Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW)

Surrogacy Act 2010 No 102

An Act to recognise certain surrogacy arrangements, to prohibit commercial surrogacy arrangements and to provide for the status of children of surrogacy arrangements, and to make related amendments to other Acts.

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Act This Act is the Surrogacy Act 2010.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

3 Guiding principle This Act is to be administered by reference to the principle that, in relation to any surrogacy arrangement, the best interests of the child of the surrogacy arrangement are paramount.

4 Definitions (1) In this Act: affected party, in relation to a surrogacy arrangement, means each of the following persons: (a) the birth mother, (b) a birth mother's partner (if any), (c) another birth parent (if any), (d) the intended parents. birth mother—see section 5. birth mother's partner means a birth mother's spouse or de facto partner at the time when the birth mother enters into a surrogacy arrangement but, if more than one person would qualify as the birth mother's partner, means only the last person to so qualify.

Note— Section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987 defines de facto partner. birth mother's surrogacy costs—see section 7. birth parent, of a child, means a person (other than an intended parent) who is recognised at law as being a parent of the child at the time when the child is born. commercial surrogacy arrangement—see section 9. consent means informed consent freely and voluntarily given by a person with capacity to give the consent. Court means the Supreme Court of New South Wales. intended parent—see section 5. Interstate parentage order means an order under an Interstate surrogacy law that corresponds to a parentage order and includes an order of a kind declared by the regulations to be an Interstate parentage order. Interstate surrogacy law means a law of another State or a Territory that corresponds to this Act, and includes any law declared by the regulations to be an Interstate surrogacy law. parentage order means an order made by the Court under this Act for the transfer of the parentage of a child. parental responsibility, in relation to a child, means all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law, parents have in relation to children. post-conception surrogacy arrangement—see section 5. pre-commencement surrogacy arrangement—see section 15. pre-conception surrogacy arrangement—see section 5. qualified counsellor means a person who has the experience or qualifications (or both) of a kind required by the regulations to exercise the functions of a counsellor under this Act. surrogacy arrangement—see section 5. (2) In this Act, a reference to a child of a surrogacy arrangement is a reference to a child born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement or who is the subject of a surrogacy arrangement. (3) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.