Surrogacy debate: Whose rights are we concenred with?
Tuesday April 7, 2015

Surrogacy debate: Whose rights are we concenred with?

Tuesday, April 07, 2015
The Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant, will be the keynote speaker on 17 April in Brisbane hosted by the Australian Association of Women Judges, on the topic: Surrogacy: whose rights are we concerned with?

Her Honour will deliver an address, followed by a panel discussion. The panellists will be her Honour, Professor Andreas Schloenhardt from the University of Queensland and me.The panel will be moderated by Justice Roslyn Atkinson from the Supreme Court of Queensland. It promises to be a lively evening!

Chief Justice Bryant has previously decried human trafficking in surrogacy. She has also called for the enforcement or scrapping of laws that criminalise intended parents undertaking surrogacy overseas. Her Honour recently proposed that Australia needed to act quickly, and unilaterally, to set in place certain criteria before kids can move to Australia.

Professor Schloenhardt is an expert as to human trafficking, writing extensively on the topic.

Details of the event:

Date: Friday 17 April 2015

Time: 5.30pm to 7pm

Place: Banco Court, Supreme Court of Queensland, George Street, Brisbane

Cost: FREE, all welcome

RSVP: Kelly Morseu (07) 3247 9214, email: Kelly.Morseu@justice.qld.gov.au

Things to Read, Watch & Listen
Australia’s Surrogacy System Is Broken — Here’s What Needs to Change

Australia’s Surrogacy System is Broken — Here’s What Needs to Change

Surrogacy in Australia is at a critical crossroads. Families are increasingly forced to look overseas to start or grow their families, surrogates often find themselves without clear legal protections, and children born through surrogacy face a tangled web of legal uncertainty.

Surrogacy Nightmare: Aussie Couple Referred for Criminal Charges After Overseas Baby Journey

Surrogacy Nightmare: Aussie Couple Referred for Criminal Charges After Overseas Baby Journey

Surrogacy can be a beautiful path to parenthood, but it also comes with intricate legal challenges, especially when undertaken overseas. In a recent and cautionary case from Queensland, Australia, a couple’s journey to parenthood through commercial surrogacy in North Cyprus ended not with joy alone, but with legal turmoil and potential criminal charges.

NSW Surrogacy FAIL: What Lawyers Got Wrong and How to Avoid It

NSW Surrogacy FAIL: What Lawyers Got Wrong and How to Avoid It

Surrogacy journeys should be joyous and smooth pathways to parenthood, but unfortunately, legal missteps can turn them into complex, frustrating ordeals.

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