Procedure for a Surrogacy Agreement

If you are considering having a Child by Surrogacy, you need to realise that there are things you need to do in advance to make sure the arrangement you reach is legal and able to be enforced.

Before you decide to enter into a Surrogacy Agreement you need to be aware of all of the steps involved.

To become parents using a Surrogacy Arrangement the procedure usually is:

• All “birth parents” and “intended parent(s)” obtain legal advice.
• All “birth parents” and “intended parent(s)” obtain counselling.
• A written Surrogacy Agreement is prepared and signed by all parties.
• The Child is conceived. The birth mother has exactly the same rights as any other woman to manage her pregnancy.
• The Child is born. At this stage the Child is legally still the Child of the birth mother and her spouse.
• The birth parents must register the Child’s birth.
• A counselling report, called a “Surrogacy Guidance Report” is obtained.
• The “Intended parent(s)” make an Application to the Children’s Court for the parentage of the Child to be transferred.
• For the Children’s Court to make an Order transferring parentage they must also be satisfied:
  • There was a medical or social need for the surrogacy arrangement;
  • That all parties have had independent Counselling;
  • That all parties have had independent legal advice;
  • That the transfer from the “birth parents” to the “intended parents” is in the best interests of the Child.
• After the Children’s Court makes the Order transferring the parentage of the Child, the “intended parent(s)” become the Child’s legal parents. Once this Order is made the way in which the child was conceived or the genetic material used to conceive the child, is irrelevant.

 

 

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 may be considering making a Surrogacy Arrangement you must knowthe law about Surrogacy.

Unfortunately, not everybody can legally make a surrogacy arrangement.  The government has made laws so that only some people are able to enter into a surrogacy arrangement.

There are also laws which are very strict on what can be paid to a Surrogate Birth Mother under a Surrogacy Agreement.  Strict laws also set out the procedure to enter a Surrogacy Arrangement, without which, the Surrogacy agreement will not be legal and binding.

The Qld government has also said it intends to change Qlld Surrogacy laws.

If you can enter a Surrogacy Arrangement, then you should consider the benefits as well as the risks of Surrogacy.

 

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