Annual registry reports

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a group of procedures that involve the in vitro (outside of body) handling of human oocytes (eggs) and sperm or embryos for the purposes of establishing a pregnancy. Each ART treatment involves a number of stages and is generally referred to as an ART treatment cycle. The embryos transferred to a female patient can either originate from the cycle in which they were created (fresh cycle) or be frozen (cryopreserved) and thawed before transfer (thaw cycle).

There were 111,253 ART treatment cycles performed in Australian and New Zealand ART Units in 2021 (102,157 and 9,096 respectively). This represents an increase of 17.1% in Australia and 7.1% in New Zealand from 2020. This equates to 19.6 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15–44 years) in Australia, compared with 8.7 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age in New Zealand. Communities and health services were affected by the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

There were 88,929 ART treatment cycles reported from Australian and New Zealand fertility clinics in 2019 (81,049 and 7,880 respectively), representing an increase of 6.2% in Australia and 2% in New Zealand from 2018. This equates to 15.6 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15–44 years) in Australia, compared with 7.9 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age in New Zealand. Women used their own oocytes or embryos (autologous cycles) in 95% of treatments. Embryos and oocytes that had been frozen and thawed were used in 36.7% of autologous cycles.

There were 84,064 ART treatment cycles reported from Australian and New Zealand fertility clinics in 2018 (76,341 and 7,723 respectively), representing an increase of 1.9% in Australia and 6.2% in New Zealand from 2017. This equates to 14.8 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15–44 years) in Australia, compared with 7.9 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age in New Zealand. Women used their own oocytes or embryos (autologous cycles) in 94.1% of treatments. Embryos and oocytes that had been frozen and thawed were used in 36.9% of autologous cycles.

There were 82,215 ART treatment cycles reported from Australian and New Zealand fertility clinics in 2017 (74,942 and 7,273 respectively), representing an increase of 0.8% in Australia and 8.5% in New Zealand from 2016. This equates to 14.8 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15–44 years) in Australia, compared with 7.6 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age in New Zealand. Women used their own oocytes or embryos (autologous cycles) in 94.1% of treatments. Embryos and oocytes that had been frozen and thawed were used in 38.5% of autologous cycles.

There were 81,062 ART treatment cycles reported from Australian and New Zealand clinics in 2016 (74,357 and 6,705 respectively) representing a 4.0% increase in Australia and 7.4% increase in New Zealand on 2015. This represented 14.8 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15–44 years) in Australia, compared with 7.0 cycles per 1,000 women of reproductive age in New Zealand. Women used their own oocytes or embryos (autologous cycles) in 94.1% of treatments. Embryos that had been frozen and thawed were used in 38.1% of autologous cycles.