Surrogacy laws in Australia are quite varied and mostly administered at a state level. Moreover, a surrogate cannot get remuneration in any Australian jurisdiction. The surrogate's decision to consent to bear a child for someone else must be properly demonstrated before any planned arrangement wins preliminary approval.
On the other hand, parents who are pursuing surrogacy in Australia may pay "reasonable charges" (such as medication, obstetric care, investigations, and travel), but the actual "service" itself cannot be paid for outright.
What are the pre-requisites for being a surrogate mother in Australia?
Although it is not a compulsion, the surrogate must have at least one kid and proof of her ability to become pregnant. She further needs to provide a history of straightforward pregnancies, labors, and deliveries. Moreover, the surrogate should ideally be a relative or close friend who initially approaches the couple with a sincere offer of assistance.
Prior to their initial appointment at the surrogacy agency in Australia, all members of the group—the intended parents, the surrogate, and her partner—undergo thorough psychometric examination by an independent practitioner.
They must obtain complete legal counsel regarding surrogacy in Australia, and the surrogate must be certified as fit for pregnancy by an obstetrician and gynecologist. The letter of referral from the commissioning couple must be accompanied by written evidence of each of these evaluations.
The four (or three if the surrogate is a single lady) then have two days of appointments at the surrogacy agency in Australia. The agency will then submit an application for independent ethics committee approval if all requirements are met. Besides, there is a required three-month cooling-off period for the group beginning on the day of their initial consultation with the treating specialist, however processing this may take several months.
Legal status of the born child via surrogacy
it is stated that "...when a woman gives birth to a child...the birth mother is believed to be the legal mother of that child...," in all Australian jurisdictions (Artificial Conception Ordinance 1985). In a surrogacy agreement, this implies that the intended parents must submit an adoption application for their own genetic offspring.
Additionally, commissioning parents in the ACT were prohibited from having their names appear on their child's birth certificate for a number of years. Moreover, the ACT Government refused to budge despite several requests by doctors and patients to have the Ordinance changed.
The Parentage Act (ACT) of 2004 was created as a result. Regardless of the child's genetic makeup, the Act nevertheless states that the woman who gives birth is the child's mother and her legal partner is the child's other parent. To have their names included as the parents on the kid's birth certificate, couples may, nevertheless, appeal to the court between six weeks and 12 months after the child is born. The way other States approach these matters legally varies just a little.
How surrogacy laws in Australia are mostly varied?
Australia's legal system is currently largely consistent throughout. While charitable surrogacy is generally permitted, different laws in different countries have different constraints on this practice. For instance, several countries permit traditional surrogacy.
Additionally, using 'third party' sperm and/or oocyte donors in a surrogacy agreement is anticipated to become a common practice. This will make it possible for people with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), ovarian failure in females, azospermia in males, to go for surrogacy. Besides, it will also ensure gay surrogacy in Australia for all the same sex couples.
The increased likelihood of "refusal to relinquish" when the surrogate is both the genetic mother and the gestational mother, as well as the complexity of "too many parents" in the equation when third (and fourth) parties are involved, are among the concerns raised by those who are opposed to such actions.
In the end, it will be up to the individual units and their ethics committees to evaluate the risks and choose the services they will provide. However, commercial surrogacy is not allowed.
Final words
It is very exciting that recent legislation reforms have made surrogacy in Australia a viable option for patients across the country. To provide standard laws for all Australian States and Territories, a committee of Federal and State Attorneys-General has recently been formed.
This further proposed that all surrogacy patients need to be allowed to receive treatment in their home State. Moreover, patients who have been traveling across the nation for the past 15 years to obtain surrogacy in the ACT assure us that this will be a big victory for individuals suffering a barrage of physical and emotional difficulties in the aim of attaining a successful pregnancy through surrogacy.