The federal government has announced a review of Australia’s surrogacy laws and the Australian Law Reform Commission is now conducting that review. If you created your family through surrogacy this is your opportunity to help shape the future of surrogacy laws in Australia.
There are a few ways you can get involved:
- Make your own submission
- Share your thoughts and experience in our community consultation and we will deidentify all responses and use them in our submission
- Get your kids to make a submission
You can read more about the review of Australia’s surrogacy laws, and the Terms of Reference, on the ALRC website. We are delighted that Rainbow Families Executive Officer Ashley Scott – a proud gay dad through surrogacy is on the ALRC’s Advisory Committee, to ensure the voices of our community are included in the inquiry.
The ALRC is seeking submissions to an Issues Paper, which you should read before making or contributing to a submission. The Issues Paper introduces the Inquiry and includes and a list of questions. There are a lot of questions and many of the questions won’t apply to all families making submissions so you can choose answer all the questions, or only the ones that are relevant to your family.
Submissions will be published on the ALRC website, but can be de-identified, to protect the identities and privacy of the people involved and the children born through surrogacy. You can also ask that your submission not be published and remain confidential.
Contributing to the Rainbow Families submission
If you don’t want to make your own submission or would like to ensure anonymity, you can complete our survey below to share your experiences and thoughts with us and we can include them in our submission. You don’t need to answer all the questions – just the ones that are relevant to your family. This survey will close on June 27 to give us time to write our submission. Be part of our submission here - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEIEeGixG50gqFUy6sy_9SKMKLORG3cLkMsje2OQ1MnzaQKg/viewform?usp=header
Help your kids to make a submission
The voice of young people born through surrogacy is important for the ALRC to hear. Growing Families is supporting young people born through surrogacy to make their own submissions. They are running a webinar specifically for families with young people wanting to make a submission. You can register for the 16 June webinar or watch it afterwards if you can’t make it on the 16th. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89549091616
Making your own submission
Making a submission may feel intimidating. Rest assured, there is no right or wrong way to write your submission and telling a story from the heart is really important. You can download and save a template Submission, which you can use as a starting point to complete your own submission.
Submissions on the review of Australia’s surrogacy laws can be made on the ALRC website and by email or post. Submissions will be due by Friday 11 July 2025.
What should I write?
Whether you are contributing to our submission or writing your own we’ve included some helpful information below.
Sarah Jefford has a wonderful webinar about how to make a submission, which you can watch in full on YouTube. And you can download Sarah’s Make A Submission Fact Sheet to help you get started.
Surrogacy is not very accessible in Australia. For every child born in Australia via surrogacy, there are more than three born overseas each year. You might like to consider how we can make surrogacy more accessible, such as removing prohibitions on advertising, compensating surrogates, and making pre-birth parentage orders available to transfer parentage.
Surrogacy and parentage are coved by state/territory as well as federal laws – making it confusing and often difficult to navigate. We believe these laws should be standardised so that access to surrogacy is the same for all Australians.
Did you experience challenges finding accurate information about surrogacy? What do you think services like clinics, counsellors and lawyers should know?
Finding a surrogate can be difficult in Australia. Would agencies and matching services make it easier? In that case, should we allow those services in Australia and how should they be regulated?
Medicare and Centrelink create barriers for children born via surrogacy and their parents. Should those government agencies implement changes and policies to streamline applications involving children born via surrogacy?
Many people experience challenges with hospitals and healthcare providers during surrogacy pregnancy and birth. How can we promote awareness about surrogacy so that hospitals are providing the best care?
If you have engaged in international surrogacy, you’ll be well aware of the challenges in cross-border surrogacy, and returning home to Australia. What can we do to make sure children born via surrogacy are granted citizenship, visas and passports in a way that protects their safety, identity and right to parentage?
Some states criminalise international commercial surrogacy. What does this mean for the rights and best interests of the children born?
Remember, your submission should be your own, and based on your experience of surrogacy in Australia or overseas. The most compelling and impactful submissions will be those from the community that have experience of surrogacy. Tell your story from your heart.
Rainbow Families alongside other groups and individuals has been advocating for surrogacy law reform for the past ten years, and we’ve had a couple of small wins over the years. This is the first time we have seen the government willing to review surrogacy laws with the intention of making positive changes for future generations of families through surrogacy. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a surrogacy framework that supports accessible surrogacy within Australia and protects everyone’s rights. Even if you’ve completed your family or moved on from surrogacy, your voice is crucial to make change happen to Australia’s surrogacy laws for the future.
