What payments can be made to a Surrogate Birth Mother in Qld
Can a Surrogate Birth Mother be paid?
There are restrictions on what is legally able to be paid to a Surrogate Birth Mother. Similarly, what benefit, reward or advantage may be received or obtained by the Surrogate Birth Mother is also restricted.
Only non-commercial (altruistic) Surrogacy Arrangements are legal in Queensland.
It is illegal for anyone to enter into a commercial Surrogacy Arrangement.
A commercial Surrogacy Arrangement is one where there is payment, reward, advantage or any other material benefit to any of the parties.
The Birth Mother can be reimbursed for her reasonable expenses associated with the Surrogacy Arrangement such as medical, legal and counselling costs.
Medical, legal and counselling expenses will be specific allowable expenses deemed to be reasonable. You can’t just call anything an expense and pay it.
The Surrogacy Agreement will be unlawful and unable to be enforced if:
- the Birth Mother is paid any money other than being reimbursed for her allowable reasonable expenses;
- the Birth Mother receives any other benefit, reward or advantage for entering into the Surrogacy Arrangement, other than reimbursement of her allowable reasonable expenses.
Because commercial Surrogacy Arrangements are not legal in Queensland, usually birth mothers are either related or close friends.
It is common for birth mothers to be sisters, family members or close friends of the “intended parent(s)”, who are otherwise unable to have a child.
Note: This reflects the law in Qld. The laws in other Australian States of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmainia, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory may be different.
Surrogacy: More Information
If you have arranged or are arranging to enter into a Surrogacy Agreement then you will need to know with what the the law is about Surrogacy Arrangements.
Not all people can legally be part of a surrogacy arrangement. Parliament has passed laws saying who is able to enter into a surrogacy agreement.
There are also laws which restrict what is able to be paid to a Surrogate Birth Mother under a Surrogacy Arrangement. Laws also strictly govern the procedure that must be followed to enter a Surrogacy Agreement.
The Qld government has also announced proposed changes to Surrogacy laws.
If you are legally eligible to make a Surrogacy Arrangement, then you should be famililiar with both the benefits and the risks of Surrogacy.
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