What is the legal context for surrogacy in Australia, at a high level?
Status as of [date], reviewed by counsel.
This page is for intended parents who live in Australia and are considering gestational surrogacy in the United States. It explains how a Private Label Surrogacy (PLS) journey works from Australia. It is not legal advice about Australian law. Every statement here about Australian law, citizenship or parentage is a high-level summary, and your own Australian lawyer advises you on your case.
Every Australian state and territory permits only altruistic surrogacy. Three jurisdictions also make it an offense for their residents to enter compensated surrogacy arrangements overseas.
That second point is why the first step for any Australian family is not a call with PLS. It is a meeting with an Australian lawyer who knows the law of the state or territory where you live. Ask:
- Does the law where we live allow us to enter a compensated arrangement in the US?
- If we move, or have recently moved, which jurisdiction's law applies to us?
- Which of us should be the genetic parent, for citizenship by descent?
- Which US documents will we need for citizenship, the passport and parentage at home?
- How will an Australian court treat our parentage after a US birth?
- Is there anything the US agreement should say with Australian law in mind?
Share the answers with Jan Telman Berman, PLS's Global Surrogacy Coordinator, before you sign with PLS.
Which states criminalize compensated surrogacy abroad?
New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory make it an offense for residents to enter compensated surrogacy arrangements overseas. Other jurisdictions differ.
Australian families must take advice at home before signing anything with a US agency. PLS's policy on accepting intended parents who live in New South Wales, Queensland or the Australian Capital Territory is being confirmed and will be stated here.
PLS does not advise on Australian law, and nothing on this page says whether a US journey is lawful for you. Your lawyer does.
Why do Australian parents still choose the United States?
For families whose lawyer has cleared the way, three things draw them to a US journey: an enforceable agreement, a predictable timeline, and a medical and financial structure they can check.
In Illinois, the Gestational Surrogacy Act, in force since 2005, makes a compensated gestational surrogacy agreement enforceable when its requirements are met, and the intended parents' parentage is established before the birth. PLS places surrogates in surrogacy-friendly US states, and each journey follows the law of the state where the surrogate lives and delivers.
What a PLS journey adds:
- Nurse-led matching. Nancy Block, RN, founded PLS in 2017 after 17 years as an OB/GYN and fertility nurse and staff educator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She has made more than 2,500 matches in her career and runs PLS matching personally.
- Physician review. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, reads every surrogate candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary for your clinic.
- Independent professionals. PLS does not employ attorneys, psychologists or escrow agents.
- A known timeline. About 9 months from signing to meeting a surrogate today, with a target of 6 months or fewer. Legal and medical foundations take 1 to 2 months after match, the medical cycle 2 to 3 months, and the whole journey typically 18 to 24 months.
PLS works with gay couples, single parents and heterosexual couples on the same terms. See the LGBTQ surrogacy page.
How does citizenship by descent and the Australian passport work?
After a US birth, the child typically obtains a US passport and then applies for Australian citizenship by descent through the genetic Australian parent. Once citizenship is granted, the family applies for an Australian passport. Citizenship by descent requires an Australian citizen parent, and practice considers the genetic link.
A federal executive order dated August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy to two non-citizen parents is under litigation. It may affect whether a child born to two Australian citizen parents receives a US passport. See citizenship and passport for the current status.
| Step | What it is | Which parent must be genetic | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-birth order | Parentage established before birth, where the state allows it | Not required under Illinois law since December 2025 | Second trimester |
| Birth certificate | Birth record issued by the state of birth | Not applicable | After the birth |
| Apostille | Certification of US documents for use in Australia | Not applicable | After the birth certificate |
| US passport | The child's US passport, subject to the August 6, 2026 executive order now under litigation | Depends on the outcome of the litigation | Before departure |
| Citizenship by descent | Application through the Australian citizen parent | Practice considers the genetic link to the Australian parent | [typical timing to confirm with counsel] |
| Australian passport | Issued after citizenship is granted | Follows citizenship | [typical timing to confirm with counsel] |
How does the Australian court treat parentage after a US birth?
[Summary of how Australian courts treat parentage after a US surrogacy birth: to be written and approved by Australian counsel.]
PLS does not summarize Australian parentage law until Australian counsel has written and approved that summary. What PLS can tell you is what the US side produces: a parentage determination under the law of the state of birth, a birth certificate, and certified copies of both. Ask your Australian lawyer what an Australian court will make of those documents, and whether you will need a further order at home.
How is the journey paid in US dollars from Australia?
You pay in US dollars by international wire. Money for the surrogate and for third-party services goes to an independent licensed escrow agent, never to PLS.
- $10,000 into escrow at match.
- The balance before medications start. Nothing medical begins until the agreement is signed and escrow is funded.
- Third-party costs of $15,300 to $29,000, paid from escrow, for both attorneys, escrow administration, the psychological evaluation, background checks, insurance review, surrogate travel and local monitoring.
- The PLS program fee, paid to PLS at signing, surrogate acceptance and medical clearance. Program fee: confirm current schedule.
- Clinic and IVF fees, paid directly to your clinic.
The total journey typically costs $150,000 to $200,000. The Australian-to-US dollar rate is your risk, so many families convert in two or three tranches. You may choose your own escrow company, and the agent sends you a ledger of every disbursement. PLS has used independent escrow since 2017. The Surro Connections collapse in late 2025 and the SEAM escrow failure, which involved more than $16 million, are why that matters. See currency and escrow.
How does PLS run a journey across a 14 to 16 hour time difference?
By putting the meetings where both calendars overlap. Chicago mornings are Australian evenings, so match meetings, clinic calls and case manager updates are booked then, by video. Jan Telman Berman coordinates clinic calls the same way, and has managed national and international cycles for more than 18 years.
The work that does not need you live runs by email. Escrow statements, appointment updates and attorney drafts can wait for your morning, and you answer them then.
Most Australian families travel to the US twice:
- For embryo creation, if embryos are made at a US clinic. PLS works with 14 partner fertility centers, including Kindbody, Shady Grove Fertility, Fertility Centers of Illinois and Oregon Reproductive Medicine.
- For the birth. You arrive before the due date and stay until the US documents are issued and your lawyer clears you to fly. [Typical post-birth stay for Australian families: confirm with Jan and counsel.] The travel and birth timing page explains how to plan the dates.
During the pregnancy, a case manager, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano or Jenni Symons, carries your match. Both have been surrogates themselves; Natalie delivered for an international couple in 2016. Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, gives your surrogate at least six nutrition consults across the journey.
Sources
- Private Label Surrogacy program terms: escrow funding schedule, timeline and cost ranges.
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005) and Equality for Every Family Act (2025), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.
- Australian state and territory surrogacy laws, including those of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, summarized at a high level. Pending review by Australian counsel.
- Federal executive order of August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy. Under litigation; pending review by counsel.