Surrogacy Applications in the Youth Court
An intended parent or two intended parents may apply to the Youth Court for an order recognising a lawful surrogacy agreement. The Court may make an order if the legislative requirements are satisfied, including:
- The child was born under the terms of a lawful surrogacy agreement;
- The parties are at least 25 years of age when they enter into the surrogacy agreement;
- The counselling requirements under the Surrogacy Act 2019 have been satisfied;
- The surrogate mother is a citizen or permanent resident of Australia; and
- The parties do not have impaired decision-making capacity;
- The child is between the ages of 30 days and 12 months.
It is recommended that you seek legal advice if you are planning to enter into a surrogacy agreement. If the surrogacy agreement is not considered lawful, the Youth Court cannot make an order under section 18 of the Surrogacy Act 2019.
Applications must be made by submitting a Form S1 – Application for an Order of the Court (Surrogacy). The Application must be accompanied by a Form S4 – Affidavit and a copy of the surrogacy agreement.
Application to Revoke an Order Made under Section 18:
On application of the surrogate mother under section 19(1), the Court may make an order to revoke an order made under section 18. An order to revoke may be made if, for example, the consent of the surrogate mother was obtained by fraud, duress or improper means.
Any person may make an application to intervene in proceedings brought under section 19 by filing a Form S3 – Application for Leave to Intervene and a supporting Form S4 – Affidavit.
A person permitted to intervene by the Court is treated as a party to the application with the legal rights, duties and obligations of a party to proceedings.