Change the outdated NSW Surrogacy Act 2010 to allow people to achieve their dreams of having a family!

• It is a criminal offence for NSW residents to enter into
  commercial surrogacy arrangements, either within Australia, or internationally
• International Commercial Surrogacy is not illegal if you are a resident of VIC
• The surrogacy process in Australia requires a great deal of time, money and patience to succeed, it can be complicated, requires approval, and under most state laws it is illegal to even advertise you want to be a surrogate or engage a surrogate
• For example, in Victoria, all surrogacy arrangements must be approved by the Health Department’s Patient Review Panel
• International Commercial Surrogacy has come a long way in recent years, surrogates enter into arrangements not just for payment, but mainly for the amazing gift of fulfilling an intended parents dream of having a baby.

The journey to become parents can often be difficult regardless of your circumstances.

Becoming a parent has been a dream of my partner and I for many years now. After months of research into all options including adoption (adoption is rewarding, but it is also complex), as well as surrogacy, we found the best option for us would be to engage in an international commercial surrogacy arrangement. For those of you who don't know, this is where the surrogate has their expenses covered and is paid a fee for carrying the child. This is common practice in countries like the United States with high profile same sex and even heterosexual couples. 

After the decision was made to utilise international commercial surrogacy, it was a matter of waiting until the world opens back-up to start the process. In that time more research was conducted and this is where we discovered that under the NSW Surrogacy Act 2010, if you are a resident of NSW it is illegal to engage in an international commercial surrogacy arrangement. This essentially rules out every country offering surrogacy arrangements except Canada.

Although there have been no prosecutions under the Surrogacy Act, the potential risk is still there, hence why the law needs to be changed.