George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, I present the committee's report, entitled Surrogacy Matters: Inquiry into regulatory and legislative aspects of international and domestic surrogacy arrangements, together with the minutes of proceedings. I seek leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

For many Australians, having children and founding a family is an important and natural part of their lives. However, for some this dream does not come easily and, when other avenues have been exhausted, options for surrogacy are considered.

Surrogacy raises challenging and complex ethical and legal issues. High-profile offshore surrogacy cases involving Australians have highlighted these ethical issues, the possibilities for exploitation and the importance of ensuring that the best interests of the child are protected.

In Australia, surrogacy is regulated through state and territory legislation. While engaging in commercial surrogacy remains illegal in all Australian jurisdictions, many permit altruistic surrogacy arrangements, although regulatory requirements vary across borders. For intending families, this may frustrate their efforts to find a suitable surrogate and result in inconsistent approaches that at times lack the full suite of protections and checks for all parties.

The inquiry has revealed that many Australians are pursuing offshore surrogacy arrangements because of the difficulties of negotiating altruistic arrangements in Australia. In making recommendations, the committee considered carefully the differing perspectives presented by a range of government organisations, senior judicial officers, academics, industry, interest and religious groups. First and foremost, the committee recommends that the practice of commercial surrogacy remain illegal in Australia because of the significant potential for exploitation.

The committee supports options for altruistic surrogacy in Australia and recommends the development of a nationally consistent legal framework. The committee recommends that the Australian Law Reform Commission be tasked with developing a model national law to regulate altruistic surrogacy, with particular consideration to be given to the best interests of the child, the surrogate's ability to make free and informed decisions, ensuring the surrogate is protected from exploitation and legal clarity about the resulting parent-child relationships. We ask that the Law Reform Commission also consider issues including counselling, background checks and independent legal advice for all parties, the transfer of parental responsibility, reimbursement for the surrogate and the need for a closed register of surrogates and intended parents. Following this, agreement on a national approach can then be sought from all states and territories.

We also considered the issue of those who may engage in offshore surrogacy arrangements and recommended that such arrangements be rigorously scrutinised. The committee recommended that practices in key surrogacy destination countries be assessed to ensure that they are consistent with the principles of the proposed national law. Where Australians have sought a passport for a child to return to Australia, the committee has recommended that an assessment to ensure that no Australian or international laws on surrogacy have been breached and that screening should be undertaken by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. I note that the minister is at the table and he will love this recommendation: we ask that the Minister for Immigration be given the power to make determinations in relation to the welfare of the child where breaches have been found to have occurred. Congratulations, Peter, our recommendation would have you be guardian to a whole heap of surrogate children.

In concluding, I would like to thank all of the individuals and organisations that provided submissions and testified before us. I want to pay my respects to the many families who provided the most intimate of stories, outlining their many experiences with all aspects of surrogacy. These accounts formed the core of the committee's deliberations and have provided an insight that could not otherwise have been gained.

Before I commend the report to the House formally, I do want to give my thanks to my other committee members, in particular the deputy chair, the member for Newcastle, who has been there for every inquiry we have done, and I want to pay my respects to the active members of the committee, most notably the member for Moreton, the member for Griffith and the member for Macquarie. I also want to thank members of the secretariat, led by Dr Anna Dacre but ably assisted by her colleagues. We have Muz Ali listening in the advisers box; he has done a hell of a lot of work for this report. We also have Peter Pullen and Jess Hargreaves, and they have done a tremendous amount of heavy lifting, in particular with this report, which we have truncated to fit with what we think might be the timing of parliament. We have been able to get this done in a very short amount of time, and it is a report that is very big on quality in terms of the recommendations.

This committee has been able to deliver seven reports to this parliament, focusing on a range of issues whether it be crimes at sea, Australian South Sea Islanders, child support or this very deep and intensive issue of surrogacy arrangements. We have worked very well as a committee. Who would have thought the member for Newcastle chucking a hard-core, right wing, ultraconservative culture warrior into the role of chair of the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, with an Emily's List deputy chair and a couple of other Emily's List people and the Labor left convenor, the member for Moreton, would actually produce these results, but it has. We have worked very well. I thank them, I thank the secretariat, I thank you for your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I commend the report to the House.

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