Surrogacy Victoria

Surrogacy is legal in Victoria and across Australia. Victorian surrogacy arrangements are regulated by the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008. The laws are in the process of being reformed over a number of years.

Have you thought about joining Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service? Read this first.

The criteria for surrogacy Victoria includes:

• The intended parents must have a social or medical need for surrogacy. This includes singles and couples who cannot conceive or carry a baby themselves. You can read more about qualifying for surrogacy in Australia.
  .
• The surrogate must be over 25 years of age.
  .
• For gestational surrogacy arrangements, the surrogate must have had at least one child of her own.
  .
• The arrangement must be altruistic. The intended parents must cover the surrogate’s out of pocket expenses in accordance with the law. Commercial surrogacy is illegal.
  .
• The parties must have undergone counselling about the arrangement.
  .
• The parties must have obtained legal advice about the arrangement.
  .
• If the surrogacy arrangement is a gestational surrogacy arrangement (ie. where the surrogate conceives with an embryo created with an egg from the Intended Mother or a donor) then the parties must seek approval from the Patient Review Panel prior to treatment.
  .
• Traditional Surrogacy arrangements (where the surrogate conceives with her own egg) are legal, but cannot be facilitated by an IVF clinic (there may be exceptions to this – contact me if you would like to discuss in more detail). This means the conception occurs via home insemination. Some clinics will tell you that only gestational surrogacy is legal – this is not true.
  .
• The treatment – specifically the embryo transfer – must take place in a Victorian registered ART provider. If the embryo transfer occurs outside Victoria, the intended parents may not be able to obtain a Surrogacy Parentage Order after the baby is born.
  .
• Written surrogacy agreements are not a requirement for surrogacy Victoria, but this may change with the future legislative reforms.

It is illegal to advertise for surrogacy in Victoria. It is not illegal for Victorian intended parents to engage in commercial surrogacy overseas.

You can read about the steps to follow once you have a surrogate, or consider what you need to do to find a surrogate. You can also read a broad overview of surrogacy in Australia.

If you’re from another state, you can find all the details of the surrogacy laws that apply to you.

If you would like to know more about how surrogacy works in Australia and Victoria, you might like to download the free Surrogacy Handbook, or book in for a consult with Sarah below.

If you are considering becoming a surrogate, you can book in for a free initial consult with me to discuss the process and what to expect.