The greatest privilege of my time as a surrogacy lawyer is to work with intended parents and surrogates as they build their dream of a family. In 8 years of practicing as a surrogacy and donor lawyer, I’ve worked with hundreds of families and together we’ve changed the face of Australian surrogacy.

Knowing the power of evidence, in 2021 I started recording the details of Australian surrogacy arrangements, including how they met, whether it involved gestational or traditional surrogacy, and the profile of intended parents and relationships.

Gestational and Traditional Surrogacy

Of 500 surrogacy arrangements, and consistently each year, 85% of Australian surrogacy arrangements involve gestational surrogacy, and 15% involve traditional surrogacy. While there is still misunderstanding and stigma associated with traditional surrogacy, in 2024 the ACT joined the rest of Australia in legalising traditional surrogacy. Many clinics refuse to assist, preferring to profit from gestational surrogacy. However, it remains a fact that more than 1 in 7 Australian surrogacy arrangements involve traditional surrogacy, and many of those will conceive via at-home inseminations.

Intended Parents

Many people ask me whether straight or gay couples are more likely to proceed with surrogacy, or find a surrogate in Australia. While there is a fairly even distribution, 61.5% of arrangements involved straight couples, and 33% were for gay male couples. 2% of arrangements were for single men, and 3.5% were for single women. I predict an increase in more gay male couples pursuing surrogacy since marriage equality and seeing themselves reflected in other two-dad households.
.

How do we find a surrogate?

The biggest question, of course, is How do we find a surrogate in Australia? My records show that 79% of Australian surrogacy arrangements were founded through existing relationships, while 21% of arrangements involved new relationships. Of the new relationships, the vast majority found each other through social media, including the Australian Surrogacy Community on Facebook and other state-based surrogacy groups.

Will we find a surrogate through the Surrogacy Australia Support Service? My records indicate that this is unlikely, and this is supported by their own reports. Surrogacy Australia claims credit for only 13 arrangements across 6 years, of which several were in fact already matched when they joined the Service. Of my records, less than 1% of arrangements indicate that they met via SASS. Compare that to the free Facebook groups, where the majority of the 21% of new arrangements are founded.

In 2024, I started recording more details of how Australian surrogacy arrangements involving existing relationships found each other. The majority, 49% involve friends, while 25% involve sisters or sisters-in-law. 13% involve other relatives including mothers, cousins and aunts, while the remaining 12% involve work colleagues. If you haven’t shared your story with your networks, this should be your encouragement to do so.

If you are new to surrogacy, you can download the free Surrogacy Handbook which explains the processes and options.

Sarah has published a book, More Than Just a Baby: A Guide to Surrogacy for Intended Parents and Surrogates, the only guide to surrogacy in Australia.

Looking for a surrogate and not sure where to start? We Need a Surrogate – What’s Next? And if you have a surrogate or intended parents, you can get started on the surrogacy process.

You can read a broad overview for surrogacy in Australia and how it works.