The Embryo Research Licensing Committee of the NHMRC (NHMRC Licensing Committee) is required by section 29 of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 to maintain a public database containing the following information in relation to each licence authorising the use of excess ART embryos:
- the name of the person to whom the licence was issued;
- a short statement about the nature of the uses of excess ART embryos that are authorised by the licence;
- any conditions to which the licence is subject;
- the number of excess ART embryos in respect of which use is authorised by the licence;
- the date on which the licence was issued; and
- the period throughout which the licence is to remain in force.
Information made public must not be such as to disclose confidential commercial information.
Licence Conditions
Licences issued by the NHMRC Licensing Committee for the use of excess Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) embryos or human eggs or the creation and/or use of other embryos are subject to conditions. Licences are also subject to the provisions of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 and the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002. The sections below describe Standard and Special Licence conditions.
Standard Conditions
Standard Conditions apply to all licences unless a particular Standard Condition is specifically excluded by the Special Conditions for a particular licence.
Special Conditions
Special licence conditions relate to a particular licence and include conditions about the number of excess ART embryos or eggs authorised for use, the number of other embryos authorised to be created or used, the people authorised to create and/or use them and the authorised sites, as well as any other special conditions determined by the NHMRC Licensing Committee.
See the table below for details on the licences, including the Special Conditions.
Current Licences issued under s.21 of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002
| Licence No. | Organisation | Licence Title | Date of Issue | Status |
| 309702b v34 (PDF.97KB) | Genea Limited | Development of Methods for Preimplantation Genetic and Metabolic Evaluation of Human Embryos | 16 April 2004 | Currently to 16 April 2019 |
| 309703 v40 |
Genea Limited |
Development of Human Embryonic Stem (ES) Cells |
16 April 2004 |
Current to 16 April 2019 |
| 309710 v31 | Genea Limited | Derivation of human embryonic stem cells from embryos identified through preimplantation genetic diagnosis to be affected by known serious monogenic conditions | 7 May 2007 | Current to 7 May 2019 |
| 309718 v21 | Genea Limited | Use of excess ART embryos and clinically unusable eggs for validation of an IVF device | 8 December 2011 | Current to 8 December 2018 |
| 309719 Licence and Special Conditions v19 | Genea Limited | Use of excess ART embryos for the development of improved IVF culture media | 28 March 2012 | Current to 28 March 2021 |
| Melbourne IVF Pty Ltd | Use of excess ART embryos for blastocyst-stage biopsy training | 19 December 2014 | Current to 19 December 2020 | |
| 309724 v1 (PDF, 108KB) | IVFAustralia Pty Ltd | Use of excess ART embryos for blastocyst-stage biopsy training | 21 April 2017 | 21 April 2020 |
| TasIVF Pty Ltd | Use of excess ART embryos for blastocyst-stage embryo biopsy training | 1 September 2017 | 1 September 2020 |
Expired Licences
| LICENCE NO | ORGANISATION | LICENCE TITLE | DATE OF ISSUE | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monash IVF |
Use of excess ART embryos for training in embryo biopsy |
11 March 2005 | Expired | |
| Sydney IVF | Improvement in laboratory conditions for embryo culture | 16 April 2004 | Expired | |
| Sydney IVF | Effect of an additive on embryo culture: analysis of growth and epigenetic programming | 16 April 2004 | Expired | |
| Melbourne IVF Pty Ltd | Development of testing procedures for unbalanced chromosome errors in human embryos | 16 April 2004 | Expired | |
| Genea Limited | Reproducible production of human embryonic stem cell lines from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) of nuclei from human cumulus cells into clinically unusable human eggs. | 16 September 2008 | Expired | |
| Genea Limited | Reproducible production of human embryonic stem cell lines from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) of nuclei from adult human fibroblasts into clinically unusable human eggs. | 16 September 2008 | Expired | |
| Genea Limited | Reproducible production of human embryonic stem cell lines from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) of nuclei from previously established human embryonic stem cell lines into clinically unusable human eggs. | 16 September 2008 | Expired | |
| Monash University | Derivation of embryonic stem cell lines from the human embryo | 21 December 2004 | Expired | |
| IVF Australia Pty Ltd | A collaborative project between IVF Australia and the Diabetes Transplant Unit, Prince of Wales Hospital to derive human embryonic stem cell lines for the treatment of diabetes | 5 November 2004 | Expired | |
| Melbourne IVF Pty Ltd | A collaborative project between Melbourne IVF Pty Ltd and Stem Cell Sciences Pty Ltd to derive human embryonic stem cell lines | 11 June 2004 | Expired | |
| Fertility Australia Trust trading as Fertility East Assisted Conception Clinic and Monash Institute of Medical Research | Production of human embryonic stem cell lines from parthenogenetic activation of matured human eggs obtained from clinically unusable human eggs | 29 June 2011 | Expired | |
| Fertility Australia Trust trading as Fertility East Assisted Conception Clinic and Division of Biological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University | Production of human embryonic stem cell lines from parthenogenetic activation of human eggs obtained from ovaries removed prophylactically from women at risk for developing cancer | 15 July 2013 | Expired | |
| 309722 v6 (PDF, 91KB) | Monash IVF Pty Ltd | Optimising embryo-endometrial interactions to improve pregnancy success during IVF | 11 December 2013 | Expired |