A Victorian mother of six has been refused IVF treatment after it was found there would be significant welfare concerns for the child.

A Victorian mother with a history of emotional abuse and neglect has been barred from accessing IVF treatment.

The mother of six had an order made against her after child protection officers removed four of her children from her care.

She and her partner, who has four adult children of his own, appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to have the ruling overturned but failed.

There would be significant welfare concerns and it would not be in the best interest of a child for the couple to undergo IVF, the tribunal said this month.

The woman, known only as TRV, had a history of emotional abuse, medical and environmental neglect and exposure to family violence, the VCAT panel said.

Victorian law requires couples to prove they are fit to be parents before undergoing IVF.

Child protection's involvement with the woman meant there was already a "presumption against treatment" relating to the disability support pensioner.

There is no order in relation to her partner of five years, TPW, who works full-time as a security guard.

Tribunal documents reveal the couple, who plan to marry in December, sought permission to access IVF before TRV turns 46 in September and is ineligible.

They had a daughter together in 2010 but she died from SIDS at seven weeks.

Rejecting permission, the VCAT panel led by Judge Pamela Jenkins, found TRV had a lack of insight into the experiences of her children.

She also had difficulty in accepting partial responsibility for past harms experienced by them.

Positive changes in her life, including her relationship with TPW, were taken into consideration before permission was denied.

Only three per cent of the 147 "barrier to treatment" cases examined by the Department of Health and Human Services in the last five years have been upheld.

ALLEGATIONS THAT SAW THE MOTHER BARRED FROM IVF:
* Admitted giving one child a "hiding" after he hit his sister
* Threatened younger children with a clenched fist
* Told her son to leave home at 14, would not allow him to return
* Left 10-year-old home alone to care for younger siblings
* Told one son he was a "smart alec" who would grow up to be a woman beater
* Called another son a bastard
* Referred to her sons as "dead to her"
* Told a school she refused to waste money on a doctor regarding suspicions her son had a heart problem
* Took intervention order against son over claim he tried to entice siblings to join him in care
(Source: Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal documents)