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Why do I need surrogacy legal advice?

You need surrogacy legal advice because:

  • It’s always important to know how the surrogacy laws apply to you and what your rights and obligations are in relation to surrogacy arrangement; and
  • (probably the main motivation for many clients) in New South Wales, the Surrogacy Act provides that you must have received surrogacy legal advice before you can successfully apply for a parentage order in the Supreme Court and be legally recognised as the parents of a child born through surrogacy.

Section 36 of the Surrogacy Act

Section 36 of the Surrogacy Act provides that:

  1. Each of the affected parties must have received legal advice from an Australian legal practitioner about the surrogacy arrangement and its implications before entering into the surrogacy arrangement.
  2. The legal advice obtained by the birth mother and the birth mother’s partner (if any) must have been obtained from an Australian legal practitioner who is independent of the Australian legal practitioner who provided legal advice about the surrogacy arrangement to the applicant or applicants about the surrogacy arrangement and its implications before entering into the surrogacy arrangement.

What do we do for you?

We have assisted both intended parents and surrogate mothers (and their partners) through the legal aspects of the surrogacy process for many years – even before the surrogacy laws were introduced in New South Wales.

We’ve supported many parents through the IVF process and provided some advice and guidance to other parents who are considering other alternatives such as international surrogacy or adoption. We recognise that the law regarding surrogacy (as well as other related artificial reproductive technologies) have a long way to go before they can catch up with biomedical advancements and social acceptance, but we are committed to representing and assisting you through this process.

Who is an ‘affected party?

Section 4 of the Surrogacy Act

Section 4 of the Surrogacy Act provides that an “affected party”, in relation to a surrogacy arrangement, means each of the following persons:

  1. the birth mother
  2. a birth mother’s partner (if any)
  3. another birth parent (if any)
  4. the intended parents

The ‘birth mother’ is the woman who agrees to become pregnant or to try to become pregnant with a child, or is pregnant with a child, under the surrogacy arrangement. (Section 5 of the Surrogacy Act)

An ‘intended parent’ is a person to whom it is agreed the parentage of a child is to be transferred under a surrogacy arrangement. (Section 5 of the Surrogacy Act)

For more information, see Section 36 of the Surrogacy Act.

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Why Choose Us?

"We offer easy-to-understand and practical legal advice regarding your surrogacy arrangement and intended parentage order. We look after the hassles and complications to confidently guide you every step of the way."

What Makes Us Different?

"We offer fixed fee legal advice to help you manage your surrogacy budget, and low cost legal services to apply for a parentage order. Our experience means we're able to help you effectively and efficiently manage the process to save you both time and money."

What Is Our Experience?

"We've been helping hopeful parents even before the Surrogacy Act was introduced. Since then we've witnessed changes in medicine, in society and with the law. Years down the track, we're still providing surrogacy legal services and continuing to help clients with their surrogacy arrangements and parentage orders."

Who Are We?

"Phang Legal is an incorporated legal practice based in the Parramatta CBD, the geographic centre of Sydney. Our experienced lawyers provide surrogacy legal advice and representation for all aspects of surrogacy matters in NSW, from the surrogacy arrangement to the parentage order in the Supreme Court. Call us today on 02 9687 8885 to find out how we can help you."
© Surrogacy NSW 2020
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