Australia’s law reform body has opened a fresh examination of the rules governing the donation, use and trade of human tissue, releasing an Issues Paper and calling for public submissions to help shape potential changes.
Unveiling the paper, ALRC Commissioner Dr Maeghan Toews said: “The Issues Paper is an important guide to the early direction of the Inquiry, and is a key opportunity for stakeholders to inform and engage with the ALRC’s work. I encourage all those with an interest in the Inquiry to make a submission, particularly those with experience of donation and use of human tissue.”
ALRC President Justice Mordecai Bromberg said the review would span a broad and technically complex landscape, with consequences for patients, clinicians and researchers alike. “This Inquiry is looking at a complex area of law with implications for medical treatment, research, education and anyone in the community who may rely on or contribute to the donation and transplantation of tissue. It is imperative that our laws in this area reflect current and emerging technologies and practice, as well as community expectations. The ALRC last reviewed Human Tissue laws in 1977, and I look forward to hearing from all people with an interest in the Inquiry.”
The Issues Paper sets out eight questions for stakeholders and highlights priority topics including the principles that should guide reform; donation by living people and after death; anatomical and post-mortem examinations; advertising and trade in human tissue; and the allocation of donated tissue.
Submissions are open until 4 July 2025. The ALRC has convened an expert Advisory Committee and undertaken preliminary consultations ahead of the paper’s release. A Discussion Paper outlining detailed reform options is slated for late 2025, with the Commission to deliver its final report to the Government by 16 August 2026.
The review, referred by the Commonwealth Attorney-General on 6 February 2025, asks the ALRC to consider how to harmonise and modernise Australia’s human tissue laws. This includes examining donation, retrieval and transplantation; consent arrangements; the operation of schools of anatomy; disclosure of information provisions; equity and ethical approaches to improving access to transplants; and the implications of contemporary and emerging technologies, alongside international experience.
Further information and the Issues Paper are available on the ALRC website, which also provides details on how individuals and organisations can make a submission.
