Surrogacy Australia

Surrogacy provides Australians who are unable to give birth the opportunity to have a child. But surrogacy arrangements are medically, emotionally, financially and legally complex. Australian surrogacy laws protect the human rights of children born of surrogacy, their surrogate mothers and intended parents.

All Australian states and territories permit altruistic surrogacy where the surrogate has their expenses covered with no other payment provided or personal profit made. Commercial surrogacy – where the surrogate receives more than their reasonable expenses is illegal in Australia. It is also illegal for some Australians to engage in commercial surrogacy overseas. If Australians engage in commercial surrogacy, they are usually not recognised as legal parents in Australia and the surrogate remains the legal parent of the child.

To be recognised as the legal parents of a child born through surrogacy intended parents must abide by the laws of the state or territory that they live in.

These laws protect the human rights of surrogates, babies born of surrogacy and intended parents.