About FSANZ

The Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand is the peak body representing scientists, doctors, researchers, nurses, consumers and counsellors in reproductive medicine in Australia & New Zealand.

Training & Events

Australia has an outstanding record in helping couples experiencing infertility. Thousands of women in Australia and around the world have conceived and given birth using pioneering in vitro fertilisation techniques developed and perfected in this country.

Each year FSANZ holds a Scientific Meeting attracting experts in reproductive health from around the world to present research and discuss new technologies and treatments.

In addition FSANZ continues to develop training programs to assist its members with their professional development.

Training & Events

Vision & Objectives

01To provide clinical guidance and direction to improve the standard of reproductive medical practice in Australia including medical review and quality assurance activities.
02To determine, oversee and improve the standard of fertility service offered in Australia and New Zealand.
03To encourage research in reproductive health.
04To provide a basis for affiliation between all professional and consumer groups involved in the delivery and receipt of fertility treatment in Australia and New Zealand.
05To provide educational opportunities for FSANZ members to raise the standard of care.
06To assist the government and other interested parties in developing strategies relating to fertility in Australia and New Zealand.
07To create a forum for the discussion on the problems associated with infertility and fertility control.
08To facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to these problems.
09To establish rules for membership of the Society and to make and maintain a register of members of the Society.

Board members

Prof Luk Rombauts

Dr Petra Wale

President

Petra is a passionate Clinical embryologist having worked in both Australia and the USA. Petra did her postgraduate training at the University of Melbourne in the laboratory of Professor David Gardner.

She is a past Chairperson of SIRT. Petra is a highly sort after subject matter expert in Best practice clinical embryology and quality control together with effective laboratory workflow and quality assurance.

Dr Simon McDowell

Vice President | NZ Representative
Dr Simon McDowell

Simon McDowell is a Fertility Specialist working at Fertility Associates, Wellington, New Zealand. He is a qualified subspecialist and has a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery, primarily focusing on the management of severe endometriosis.

Simon holds an additional roles at Wellington Public Hospital and the University of Otago.

Ms Jan Mackenzie

Ms Jan Mackenzie

Secretary | FNA Representative

My role on the FSANZ Board is the representative for FNA and the secretary.

My current role is Nurse Unit manager at MonashIVF in Parramatta in western Sydney, where I lead a team of nurses over 3 sites. I have been involved in ART nursing for more than 20 years.  As well as a love of the job and the day to day care of our patients, my passion also extends to being a part of the process that provides support and educational opportunities to nurses working in ART. My career started in WA, where I became involved with the then Nurses Special Interest Group, now known as Fertility Nurses of Australasia (FNA). I then moved to Sydney, where my involvement with FNA continued including positions on the executive as the Secretary, the Chair and now the FNA representative on the Board of FSA.

Mr Douglas Yek

Treasurer
Mr Douglas Yek

Doug Yek is a Director of PIVET Medical Centre in Perth and Cairns Fertility Centre in Queensland. He has over 20 years of experience in the IVF and healthcare sector, with a background and qualifications in accounting, finance and management.
Mr Hamish Barblett

Mr Hamish Barblett

General

Hamish Barblett is a senior IVF Scientist at Genea Hollywood Fertility in Perth and past chair of the FSANZ professional group, Scientists in Reproductive Technology (SIRT).

He performs all IVF laboratory techniques and has an interest in the education of clinical scientists.

Dr Sally Catt

General
Dr Sally Catt

Sally completed her first degree at Edinburgh University in 1983 and took her first job as an embryologist at Bourn Hall, Cambridge UK, training under Mr. Patrick Steptoe and Professor Bob Edwards. She then worked on cattle IVF, in Cambridge and New Zealand moving to Australia in 1991. She completed a PhD at Sydney University evaluating the commercial practicality of producing lambs with sex-sorted sperm in 1997. She then returned to the clinical IVF field working as an embryologist Fertility First, Sydney and later joined Sydney IVF (Genea) as a research embryologist notably refining vitrification prior to release in clinics from 2004. Sally has been in her current role of Coordinator of the Master of Clinical Embryology Course since 2006, she also coordinates industry-led specialized IVF short-courses. She was instrumental in introducing a nationwide CPD scheme for SIRT members and currently a member of the “Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA) Advisory Panel”.
Dr Anne Clark

Dr Anne Clark

IVF Directors Representative

Dr Anne Clark trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist before becoming the first female doctor in Australia to obtain the CREI subspecialist qualification in reproductive medicine. She is currently Medical Director of Fertility First, which is an IVF and Fertility Clinic that also focuses on lifestyle modifications and peri-conception health to maximise a couple’s fertility and healthy ongoing pregnancies.

In 2015, Anne was appointed by the Federal Minister of Health as a person of ART experience to the NHMRC Embryo Research Licensing Committee.

Dr Yanhe Liu

General
Dr Yanhe Liu

A/Prof Yanhe Liu is the Scientific Director of Fertility North in Perth. He is also a current associate editor for the journal of Human Reproduction and has adjunct appointments with several universities including University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University and Bond University.

With over 20 years’ experience in IVF laboratory practice and management in both Australia and oversees, A/Prof Liu is passionate in the clinical introduction of new ART technologies. He is well published in the field of embryo selection using time-lapse imaging and artificial intelligence.

Ms Narelle Dickinson

Dr Manuela Toledo

General

Manuela Toledo is the Medical Director of TasIVF based in Hobart and practices as a fertility specialist at both TasIVF and Melbourne IVF.

Manuela is the only CREI qualified fertility specialist in Tasmania.

She trained at the Mercy Hospital for Women and the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne where she holds a VMO position and trains future fertility specialists. She holds a Master of Medicine and Genetics from the University of Sydney.

Manuela has been a long standing fertility specialist at Melbourne IVF and also served on the Melbourne IVF board 2013 - 2018.
Manuela has a special interest in clinical governance, complex infertility and providing expert second opinions.

Mr Stephen Page

General
Ms Maree Pickens

Dr Alison Gee

Dr Alison Gee

General

Alison is a highly qualified and experienced fertility specialist based in Sydney who provides individualised care for patients experiencing infertility and reproductive issues. Alison holds certification for the most advanced form of training an infertility specialist can undertake, the Certificate of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI) and has spent the past 20 years employing the latest in medical and scientific advances to help couples achieve their dream of creating a family.

Dr Kiri Beilby

SIRT Representative
Dr Kiri Beilby

Kiri is a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She is currently the Course Coordinator for the Graduate Diploma of Reproductive Science and is an education-focused academic doing her best to coerce postgrads into higher order thinking.

Kiri is on the executive committees for both the Australian Society of Medical Research, and Scientists in Reproductive Technology, and has a strong interest in scientific advocacy in this space. In 2019 she was part of the Homeward Bound Project, an initiative that aims to heighten the influence and impact of women with a science background in order to influence policy and decision making as it shapes our planet.

Dr Iolanda Rodino

Dr Iolanda Rodino

ANZICA Representative

Iolanda Rodino is a Clinical Psychologist and Fertility Counsellor working in private practice . Over the past 20 years she has developed an independent consultancy service to several fertility clinics in Perth, offering evidenced based psychological care to patients facing the diverse emotional and relationship challenges associated with infertility.

Iolanda has a passion for psychosocial infertility research with particular interests in weight related concerns in women undertaking fertility treatment, PCOS, preconception care and third party reproduction.

Dr Michele Kwik

Clinical Fertility
Dr Michele Kwik

Michele is a fertility specialist with expertise in reproductive medical and surgical techniques for the treatment of recurrent miscarriage and infertility for both men and women and takes great pride in her thorough caring approach.

Michele graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with Honours at the University of New South Wales. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists with 5 years of specialist training in both Sydney and the UK and has a subspecialist Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (CREI). She is a Conjoint Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales and clinical lecturer at the University of Sydney.


DART Representative TBC

Consumer Representative TBC


FSANZ history

Should you wish to contact a Board Member please send any correspondence through to:

Kim O'Dea

Kim O'Dea

FSANZ Secretariat

PO Box 1022
Altona Meadows Vic 3028

+ 61 434 152 392