Surrogacy Information for Healthcare Providers
If you are an intended parent or future surrogate and need to visit your healthcare provider to talk about surrogacy, you may find that they have not worked with many surrogacy cases. Surrogacy and egg donation is not common in Australia, and often the process begins with a referral from your GP to a fertility clinic. You may also be planning a surrogacy birth and needing to talk to the hospital about surrogacy laws and processes in Australia.
There are many myths about surrogacy in Australia – that it’s illegal, that it’s impossible, and that there are restrictions, that in fact do not exist.
To make life a little easier, I’ve written this Fact Sheet: Surrogacy Information for Healthcare Providers, providing the basics of how surrogacy works in Australia, so that you all you need to do is download the information and give it to your doctor. Anyone is welcome to the information – you can give your GP or fertility specialist the downloadable Fact Sheet, or link them to this website.
Once you are pregnant and seeking pregnancy and birth care, you may need assistance educating the hospital and healthcare providers about the surrogacy arrangement. You can find more resources for hospitals supporting a surrogacy pregnancy and birth for yourself and your healthcare providers.
If your healthcare professional has more questions about surrogacy and how best to assist intended parents and surrogates, they can contact me to discuss further.
You might also like to download the Surrogacy Handbook and listen to the Surrogacy Podcast to gain a full understanding of surrogacy in Australia.
Hi! I’m Sarah Jefford (she/her). I’m a family creation lawyer, practising in surrogacy and donor conception arrangements. I’m an IVF mum, an egg donor and a traditional surrogate, and I delivered a baby for two dads in 2018
I advocate for positive, best practice surrogacy arrangements within Australia, and provide support and education to help intended parents make informed decisions when pursuing overseas surrogacy.
