Fertility Benefits for Employers in Australia

Written by Anna Haotanto, Founder, Zora Health. Last reviewed: November 2026. General information, not legal or medical advice. This guide covers IVF and egg freezing costs, public funding, the rules and how to build a fertility benefit.

Why fertility is a business problem for employers

Fertility treatment does not fit around a work calendar. A clinic sets the date of a scan the day before. Egg collection happens when the body is ready, usually about 36 hours after a final trigger injection. Then comes a two-week wait, and for many couples, another cycle. Your team feels it: missed meetings, unexplained absences, a strong performer who suddenly goes quiet.

Most employees hide treatment because they fear being seen as less committed. That is why the cost stays invisible in your reports. It shows up instead as:

• Resignations. Almost 2 in 5 employees going through fertility treatment left or considered leaving their job, according to a 2025 Ferring survey of five countries including Australia, reported by The Canberra Times.
• No clear time off. Across the five countries in that survey, including Australia, 60% of employees with fertility challenges said they had no clear entitlement to time off for appointments, and 67% said their workplace offered no support (HRD Australia).
• Lower performance. 55% of 5,000 people surveyed in Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US for Carrot’s 2023 Global Fertility at Work report said fertility challenges hurt their work performance.
• Unequal treatment. A Victorian employee can use free public fertility care. A colleague in Queensland in the same role pays thousands of dollars out of pocket for the same cycle. One benefits budget lands very differently across states.

What employers gain

What IVF costs, and what the state pays

Medicare pays 75% of the schedule fee for in-hospital services such as egg collection and 85% for outpatient services such as scans and blood tests (federal rapid review, 2025). Clinic fees sit well above the schedule fee, so the gap is large. Once an employee’s out-of-pocket costs pass the Extended Medicare Safety Net threshold of A$2,699.10 in 2026 (A$861.20 for concession holders), Medicare pays more of the rest.

Sources: Department of Health, rapid review of ART regulation, 2025 and the Monash IVF Queensland fee page. Fees vary by clinic and state.

Sources: MBS Online, changes to the definition of infertility, Department of Health Victoria, Service NSW and privatehealth.gov.au.

Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success, alongside individual medical and treatment factors. In 2024, 31.4% of fresh egg collection cycles in Australia and New Zealand led to a live birth for women under 30, against 6.3% for women aged 40 to 44.

The ANZARD 2024 report from UNSW puts the rate at 28.7% for women aged 30 to 34 and 19.0% for women aged 35 to 39. Of women who started treatment in 2021 and 2022, 37.4% had a baby from their first complete cycle and 57.6% by their sixth. Many need more than one cycle, which is why the size of an allowance, and when employees can use it, matter as much as whether you offer one.

Fertility support that fits your workforce and budget

You do not need to overhaul your existing health insurance to support employees through fertility treatment. Start with awareness and manager education, add confidential one-to-one support, or introduce a funded allowance across your offices. There is no minimum company size.

Where included in the employer programme, eligible employees can use talks and care navigation without paying Zora a separate fee. Care navigation allowances are set in each proposal. Treatment and other third-party costs are paid separately, either by employees or through the fertility allowance their employer provides.

Optional add-ons can be added to any programme, subject to availability: hormone and fertility diagnostics and telehealth with specialists. Pricing is tailored to your headcount, your countries and the services you choose. Most companies start with a single talk.

Request a proposal See how Zora works for employers

Plan your fertility benefit budget

Already have corporate health insurance? Here is where Zora fits

Your medical plan may cover some consultations and tests, but fertility treatment is often limited or excluded, so check your policy wording. Employees still need to understand their options, the public funding they qualify for and which clinic suits them.

Zora works alongside your existing insurance and benefits. We help employees get reliable information, navigate their care options and reach suitable specialists, and we give HR manager guidance, policy templates and, on the Complete programme, anonymised reporting. You strengthen fertility support without replacing your medical plan.

How Zora works

For your employees

Employees join the Zora app with a company code, or single sign-on for larger teams. They can learn about fertility and egg freezing, understand what your benefit covers, book a confidential care navigation call and find partner clinics and specialists.

For HR

1. Kick-off, week 1. Agree goals, countries and which employees are eligible.
2. Policy and benefit design, weeks 2 to 4. Draft or update your fertility policy using our templates.
3. Launch, typically weeks 4 to 6. A launch talk for employees and managers, plus a communications pack for HR to send.
4. Live support. Employees book care navigation calls and use the Zora app.
5. Reporting, every 3 months, on the Complete programme. Anonymised usage, common themes and our recommendations, reviewed with your account manager.

Privacy

Employee privacy is central to our programmes. On the Complete programme, routine employer reports contain aggregated engagement and utilisation information, with safeguards to prevent identification of individual employees. On every programme, personal health information is not included in standard HR reporting, and employees can get help without telling their manager. Where eligibility checks or claims administration need individual-level data, access is limited to authorised parties for defined purposes, as agreed in writing before launch. Employee data is handled in line with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act and Australia’s Privacy Act 1988, which treats health information as sensitive information.

Clinics and doctors in Australia

Zora’s directory lists 56 clinics and 241 doctors in Australia. Locations include Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Of these clinics, 51 list IVF and 46 list egg freezing.

Employees can browse clinics in Australia, see IVF clinics and find a doctor in Australia on the Zora app. The directory is for information only and is not an endorsement. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.

Rules and eligibility in Australia

Why employers choose Zora

Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with Zora Health. We work alongside your existing insurance, helping employees use the cover they already have and find suitable specialists based on their needs.

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Trying to conceive with a heavy workload took a toll on my husband and me. It helped us understand our options.

Questions HR teams ask us

Is fertility leave mandatory in Australia?

No. There is no statutory fertility or IVF leave. Employees use annual or personal leave unless their employer offers more, and miscarriage is covered by 2 days of compassionate leave.

Does Medicare cover egg freezing?

Not when it is elective. Medicare rebates apply to treatment of clinical infertility, so an employee freezing eggs for non-medical reasons pays the full cost.

Can single employees and same-sex couples use a fertility benefit?

Yes. Single women and same-sex couples can access treatment, and since August 2024 they may qualify for Medicare rebates when their specialist judges it clinically relevant. Write your policy so every family type can use it.

Does Zora replace our health insurance?

No. Zora works alongside your insurance. We help employees understand their options, find suitable specialists and use the cover they already have.

How much does a fertility benefit cost an employer?

It depends on the allowance, eligibility and expected uptake. Use the budget planner on this page for a first estimate, then ask us for a tailored proposal based on your headcount and countries.

How quickly can we launch?

Typically 4 to 6 weeks from contract to launch, depending on scope and countries. Most companies start with a single talk.

Related guides for Australia employers

Information on this page is correct as of 5 November 2026. Laws, public funding, insurance rules and treatment costs change often, so check current rules with the relevant authority, insurer or a qualified adviser before making decisions. This page is general information, not legal, financial, tax or medical advice.