Terms of Reference

1. I, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General of Australia, following consultation with Health Ministers, and having regard to:

• the role that cell, tissue and organ donation, retrieval and transplantation can play in improving the lives of Australians;
• that Australia has a long standing national approach to cell, tissue and organ donation, retrieval and transplantation operating cross-jurisdictionally;
• that changing community expectations and evolving technology may be affecting how relevant laws should consider cell, tissue and organ donation, retrieval and transplantation;
• significant developments in human tissue donation, retrieval and use for social, clinical and research purposes, including co-modification and potential trafficking;
• the complex ethical issues that may arise in matters relating to donation, retrieval and use of human cell, tissue and organ donation, including ethical sourcing;
• current inconsistencies in legislative arrangements across Australian jurisdictions.

REFER to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) for inquiry and report under the Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996, consideration of whether, and if so what, reforms are necessary or desirable to harmonise and modernise human tissue laws and across Australian jurisdictions.

• In particular, the ALRC should conduct a principles-based review of the following matters:
  • authorisation to donate, retrieve, and transplant human tissue across Australia;
  • inconsistencies across existing laws relating to cell, tissue and organ donation and retrieval arrangements from living and deceased persons;
  • definition/s of death;
  • post-mortem examinations (whole cadavers and body parts);
  • definitions of tissue;
  • disclosure of information provisions;
  • consent arrangements (including for minors) and delegation functions of next of kin;
  • definitions of minors, adults and next of kin;
  • the regulation of ‘schools of anatomy’ and donation for education purposes;
  • frameworks across all Australian jurisdictions pertaining to the donation and retrieval of cells, tissues and organs from a living and deceased person;
  • the advertising of, and trade in, cells, tissues and organs;
  • cost recovery, financial and infrastructural considerations related to the manufacture and provision of tissue;
  • any other relevant matter.

The ALRC should consider whether, and if so how, implementation of any reforms that the ALRC recommends should be staged or prioritised.

2. Scope of the reference

In undertaking its review, the ALRC should consider:

• equity and ethical approaches to improving access to cell, tissue and organ transplantation;
• contemporary research, emerging technologies and clinical practices for cell, tissue and organ donation, retrieval and transplantation, including antemortem interventions and perfusion technologies;
• any other relevant matter, including international experience and approaches.

3. Consultation

In performing its functions in relation to this reference the ALRC shall ensure widespread public consultation, and identify and consult with key stakeholders, including relevant government agencies, the research community, the health and medical sector, the biotechnology sector, industry bodies and lived experience cohorts, including the families of deceased donors and recipients of cell, tissue and organ transplantation.

4. The Commission is to report to the Attorney-General by 16 August 2026.