Qld Government proposes changes to Surrogacy Laws 

The Qld State Government has said they intend to change the Surrogacy Laws in Queensland.

Currently, the legal position in Queensland is that the relationship status of a person who wishes to become a parent of a Child through a Surrogacy Arrangement is irrelevant.

There is no currently discrimitation on your ability to become a parent under a Surrogacy Agreement based on whether you are in a heterosexual or homosexual relationship or whether you are single, married, or in a de facto relationship.

 

 

 

Under the Queensland Surrogacy Act 2010, as it currently stands, married couples, heterosexual de facto couples, same sex couples and single people can all enter into a Surrogacy Arrangement with the intention to become a parent of a Child as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

In June 2012, the (then) new Liberal National Party State Government said quite clearly and publically that they will amend the Surrogacy laws in Qld so that the following people will not be eligible to enter into a Surrogacy Arrangement:

Same Sex Couples;

Single people; and

People who have been in a de facto relationship less than 2 years.

There has been opposition to the proposed amendments on the basis that (amongst other things) those changes would appear to breach the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also the Federal Sex Discrimination Act.

At the time of writing this information sheet, that opposition has not apparently had any effect on changing the Government’s stated position.

It is not yet known when those changes to the law will be made however the current Qld State Government has said those changes to the law will definitely be made.

The Qld State Government has said that the new laws would not be retrospective.

This means that those people who have already used a Surrogacy Arrangement to become parents (since that became possible in Queensland in mid 2010) will not be affected by the changes.

Apparently the intention of the Qld State Government is that the laws will only apply to future Surrogacy Arrangements.

 

 

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 are consdering entering into a Surrogacy Arrangement you will need to be familiarise yourself with laws about Surrogacy.

Unfortunately, not everybody can legally enter into a surrogacy arrangement.  The government has made laws which say that only some people are eligible to enter into a surrogacy arrangement.

There are also laws which say what can lawfully be paid to a Surrogate under a Surrogacy Agreement as well as laws which govern the procedure that must be followed to enter a Surrogacy Arrangement if you want it to be lawfull and binding.

The Qld government has also announced proposed changes to Surrogacy laws to apply in Queensland.

If you are able to enter into a Surrogacy Agreement, then you should be aware of not only the benefits, but also the risks of Surrogacy.