Now is a ‘real opportunity’ for surrogacy law change

The issues paper offers a comprehensive overview of the inquiry’s scope and highlights the urgent need for law reform. It details how surrogacy is currently regulated across Australia, the challenges this fragmented approach creates, and the potential pathways for addressing them.

The ALRC’s proposed guiding principles for reform include respect and dignity, accessibility, pragmatism, harm minimisation, harmonisation, and human rights, with a particular focus on protecting the rights of the child.

Submissions in response to the issues paper are open until 11 July, with the ALRC inviting and encouraging individuals and organisations to address the 27 questions posed for stakeholder consideration.

ALRC president, the Honourable Justice Mordy Bromberg, highlighted the critical need for reform, pointing to the inconsistent laws across jurisdictions and the growing trend of Australians seeking surrogacy arrangements overseas.

“Surrogacy is an important area for law reform given the lack of consistent laws across Australian states and territories, and because of the growing number of children born via surrogacy, which is increasingly being accessed overseas,” he said.

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“Public feedback on the issues paper, particularly from those who have experience of surrogacy, is vital to informing our reform thinking.”

Associate Professor Ronli Sifris, ALRC assistant commissioner, emphasised the significance of this review in allowing for community input in this deeply personal area.

“I am pleased to have published our Issues Paper for the Review of Surrogacy Laws. This is a valuable opportunity to hear from people with personal experience of surrogacy and stakeholders about the direction of the inquiry. Importantly, the issues paper also suggests the principles and approach that should guide our work in this inquiry,” she said.

Sarah Jefford, a family and surrogacy lawyer, weighed in on the barriers Australians currently face when accessing surrogacy arrangements, particularly within the domestic system.

“Surrogacy is not accessible in Australia, with only 130 surrogacy births across Australia and up to 400 babies born overseas each year. Intended parents often travel overseas because it is easier to find a surrogate than it is at home, but there are risks to cross-border surrogacy, particularly in unregulated jurisdictions,” she said.

To address these challenges effectively, Jefford emphasised the urgent need for unified national surrogacy laws to replace the existing patchwork of inconsistent state and territory legislation.

“We need national surrogacy laws rather than the patchwork of state laws we currently deal with, and a regulated framework for surrogacy matching services to operate ethically in Australia. Surrogacy regulation should be transferred to the Commonwealth and managed within the Federal Circuit and Family Court,” she said.

“If we are serious about making surrogacy accessible in Australia, we need to compensate surrogates for their time, effort and the risks they take. Everyone else in the industry – lawyers, counsellors, fertility specialists – all make money from surrogacy, while the one person taking most of the risks is considered to be ‘exploited,’ but only if she is paid.”

Jefford shared that the ALRC reviews present a “real opportunity approach to surrogacy in Australia”, sharing how she “hope[s] the government is listening when the ALRC delivers its report in 2026.

The ARLC is set to publish a discussion paper at the end of 2025, which will outline proposed options for reform and invite further public input.