Calvary Health Care has confirmed it will stop providing IVF, elective abortions, voluntary assisted dying and gender reassignment procedures if its purchase of two Newcastle private hospitals goes ahead.

Calvary said the services would not be offered at Newcastle Private or Hunter Valley Private under its ownership. Sterilisation and contraception would also not be offered where preventing fertility is their sole purpose. Most other services would be retained.

What will stop

Calvary follows the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services, which bars Catholic facilities from providing or referring for abortions or IVF. Written in 2001, before any state legalised voluntary assisted dying, the code is now applied by Calvary to decline it in New South Wales too.

Why the takeover matters

Calvary is acquiring 14 hospitals after Healthscope, Australia's second-largest private operator, collapsed with about $1.6 billion in debt and went into receivership in 2025. The sale is not yet final: it needs transfer of the state hospital licences and clearance from the competition regulator, with control expected by the end of November.

Newcastle Private is the only private maternity service between Sydney and the Queensland border, with about 1,600 births a year. Hunter IVF, which uses the hospital's theatres for egg collections, says it will stay in the region while seeking alternatives. A fertility specialist warned over 1,000 IVF patients a year could be affected.

What happens next

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the state could not dictate a private hospital's services, only whether its operator was fit to hold a licence, but the government would work to fill gaps. Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has sought assurances on fertility and obstetric care, while federal MP Dan Repacholi has opposed any reduction in access. Calvary chief executive Damien Bruce acknowledged community concerns.