IVF nurses walk off the job at Queensland clinics

Specialist IVF nurses walked off the job at clinics in Brisbane and Mackay on Wednesday afternoon over failed pay negotiations with one of Australia’s largest fertility treatment providers.

Clinics operated by Queensland Fertility Group, including the Spring Hill Specialist Day Hospital, were among those affected by the planned strike, which was due to begin at 2pm.

QFG managing director Melanie Sibson assured patients and their families “that the proposed industrial action will not impact patient care and outcomes in any way”.

Specialist IVF nurses employed by one of the state’s largest fertility clinics walked off the job on Wednesday afternoon. Credit: iStock

The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union criticised Queensland Fertility Group owner Virtus Health for offering what they said amounted to a pay decrease for nurses at the company’s eight IVF clinics and two day hospitals across the state.

“We believe Virtus Health and Queensland Fertility Group can afford to pay their skilled nurses a fair wage,” QNMU secretary Sarah Beaman said.

“While Virtus Health and Queensland Fertility Group continue to increase charges to clients, they are adamantly refusing to offer their highly skilled nurses the wage increase they deserve and need during an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.”

The QFG website lists the cost of an initial round of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), before Medicare rebates, at $11,090. An initial round of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), a procedure used to assist the fertilisation process in cases attributed to male fertility issues, costs $12,420.

Sibson said “we believe the offer is fair and reasonable”, adding the group “remain committed to continuing negotiations in an open and constructive manner”.

The current offer from Virtus Health is 10.5 per cent over three years: 4.25 per cent in 2025, 3.25 per cent in 2026, and 3 per cent in 2027.

QNMU said specialist IVF nurses had seen their wages go backwards by more than 8 per cent since July 2021, and are seeking 13.5 per cent over the three-year period, plus entitlements received by interstate colleagues.

These include an allowance for the performance of transvaginal ultrasounds, a sensitive procedure requiring specialised training and typically conducted by a sonographer. The company gives the allowance to its Victorian staff, but not those in Queensland.

“Virtus Health and Queensland Fertility Group have even rejected calls from their nurses for fair backpay, as well as allowances already paid to their interstate colleagues,” Beaman said.

Treatments carried out at IVF clinics include specialist consultations, hormonal stimulation, ultrasounds, blood tests, egg retrieval surgery, egg fertilisation, and embryo transfer.

Brisbane IVF patient Marlee underwent an embryo transfer, a day surgical procedure in which the highest-quality embryo is transferred into the uterus, just before Christmas last year.

She described it as a stressful time, particularly as she did not know what the next step would be if the transfer was unsuccessful.

“We only had one viable embryo, so we were already anxious about it,” she said. “I would have struggled even more with my mental health [if there was a delay to the procedure].”

Sibson did not comment on the number of clients affected, or steps taken to manage procedures during the strike, but said: “We are confident that our nurse staffing levels are sufficient to continue providing excellent support to our patients.”

Members met at Spring Hill, near one of Queensland Fertility Group’s Brisbane IVF clinics.Credit: Courtney Kruk

Talks on the pay deal began in August last year, and the union said 90 per cent of the group’s staff rejected the company’s last offer.

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