Giving and receiving the gift of life is not to be taken lightly. The Surrogacy Act 2010 commenced 1 June 2010 and gives individuals, opposite-sex couples, and same-sex couples who have been unable to have children of their own, for social or medical reasons, the opportunity to start a family through the assistance of a surrogate.

The surrogacy arrangement will be a formal written agreement between the birth mother and the intended parents and will include provisions as to how the surrogate will become pregnant, what will occur during the pregnancy, how the birth will proceed and what is to happen after the birth.

To enter a surrogacy arrangement, you must satisfy the following requirements:

• The intended parents must be at least 25 years old at the time of entering the surrogacy arrangement;
• The birth mother (surrogate) must at least 25 years old at the time of entering the surrogacy arrangement;
• The intended parents must be residents of Queensland;
• The intended parents and birth mother and her spouse/partner (if any) must participate in counselling in relation to the social and psychological implications of the proposed surrogacy arrangement prior to entering the surrogacy arrangement; and
• The intended parents, birth mother and her spouse/partner (if any) must obtain independent legal advice in relation to the legal implications of the proposed surrogacy arrangement.

It is very important to understand that in Queensland, a surrogacy arrangement is not binding or enforceable. In essence, the birth mother will not be required, at law, to relinquish the child to the intended parents following the birth of the child. Similarly, the intended parents are not obligated, at law, to accept custody of the child.