Tasmania reaches in-principle agreement to see return of low-cost abortion services

It is expected the service will start in October if the terms of the agreement, with licensing and accreditation requirements, are finalised.

Department secretary Mike Pervan said the Patient Transport and Travel Assistance Scheme will be available for women who have to travel to Hobart to access the service.

Tasmanian women this year have been forced to travel interstate to access affordable abortion services after the last of three low-cost providers left the state.

A centre in Launceston closed in May 2016.

Labor spokeswoman Michelle O'Byrne said questions remained around how regular the service would be provided.

"What we do know is that women are going to have to continue to beg to get travel assistance which is a process at a difficult time in your life you might not want to go through," she said.

Ms O’Byrne said there was no safety net to catch women who could not access the low-cost provider for whatever reason without the procedure being more available within the public hospital system.

Greens health spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said with abortions legal in Tasmania, the state had an obligation to provide the medical procedure more widely within the hospital system.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson in Parliament on Tuesday tabled a report on surgical terminations in Tasmania.

The report concluded abortion services should be centred on patients and their families, equitable, affordable, timely and accessible.

“While most surgical terminations of pregnancy under 14 weeks can be safely carried out in a clinic setting away from a hospital environment, there are women who need the higher level of clinical support that can only be provided in a hospital setting,” it said. 

“It is critical we ensure that hospital services are available for those with higher clinical needs, where they can be treated safely.”