Policy Development Processes
External policy development and review process
The Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority’s external policy development and review process applies to policies related to compliance with current national and state legislation.
The need for a new policy and/or review of an existing policy may be identified in a number of ways:
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Changes to legislation
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Changes to government policy
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Changes to the external operating environment
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Changes in activity of the organisation
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To provide consistency across different areas of the organisation
Timing of policy review
Policies and procedures are reviewed on a regular basis. As the Assisted Reproductive Treatment environment changes frequently, all policies are reviewed on an annual basis or as needed. Procedures are reviewed at least annually and as needed. Each policy has a ‘Review Due’ date on the bottom right corner of the document.
Ownership of policy
The Policy Officer oversees all external policy reviews in the organisation. The Policy Officer works closely with the relevant work areas to ensure that the policy is comprehensive, clear, concise and consistent with other relevant policies.
Policy review
Each policy must comply with the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 (Vic) and associated regulations. Consideration must also be given to the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2008 (Vic) and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2008 (Vic). The National Health and Medical Research Council’s Ethical Guidelines on the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Clinical Practice and Research must also be considered, along with the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC) Code of Practice. It is the responsibility of the Policy Officer and the relevant work area to ensure that policies comply with the appropriate legislation and guidelines.
In some cases a policy may be used to assist stakeholders with the interpretation of the Act.
New policies
If a new policy is to be developed, research must be conducted to ensure that the policy is comprehensive and well informed. Areas to be investigated may include:
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Current legislation / guidelines (state and national)
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The published evidence base
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Similar policies in other states or countries
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Stakeholder/expert opinion.
Other considerations may include:
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Existing policies or procedures that may be affected
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Gaps in current policies
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Possible constraints and enablers
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Consistency with existing policies
Consultation
Stakeholder consultation is a key component of all policy development. This includes both internal and external stakeholders. Stakeholders can be consulted in a variety of ways such as face-to-face meetings, round table discussion, email or telephone conversations.
Approval
All policies are approved by the relevant committee/s before being taken to the Authority for final approval. Authority members approve all policies prior to them being publicly available.
