Looking back, 2024 surrogacy has been big for events, law reform and things happening in the community and industry. Here’s a wrap-up.

Back in January, the Pope had some thoughts on surrogacy, none of which were well-informed or helpful. In response, I wrote an opinion piece for The Age, the full text you can read here.

Later in the year, we had positive law reform in the ACT, with prohibitions on advertising repealed, and traditional surrogacy legalised. Other changes included allowing single people to pursue surrogacy in the ACT, and for treatment allowed to occur outside the territory. Less positive change included a new requirement for there to be two counsellors involved for pre-surrogacy counselling, but with some campaigning by myself and ANZICA counsellors, we were able to have that law changed.

Each year there are about 130 surrogacy births across Australia. Some of those stories were reported in the media, including baby Howie to parents Amelia and Ben, baby Delilah carried by second-time surrogate Micaela (and assisted by surrogate and midwife Julie), baby Thomas delivered by his grandmother Lisa for parents Cassidy and Corey, and baby Miley delivered in Queensland for dads Mitchell and Matthew.

Meanwhile, Western Australian and Tasmanian surrogacy laws were highlighted in Joel’s story as single men and gay male couples are still not allowed to pursue surrogacy in WA. Joel instead found surrogate Jess in Tasmania, where all parties must be residents of Tasmania.

I was privileged to assist with only the second baby born via surrogacy in Northern Territory, having assisted with the first in 2023.

Later in the year, surrogate Mollie hosted surrogates from around Australia for a Surrogacy Sisterhood Retreat. The Retreats have become an almost-annual event, providing crucial support for surrogates and building the community amongst ourselves.

New South Wales announced a review of the surrogacy laws, which is still underway. Changes made under the Equality Act mean that parents who engage in commercial surrogacy overseas may be able to apply for a parentage order in New South Wales.

Surrogacy also made headlines around the world, and not always for good reasons. Italy announced that surrogacy is now illegal, including for Italian citizens who engage in surrogacy overseas. Allegations of human trafficking arose in Argentina, which surprised no one given the same thing happened in Crete only the year earlier.

I was able to record the details of the 500th surrogacy arrangement since 2021, which showed that 79% of Australian arrangements involve friends and family and the remaining 21% are found via social media.

This year, I’ve been assisting in the authorship of a book about surrogacy healthcare, and more recently with research run by Swinburne University to develop surrogacy policies for hospitals. You can be involved too, we’d love your input if you have experienced a surrogacy birth in Australia.

Finally, I was excited to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship, to research best practice surrogacy to inform law reform in Australia. My research will take me to the International Surrogacy Forum in Cape Town in March, and then on to Ireland, England, Canada and the USA. I hope to bring back lots of learning and ideas for a framework for ethical, best practice surrogacy that makes it easier to pursue surrogacy in Australia.

What’s on for 2025? Well, I’m packing for a roadtrip with the family over Christmas, and then organising for my Churchill travels. And for surrogacy in Australia – let’s hope Western Australia legalises surrogacy for single men and same sex couples. And let’s hope NSW reforms might lead to a new vision for surrogacy in Australia. Meanwhile, I’ve got big plans for the surrogacy profession and can’t wait to get started.

You can find more information in the free Surrogacy Handbook, reading articles in the Blog, by listening to more episodes of the Surrogacy Podcast. You can also book in for a consult with me below, and check out the legal services I provide.