News

To coincide with International Safe Abortion Day, Family Planning NSW has released data on medical abortion provision during the early stages of Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic. The data, extracted from a forthcoming study, demonstrates medical abortion uptake by clients from priority health populations, including young people, people in regional and remote areas, people speaking a language other than English at home and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Family Planning NSW strongly supports abortion being safe, lawful, accessible and affordable. We work with people every day navigating their pregnancy choices and accordingly, treat abortion as an essential aspect of reproductive healthcare.

Family Planning NSW is launching the Freedom Condom project, which will distribute free condoms and sexual health information to under-30s across the state. After signing up, they will be provided with a Freedom Condom loyalty card which allows them to collect 12 condoms and 4 sachets of water-based lubricant at any of 140 Freedom Condom providers across the state. They will also be taken through fundamental sexual health topics including consent, common sexually transmissible infections and emergency contraception.

Family Planning NSW, Brewarrina Aboriginal Medical Service (BAMS) and Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service Limited (WAMS) are working together to bring reproductive and sexual health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls in north-west NSW.

Family Planning NSW has received a 3-year grant of $1,433,806 for its CIRCE project: 'Overcoming Inequity: Increasing Cervical Screening Participation for People with Intellectual Disability'. In partnership with researchers at the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, UNSW Sydney, Cancer Institute NSW and peak disability organisations, the CIRCE project will identify methods to increase engagement in the National Cervical Screening Program for people with intellectual disability.

Family Planning NSW will move from its Ashfield clinic to a new state-of-the-art centre of reproductive and sexual health excellence in Newington. The move will bring essential research, education, and patient care closer to priority groups around Parramatta.

Extending self-collection options for cervical screening is a "game changer" which will improve access to care and reduce the risk of missed tests as Australia pushes toward cervical cancer elimination, Family Planning NSW Medical Director Dr Deborah Bateson said. We welcome news from the Australian Government that all people eligible for a cervical screening test will have the option of self-collection from 1 July 2022.

Family Planning NSW will screen patients for reproductive coercion after a 2019 pilot program revealed that 127 women had experienced the abuse. Reproductive coercion is increasingly recognised by researchers and advocates as a form of violence and an abuse of a person's right to govern their body without fear or manipulation.

Researchers from Family Planning NSW and the University of Sydney have confirmed that telehealth was well accepted by Family Planning NSW patients and health practitioners, with benefits including improved efficiency and access to services. Patients aged under 19, students, and those who were English-speaking were more likely to access telehealth services compared to face-to-face services.

A new Family Planning NSW report tracks induced abortion across Australia, laying a foundation for health systems to better understand and respond to the medical needs of the community.

Induced Abortion in Australia 2000-2020 updates information last reported in 2013 and is the first report since the decriminalisation of abortion in NSW and QLD and since significant legislative changes in ...

People needing reproductive and sexual health services or pregnancy counselling can access a range of treatment options through telehealth with Medicare rebates re-instated for Family Planning NSW patients in the June 2021 Budget.

Australia must develop a national comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) curriculum and invest in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to a new report from Family Planning NSW.

Family Planning NSW has welcomed last night’s budget announcement extending telehealth access for patients seeking telehealth appointments for pregnancy counselling and sexual and reproductive healthcare.

The Planet Puberty website provides parents and carers with a range of inclusive and accessible digital resources, including factsheets, videos and useful books. These resources cover everything a child needs to know as they go through puberty, including information about body changes, hygiene, periods, emotions and relationships.

NSW doctors, nurses and midwives would benefit from further training on the National Cervical Screening Program, according to new research from Family Planning NSW.

Today, the Minderoo Foundation together with NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Cervical Cancer Control (C4) announced a first-of-its-kind humanitarian and research effort to eliminate cervical cancer in the Western Pacific.

Family Planning NSW has published the results of their exploratory study, 'Views and experiences of the female condom in Australia', which found that while use of the female condom in Australia is low, once provided with a female condom, many women would consider using it again.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Hunter region will have greater access to reproductive and sexual health services thanks to a new partnership between Family Planning NSW and Awabakal Health Ltd.