Plain English guide to surrogacy

With adoption being an extremely regulated and lengthy process in Australia, some Australians are turning to surrogacy as a way to create a family such as single people who want a child, women who are unable to fall pregnant due to medical reasons, or same-sex couples.

What is surrogacy?

Surrogacy is an arrangement for a woman to give birth to a child for another person, or couple, with the intention of giving that child to that person, or couple, once the child is born.

Surrogacy laws in Australia

There are two different types of surrogacy:

• Traditional surrogacy - where the surrogate provides their own egg, usually during an artificial insemination process; and
• Gestational surrogacy - where all genetic material is provided by either the intended parent(s) or a third party.