In February 2011, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee published its report into the past and present practices of donor conception in Australia. Significantly, the report called for Queensland to introduce legislation to regulate donor conception.

Currently, Queensland, the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania are the only jurisdictions that do not have a donor conceived register.

In these jurisdictions, release of identifying information about a gamete donor is regulated by the National Health and Medical Research Council Ethical Guidelines on the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Clinical Practice Guidelines. These Guidelines recognise that persons conceived using assisted reproductive treatment procedures are entitled to know details of their genetic origin, and since 2004, requires the gamete donor to consent to the release of identifying information (such as genetic information). Under this framework, persons born from donated gametes seeking information about the donor are required to approach the clinic. The clinic must examine the consent from the gamete donor and arrange for counselling by a professional with appropriate training, skills, experience and competency prior to providing relevant information (which may be withheld if the person has not yet reached the age of 18 and is not assessed as sufficiently mature).

As part of the inquiry, the Legal Affairs and Safety Committee will consider the merit of introducing a Queensland donor conceived register. In doing so, the Committee will consider the experiences of donor-conceived people in accessing information under the current Queensland framework, as well as the views of donors and industry stakeholders, and governance and regulatory frameworks operating in other Australian jurisdictions.

The Parliamentary inquiry into access to donor conception information is expected to report its findings by 31 August 2022.