Name: Review underway amid push to legalise commercial surrogacy
Uploaded: 2026-01-19T06:28:13.590Z
Duration: 1 min 46 s
Description: The Australian Law Reform Commission is reviewing the nation’s surrogacy laws amid renewed calls to legalise commercial arrangements for couples struggling to have children at home.

The Australian Law Reform Commission is reviewing the nation’s surrogacy laws amid renewed calls to legalise commercial arrangements for couples struggling to have children at home.

The Australian Law Reform Commission is reviewing support for surrogates, proposing ongoing monthly payments of up to $2,000 during pregnancy and shortly after birth to compensate for pain and discomfort. This initiative aims to address the shortage of surrogates in Australia, as more intended parents seek arrangements overseas, where legal recognition and regulation can be inconsistent.

The proposed reforms also include a nationally consistent legal and regulatory framework, full coverage of costs and losses, and improved ways for eligible parties to connect, such as through surrogacy support organisations. Advocates emphasize the need for better regulation to ensure the welfare of surrogates and the legal security of intended parents and children.

Review underway amid push to legalise commercial surrogacy

Anna McKay was a surrogate in September 2020 for two dads, a pregnancy that took a toll leaving her suffering from post-natal depression. Obviously that had an impact on my family as well. The support offered to surrogates is now in the spotlight with a push by the Australian Law Reform Commission for ongoing payments for the pain and discomfort of pregnancy. Compensating surrogates would go a long way to making surrogacy more available in Australia. Submissions include a monthly hardship payment of up to $2,000 per month during the pregnancy and for a short time after a birth. A payment like this would have been welcome to my family in terms of being able to take them perhaps on a small holiday because they had to put up with tired and grumpy mum. It's part of an overhaul to help the country cope with a shortage of surrogates, with hopeful parents turning to arrangements overseas. Between 2023 to 2024, the number of children born through surrogacy outside of Australia was around 361. That's up from 275 back in 2020. Overseas arrangements can be unregulated and the Australian Law Reform Commission says there have been examples where the intended parents may not be recognised as the child's legal parents when they return. Some of the other key features of the proposed system include a nationally consistent legal and regulatory framework, full coverage of costs and losses and a range of ways in which eligible parties can meet, including through surrogacy support organisations. We need to regulate the industry in Australia. In the case of surrogacy, it takes a village to make a child. Michaela Fanto, 10 News.

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