family Law Specialist and Page Provan Director Stephen Page presented a paper at the Brisbane Zonta Club about forced marriage. I acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, on whose lands we meet today, their elders, past, present and emerging. Ruqia Hidari was aged 21 and living in Victoria, when, according to police,… Read More »Forced Marriage

Read more

ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

The ACT Government has today introduced a bill to amend the ACT’s surrogacy laws. The proposed changes are more incremental than fundamental. They include allowing a single person to undertake surrogacy, for the surrogate to be single if needed, a requirement for legal advice and counselling beforehand, a written agreement being required, that traditional surrogacy is… Read More »ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

Read more

Planning to resolve: ADR in ART

ADR can help resolve disputes in ART cases. ADR is not limited to mediation and arbitration. Other types of informal dispute resolution can resolve disputes. When assisted reproductive treatment cases go off the rails, they can have the next level of bitterness and volatility. There can be a keen sense of betrayal when things don’t… Read More »Planning to resolve: ADR in ART

Read more