A Brisbane couple could face prosecution after admitting to a court they used a commercial surrogacy service to have a baby overseas. It is illegal for Queensland residents to engage in commercial surrogacy anywhere, prompting a federal judge to make a rare referral to state authorities.
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00:00The couple told the court they'd been trying for a child for more than 15 years without success.
00:07In 2023, they entered into a commercial surrogacy arrangement with the company.
00:13Under that agreement, the couple was to pay the company at least 84,000 euros to make all the arrangements,
00:20including finding a surrogate and organising for the embryo to be implanted.
00:25The couple travelled overseas and the baby was born via surrogate last year.
00:30Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Australia and some states and territories, including Queensland,
00:36also ban residents from doing it abroad.
00:39The couple went to the family court seeking parental orders,
00:42but the judge said they could not be made given it's an illegal commercial surrogacy arrangement.
00:48She dismissed the application and ordered that documents be referred
00:52to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
00:55for consideration of whether the applicants should be prosecuted.
00:59The Justice Department has referred the information on to Queensland Police,
01:03which says it's making enquiries into the matter.
01:06Advocates say no one has ever been prosecuted in Australia for an overseas commercial surrogacy,
01:12but the judge's referral is still concerning.
01:15Look, it's a terrifying predicament for this couple with a young child to be in,
01:20you know, faced with such a possibility.
01:25He says without a parental order, the child is in legal limbo.
01:29Look, it simply means the child doesn't have a legal guardian or legal parent here in Australia.
01:34Under Australian law, their legal parent is the surrogate who carried them overseas.
01:39And that's very disconcerting for both the parents here in Australia and their children.
01:45The Australian Law Reform Commission is currently doing a surrogacy laws review.
01:49Queensland's Attorney-General's Office says the Government will consider any recommendations.