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FACT SHEET
SURROGACY BILL 2010
Under the Surrogacy Contracts Act 1993, surrogacy agreements are
presently illegal in Tasmania, meaning that some people will never be
able to realise their dream of starting a family.
The Surrogacy Bill 2011 will repeal the Surrogacy Contracts Act 1993. The
Bill will facilitate the transfer of parentage of a child from the birth
parents to intended parents, as part of a surrogacy arrangement. This
will be known as a parentage order.
The Bill provides numerous safeguards for all parties involved in a
surrogacy arrangement to ensure that the parties entering into the
agreement are fully informed about the surrogacy arrangement.
Parentage orders will be made by the Children's Division of the
Magistrates Court, and the court must be satisfied as to certain matters
before it will make a parentage order.
The Bill provides that the overriding principle when making an order to
transfer the parentage of a child is that the best interests of the child are
paramount.
The Bill is not discriminatory. Single people and same sex couples are
not precluded from entering into a surrogacy arrangement.