The Central Register of donor conception treatment details

About The Central Register

The Central Register is the official government record of donor conception treatment carried out in Victoria, which holds the treatment details of all individuals born from donor conception treatments in Victoria.

The information on the Central Register has been provided by fertility clinics and individuals over many decades. For treatment that occurred before 1988, information has been added from historic medical records and from updates provided by individuals.

The Donor Conception Registrar

The Donor Conception Registrar, an employee of Department of Health, manages the Central Register.

They are responsible for ensuring that information is provided in compliance with the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008. This includes providing explanatory material about the application process, the consequences of disclosure, and available support services.

Who can apply for information

The following people can apply for information from the Central Register:

• a donor conceived person
• a parent of a donor conceived person
• a descendant of a donor conceived person, meaning a child or grandchild
• a donor.

Applicants under 18

If you are under 18 years of age and would like to request information from the Central Register, contact the Donor Conception Registrar for guidance on how to apply DCR@health.vic.gov.au.

What information can be requested?

Individuals may request a copy of their own record held on the Central Register. This record includes information only about the person making the request; it does not include details about their donors or other people connected to them through donor conception.

Two main types of information may be available:

• Non-identifying information
• Identifying information

The application process varies depending on the type of information being requested. Multiple types of information may be included in a single application.

Non-identifying information

Non-identifying information is general information that does not reveal a person's identity.

Donor non-identifying information (Donor Profile) may include:

• physical characteristics
• medical, family or genetic information
• interests, education or occupation.

Information held on the Central Register reflects what was provided at the time of treatment or donation and may be limited or out of date. In some cases, fertility clinics may hold more complete non-identifying information. Contact your fertility clinic for more information.

Donor conceived person non-identifying information (Family Profile/Audit) may include:

• the number of donor conceived people within each family group linked to the same donor
• the age and sex of each donor conceived person.

Identifying information

Identifying information includes details that could reveal a person's identity, such as their full name, date of birth or unique donor code.

This type of information can only be requested about people who are directly connected through donor conception. Identifying information cannot be requested about donor siblings who share the same donor.

The process to release information from the Central Register depends on when the donor conception treatment or donation occurred. This is due to the laws in place at the time of treatment, which determined what identifying information was required to be recorded.

How to apply

To apply for information, you need to:

• Complete the Central Register Application form

• Provide certified copies of proof of identity (for example, driver's licence, passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, Medicare card or bank card)
• Complete your Statement of Reasons form

• Submit your form to the Donor Conception Registrar

Application fee

A fee is generally required to process an application to the Central Register. For the 2025/2026 financial year, the prescribed fee is $87.08.

The Donor Conception Registrar may waive application fees in a variety of circumstances, including when:

• a previous application has already been made by the same person
• a donor sibling has made a previous application
• the applicant is experiencing financial hardship.

The Donor Conception Registrar will contact you after receiving your application to confirm if you are eligible for a fee waiver.

Statement of Reasons

When applying for information you must include a Statement of Reasons, which explains your motivations and goals for seeking information or contact. This statement helps the contacted party understand your reasons for requesting their information and may facilitate further communication.

See Writing your Statement of Reasons for guidance on writing your statement.

Records search and disclosure process

Once your application is received, the Donor Conception Registrar will search the Central Register. Additional information may be required and in some cases DNA testing might be required to confirm the relationship.

Non-identifying information can be provided immediately if it's confirmed you're related to the person and does not require consent.

Contact preferences

The Donor Conception Registrar must notify the person you are requesting information about and may ask them to indicate their contact preferences, which are legally binding.

Contact preferences may include the ways in which an applicant may contact them (for example, via email, phone, letter) or if they prefer to receive no contact at all.

Contact preferences last for 5 years and the applicant must agree to comply with them.

Outreach

The Donor Conception Registrar will notify the person you are requesting information about and share with them your Statement of Reasons form.

• If the person is under 18, the Donor Conception Registrar will contact their parent(s) to seek consent for releasing information.
• If they are older than 18, the Donor Conception Registrar will contact them directly, as only adults can consent to releasing their own identifying information.

While you may have been considering this matter for some time, the person being contacted may need time to consider their current circumstances and the implications for themselves and their family. Being contacted may be unexpected, especially for donors who might not know about their children born from their donations, or about recent changes to legislation. Similarly, donor conceived people may not be aware their parents pursued donor conception treatment.

Outcomes and legal obligations

Once the contact preferences or consent is obtained, the Donor Conception Registrar will inform you of the decision. If contact preferences exist, you must sign an undertaking to comply with them. Penalties apply if you breach the terms.

Provision of identifying information

• Post-1998 donors: donor conceived people or descendants receive identifying information once the donor has been notified.
• Pre-1998 donors: donors have 4 months to consider the request for information. If they cannot be located, the 4-month period begins when the application is made. Identifying information can be released sooner if the donor consents.

Locating a person for consent

The Donor Conception Registrar conducts various searches to locate the person(s) about whom an application is requesting information and obtain their consent. If no information can be found, you will be notified.

For more complex searches, the Donor Conception Registrar may also explore:

• Online death indexes
• Probate/wills/letters of administration from the Public Records Office of Victoria
• Missing persons register and other national archives.

If no record/and or current contact details are available, the applicant will be advised.