Surrogacy event in Brisbane

Surrogacy event in Brisbane

On Thursday next week I will be taking part in a free surrogacy forum in Brisbane. The other speakers at the forum will be:

  • Steve Snyder. Steve is the owner of his own law firm and the head of IARC a surrogacy agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Steve also chairs the Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee of the American Bar Association. Steve has spoken at many international conferences about surrogacy. Steve will talk about surrogacy from a US perspective.Steve is a speaker at the Surrogacy Australia conference being held in Melbourne this weekend, including being part of my moderated panel of lawyers at the conference.
  • Karen Boughey. When Karen is not the membership officer of Surrogacy Australia, and a wife and mother, she was also a suurogate, and can talk about her own journey through surrogacy and how she gave the gift of life to others. Karen also spoke passionately about and lobbied against the planned changes in Queensland to bring in discrimination in Queensland’s surrogacy laws.
  • Adnan Catakovic. Adnan is the scientific director of City Fertililty Centre, a large independent IVF clinic that offers surrogacy services in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Adelaide.
  • Melissa Bridges. In what spare time she has, Melissa is an avid egg donor who heads up Egg Donation Australia

I will be speaking about the legal and practical framework for surrogacy in Queensland.

It is an offence for anyone ordinarily resident in Queensland to enter into or offer to enter into a commercial surrogacy arrnagement, punishable by up to three years imprisonment. 

The event is at 6pm on Thursday 11 April, 2013. For more about the event, click here: http://qnews.com.au/article/free-surrogacy-forum-brisbane-with-usa-aust-experts

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

How to Obtain a NSW Parentage Order for a Child Born Overseas

Starting July 1, 2025, groundbreaking changes to New South Wales law will significantly affect families involved in overseas surrogacy arrangements. These changes empower the NSW Supreme Court to issue parentage orders for children born through commercial surrogacy overseas—a legal pathway previously unavailable.

Monash IVF Mixup Prompts Health Ministers Rapid Review of IVF Regulation

In recent months, Australia’s fertility sector has been shaken by two unprecedented embryo mixups at Monash IVF clinics. These incidents have not only caused distress and confusion for affected families but have also exposed critical weaknesses in the country’s IVF regulatory framework.

Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) Human Tissue Review

Explore the Australian Law Reform Commission’s review on human tissue laws and what it means for IVF, surrogacy, and reproductive medicine. Learn about key legal changes and their implications for families and practitioners.

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award
Member of Queensland law society
Family law Practitioners Association
International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL
Mediator Standards Board