"Our families aren't asking for special treatment. We're asking to be recognised as equal from the day our children arrive. Ashley Scott, Executive Officer, Rainbow Families
On Monday, Rainbow Families went to Federal Parliament with a simple message: surrogacy laws need to catch up with the families they affect.
With the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) review of surrogacy laws due to be tabled in Parliament in the coming weeks, the timing couldn't be more important. Decision-makers are about to receive a roadmap for reform, and we wanted them to hear directly from the people whose lives these laws shape.
We were delighted that around 10 MPs joined us for the event, hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of LGBTIQ+ Australians. Our friends at Equality Australia were there too, adding their legal expertise to the conversation.
Hearing from those who've lived it
Data can only tell part of the story. The rest belongs to the people who have lived it.
That's why we were so grateful to be joined by Jen McCloy, a former surrogate, and Matt Mills, who was born through surrogacy. Jen and Matt shared their lived experience with MPs, offering two perspectives that are too often missing from debates about surrogacy: the person who carries the child, and the child who grows up knowing how they came into the world.
They were joined on the panel by our CEO Ashley Scott and Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill, with Rob Stott moderating. Together, they painted a clear picture of what surrogacy looks like in practice, and where the law falls short.
Why surrogacy reform matters
Around 1 in 10 families in our study were formed through surrogacy, most of them two-dad families. Altruistic surrogacy is legal in Australia, but restrictive laws create real barriers at every step.
Parentage orders can be complicated and slow. Surrogates can be left out of pocket because of limits on reimbursement and compensation. And because the system at home is so hard to navigate, 8 in 10 Australian babies born through surrogacy are born overseas, often at enormous cost. Families then come home to systems that struggle to recognise them.
Many two-dad families have only one father on their child's birth certificate, which affects everything from childcare enrolment to inheritance. Families in our research told us about:
- the Passport Office treating a child's application as "high risk" simply because they were born through surrogacy
- Centrelink asking a dad for adoption papers for his own biological child
- parents being refused parental leave, or waiting many months for it, because they used a surrogate
None of this protects children or surrogates. It simply reflects systems that weren't built with our families in mind. That's why we're calling on governments to:
- Remove stigmatising and ineffective criminal laws
- Streamline how parents are legally recognised
- Allow fair compensation for surrogates
- Create a national donor and surrogacy register
What comes next
The ALRC's report is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Our laws must reflect the reality of modern families, protect children and surrogates, uphold human rights, and give LGBTIQ+ people a fair and safe path to parenthood.
Equal recognition from the day a child arrives isn't a big ask. When the report is tabled, we'll be urging every MP to read it, listen to families like ours, and act.
A huge thank you to the Parliamentary Friends of LGBTIQ+ Australians for hosting us, to Jen and Matt for so generously sharing their stories, to Equality Australia for standing alongside us, and to every parent and carer who trusted us with their experiences. Every family deserves the chance to thrive, and laws that recognise and support them.
