Legislation Review 2010/11

As of 1 July 2011 the ASCC is closed. This page is archived.

Report from Independent Committee

On 22 December 2010 the Minister for Mental Health and Aging, the Hon Mark Butler MP, named the independent committee to review the Australian legislation governing the use of human embryos in research.

The Committee's report is now finalised and was tabled in the Australian Parliament on 7 July 2011. The report recommendations uphold the current framework which allows Australian researchers to use human embryos to create stem cells but only in licensed research projects. 

View the Report of the Independent Review on the NHMRC 2010 Legislative Review website.

Or for more details read our Media Release.

Australian Stem Cell Centre Submission

The ASCC’s submission makes a series of recommendations in support of the current regulatory framework and the ongoing requirement for Australian scientists to be able to apply for a licence to derive new human embryonic stem cells for use in research.  In summary the ASCC recommends that:
  1. The current national regulatory framework that oversees the responsible use of human embryos in Australian research continues without significant change.
  2. Australian scientists should continue to have the opportunity to generate new human embryonic stem cell lines in licensed research projects as access to these cells remains vital to Australian research.
  3. Research using human embryonic stem cells should continue to be regulated by the existing national guidelines that govern the ethical use of all human materials in research.
  4. Support should be provided to assist Australian researchers to access stem cell lines from Australia and overseas provided they have been created in conditions consistent with Australian regulations.
  5. Reproductive cloning should continue to be specifically banned in Australia.
The ASCC's full submission can be read here or on the Legislation Review website. Our media release announcing the submission can be found here.

Background

Since 2002, Australian scientists have been permitted to use donated in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos in research. Under the Commonwealth legislation - Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 – scientists can apply for a licence from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to use donated human IVF embryos for stem cell research or research to improve infertility treatments and IVF, provided that the embryos are no longer required for infertility treatment. Additional legislation was also introduced in 2002, the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 which made it illegal to create, or even attempt to create, a human using cloning technology. Australia was one of the first countries in the world to introduce laws to govern the use of human embryos in research.

In 2005 the Australian legislation was reviewed by an independent committee which became known as the Lockhart Review after the late Hon John Lockhart AO QC who chaired the committee. The committee’s recommendations were incorporated into legislation in 2006 following a conscience vote in both houses of parliament. The amending legislation - Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Act 2006 - specifically allowed Australian researchers to apply for a licence to use somatic cell nuclear transfer technology (also known as therapeutic cloning) for stem cell research within a strict set of criteria. The amending legislation also increased the penalties associated with any attempts to abuse this technology to clone humans, with reproductive cloning remaining specifically prohibited.

The new five member committee is chaired by the Hon Peter Heerey QC, who is joined by former Australian of the year Professor Ian Frazer, Lockhart committee member and law ethics expert Professor Loane Skene, Doctor Faye Thompson an expert in midwifery ethics and the Reverend Kevin McGovern, Director of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics.

Documents