Surrogacy in WA

Surrogacy refers to a type of assisted reproductive technology where there is an arrangement for a woman to carry and give birth to a child on behalf of another person or couple. 

The parties to a surrogacy arrangement are the: 

  • birth mother– who will carry and give birth to the child 
  • arranged parent/s– who will raise the child. 

The types of surrogacy permitted in Western Australia are: 

  • traditional surrogacy: using birth mother egg and arranged parent or donor sperm 
  • gestational surrogacy: using arranged parent and/or donor gametes. 

The surrogacy arrangement must meet requirements set out in the Surrogacy Act 2008 and its related legislation. It must be approved by the Reproductive Technology Council of WA. 

A surrogacy arrangement can only be made before the birth mother becomes pregnant. 

In WA, access to surrogacy arrangement is limited to: 

  • heterosexual married or de facto couples who are unable to conceive a child due to medical reasons or who are likely to conceive a child affected by a genetic abnormality or genetic condition
    or 
  • a woman who is unable to conceive or give birth to a child due to medical reasons; or who is likely to conceive a child affected by a genetic abnormality or condition. 

There are further restrictions on who is eligible for a surrogacy arrangement, for example, the medical reasons above do not include a reason arising due to a person’s age (however this may not be the case for premature menopause). Clinics may have their own policies regarding eligibility and the types of surrogacy arrangements that they provide. 

Please refer to Section 23 of the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991 (WA) or Section 19(2) of the Surrogacy Act 2008 for further information on arranged parent eligibility. 

The law in Western Australia is currently being reviewed and the WA Government has committed to providing equity of access to altruistic surrogacy for single men, people in same-sex relationships, transgender people and intersex people.

Information can be found at New assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy legislation for WA. 

A birth mother (surrogate) must: 

  • have reached 25 years of age 
  • have given birth to a live child (exceptional circumstances may dispense with this requirement) 
  • have not yet become pregnant under the arrangement. 

Please refer to Section 17 of the Surrogacy Act 2008 for further information on birth mother eligibility. 

Only altruistic surrogacy is legal in Western Australia this means there must be no material or financial gain for the surrogate, although reimbursement of reasonable expenses is permitted (see Costs section below). 

It is legal to advertise for an altruistic surrogate, but it must not be a commercial arrangement. It is an offence to make a surrogacy arrangement that is for reward or to seek a reward for introducing parties

The following clinics are currently offering surrogacy services in WA. Please contact any of these clinics for further information about their surrogacy program. Please note not all fertility clinics offering surrogacy services will offer traditional (partial) surrogacy arrangements. 

Concept Fertility Centre 

218 Nicholson Road
Subiaco WA 6008
Tel: 08 9382 2388 

concept@conceptfertility.com.au 

Genea Hollywood Fertility
Level 2, 190 Cambridge St
Wembley WA 6014
Tel: 08 9389 4200 

perth@genea.com.au 

Monash IVF West
166-168 Cambridge Street
West Leederville WA 6007
Tel: 08 9422 5400 

info@monashivfwest.com.au 

Fertility Specialists of Western Australia
Bethesda Hospital Consulting Suites
25 Queenslea Drive,
Claremont WA 6010
Tel: 1300 392 393 

info@fertilitywa.com.au 

The clinic surrogacy coordinators will assist the parties involved in a surrogacy arrangement to undergo the required comprehensive assessment and approval process.  

Applications are completed by the arranged parents, birth mother and any donors with the assistance of the Surrogacy Coordinator at the chosen licensed fertility provider. 

View the application form  

Birth parents and arranged parents must undertake a psychological assessment and counselling as part of a surrogacy arrangement. There are additional requirements for counselling if the surrogacy arrangement also involves donor assisted conception. 

Approval requirements 

  • The birth mother must be at least 25 years of age 
  • The birth other must have had at least one child (except in exceptional circumstances). 
  • The Surrogacy Agreement has been signed by: 
    • the arranged parents 
    • the birth mother and her husband or partner (if applicable) 
    • any donor/s and their spouse or partner (if applicable). 
  • All parties to the Surrogacy Agreement must:
    • undertake counselling 
    • be assessed for medical and psychological suitability for surrogacy 
    • receive independent legal advice. 

The Surrogacy Agreement is a legal document that sets out details between the arranged parents and the birth mother (and partner if applicable). The Surrogacy Agreement might include expenses that will be covered or reimbursed, number of cycles that will be attempted, future contact or communication between arranged parents, birth mother and child. 

The only part of a surrogacy agreement that is legally enforceable relates to costs and expenses for reimbursement. 

A three-month cooling off period starts from the date of the last mandated requirement for surrogacy, the application can then be submitted to Council for consideration. 

Final approval for a surrogacy arrangement is decided by the Reproductive Technology Council. The best interests of any child are paramount when considering any surrogacy arrangement. 

The cost of services in association with a surrogacy arrangement may include: 

  • fertility clinic fees and services 
  • counselling 
  • clinical psychology assessment 
  • independent legal advice 
  • reimbursement of reasonable expenses to the birth mother. 

Some of these costs will be included in the fertility clinic’s prices. 

Surrogacy arrangements in WA must be altruistic (the birth mother cannot receive any financial or material benefit). However, certain reasonable expenses associated with the arrangement can be paid for by the arranged parents. 

Reasonable expenses to the birth mother that may be reimbursed, include: 

  • a medical expense not covered by health insurance 
  • the value of foregone earnings relating to: 
    • the birth
    • other medical reasons 
  • psychological counselling fees 
  • health, disability or life insurance fees associated with the surrogacy arrangement. 

A parentage order is issued by the Family Court on application from the arranged parents. The order transfers parentage from the birth mother and her partner (if applicable) to the arranged parents. 

The application for parentage order must be made 28 days to 6 months after birth. The child must be living with the arranged parents when the application is made. 

An application for a parentage order must be accompanied by the approved surrogacy arrangement and the surrogacy agreement. 

DEFINITIONS

INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE

The term “independent legal advice” intends for all parties to be fully informed about the legal implications of a surrogacy arrangement:

  • before entering into a surrogacy arrangement
  • of a proposed parentage order

A lawyer must not provide advice regarding the surrogacy arrangement to both the arranged parent/s and the birth parent/s. A lawyer may advise both of the birth parents or both of the arranged parents. In the usual course of events (exceptions exist), each “couple” may be treated as one “party” in terms of this requirement.

Separate legal advice will also be required for any donor (third party) and their partner, who in the usual course, will be treated as another “party” to the surrogacy arrangement.

The Reproductive Technology Council (Council) will follow this general approach in considering applications for approval of a surrogacy arrangement.