Last week, the Attorney General announced a review of surrogacy laws in NSW. His announcement followed discussion at the meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) about a proposed national model.

Surrogacy is complex issue that can invoke a lot of emotions, made more complicated by the fact that legislation differs around Australia. In NSW, commercial surrogacy is banned but altruistic surrogacy is unregulated. In Queensland, any form of surrogacy is proscribed, while other states and territories accept altruistic surrogacy.  Surrogacy also raises important questions about parenting provisions and the content of birth certificates.

Parliaments around the country have been examining legislation: inquiries are happening in Queensland and Tasmania, in Victoria the State Government is set to introduce legislation later this year based on the recommendations of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. (The VLRC recommended that the criteria for defining infertility include social as well as medical infertility). In WA, legislation that passed the Upper House is due to be debated in the Lower House this month, and SA recently passed new laws allowing gestational surrogacy. However, an amendment by Labor MLC Ian Hunter that would have allowed anyone who had been in a domestic relationship, including same-sex couples, access to gestational surrogacy (even though it would be unlikely for gay couples to ever use gestational surrogacy) was voted down by Family First and the Liberals.

Among other things, the Standing Committee on Law and Justice has been asked to look at:

• The role that the NSW Government should play in regulating altruistic surrogacy arrangements in NSW
• The legal rights and responsibilities that should be imposed upon the intended parent/s and /or birth parent/s
• The rights that a child born through an altruistic surrogacy arrangement should have to access information relating to his / her genetic parentage, and who should hold that information
• The interplay between existing State and Federal legislation as it affects all individuals involved

The Attorney has also flagged that the Committee should also consider surrogacy for same sex couples (however, the review is focusing only on altruistic surrogacy).

I am interested in hearing from people who have a personal experience with surrogacy who would be happy to share their stories with the Committee.