Update - Surrogacy Act


On 1 June 2010 the Surrogacy Act 2010 (Qld) (“the Act”) commenced. This Act legalises non-commercial (altruistic) surrogacy arrangements.
 
A surrogacy arrangement is an arrangement, agreement or understanding between a woman (the birth mother) and another person or persons (the intended parent/s) where the woman agrees to become or try to become pregnant with the intention that if the child is born as a result of that pregnancy the woman will relinquish to the other person custody and guardianship of the child and the child will be treated as a child of the other person.
The guiding principle of the Act is that the wellbeing and best interests of a child born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement, both through childhood and for the rest of his or her life, is paramount.
 
The key points of the Act include the following:

  1. Surrogacy arrangements are not enforceable apart from the birth mother’s reasonable surrogacy costs;
  2. Commercial surrogacy arrangements are still unlawful, ie where a person receives a payment, reward or other material benefit or advantage (other than the birth mother’s surrogacy costs) for entering into an arrangement or agreeing to the making of a Parentage Order;
  3. There must be a medical or social need for the surrogacy arrangement if the intended parent is a man or “eligible woman” as defined in the Act;
  4. All parties to the arrangement must receive separate independent legal advice before entering into the surrogacy arrangement;
  5. All parties to the arrangement must receive counseling from an appropriately qualified counselor before entering into the surrogacy arrangement;
  6. The child must not be conceived before the surrogacy arrangement is entered into;
  7. The birth mother has the same rights to manage her pregnancy and birth as any other pregnant woman;
  8. All parties to the arrangement must be at least 25 years of age when the surrogacy arrangement is entered into;
  9. The intended parents must be resident in Queensland;
  10. The surrogacy arrangement must be entered into with the consent of all parties.

For more information regarding surrogacy arrangements please contact us and see our Fact Sheet.