Our Passion: helping you on your journey to parenthood
Fertility Law
Experts
family and fertility lawyers
How we can help
We have the honour and privilege of helping our clients achieve their dream of becoming parents.
To become a parent, you may need an egg donor, a sperm donor or a surrogate, or maybe all three. The very complex law in this area is not handled by most family lawyers. There is a lot of inaccurate information on the internet. If not done correctly, you may not have a child. You may not be recognised as a parent. You may fight it out in the Family Court. You may end up committing several criminal offences.
We work with our clients and with experts here and overseas to ensure that our clients can become parents as quickly, cheaply and hassle free as possible. This includes looking at alternative solutions to solve the problem or problems – solutions often not thought of by our clients or by others.
Page Provan are the leaders in fertility law in Australia
We have advised clients about surrogacy, egg, sperm and embryo donation throughout Australia and 30 countries overseas. We deal with local, national and international surrogacy and donor issues week in, week out, and have unique contacts with lawyers and health professionals here and overseas.
Our focus is to make the journey to parenthood as smooth as possible, while making our clients aware of potential pitfalls and legal risks. We will answer all your questions from beginning to end! We give honest, objective and clear advice to enable you to make informed decisions. In the minefield that is fertility law in Australia, we take pride in getting it right first time.

Our Fertility team
Our team is led by partner Stephen Page.
The media has named Stephen as one of Australia’s leading surrogacy lawyers. Stephen is one of three international representatives on the ART committee of the American Bar Association, a member of the Parentage/Surrogacy and LGBT Committees of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, a member of the Fertility Society of Australia as well as being a member of various family law associations.

Stephen Page
Stephen has presented extensively at local, national and international conferences (and written widely) about surrogacy and fertility law. His first surrogacy case was in 1988. Career highlights include presenting at the world’s first international surrogacy conference in Las Vegas in 2011, and obtaining a world first precedent in 2012 as to what constituted “conception”. He was the convenor of Queenslanders for Equality, which successfully lobbied to stop the Queensland government enacting discriminatory changes to Queensland’s surrogacy laws.
Where our fertility law clients have come from
Our team has helped clients from our big cities to some of the most remote parts of Australia- from the Pilbara to Hobart; the countryside of South Australia to far north Queensland- and most places in between. In addition, we have helped clients located all over the world:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- USA
- Belgium
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Russia
- Switzerland
- UK
- Iran
- Israel
- UAE
- China
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Thailand
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Solomon Islands
Contact Us For Expert Fertility Assistance
We have the honour and privilege of helping our clients achieve their dream of becoming parents
Fertility Law FAQ’s
Do I need a lawyer when I want to have a child through surrogacy?
Surrogacy is the most complex way of becoming a parent. International surrogacy is the most complex form of surrogacy. With an international surrogacy journey, it is wise to have legal representation at both ends. If you or your child is entitled to multiple citizenships, then further international representation might be desirable. We can refer you to surrogacy lawyers in most places around the world, to help you on your journey to become parents.
Do we need a lawyer when we have a known sperm donor?
It is wise to plan these arrangements very carefully. Having expert legal advice at the beginning sets out both the risk of something going wrong and ways of minimising that risk.
When buying a house, it is not compulsory to check whether the house might have a termite infestation. However, a wise purchaser will have an expert check over the home and get a clearance first before proceeding with the sale. Obtaining advice about a proposed sperm donor arrangement is not expensive and pales into insignificance with potential legal costs in the Family Law Courts if something goes wrong.
Can I use my late husband’s sperm to become pregnant or via surrogacy?
Do you know anything about the law where I live?
Many years ago, Queensland was the only State that criminalised all forms of surrogacy. In those days, our partner Stephen Page was asked by clients:
“If we can’t do surrogacy here, where can we do it?”
This meant that he had to become expert about surrogacy laws Australia wide.
From the beginning, we have become expert at fertility laws Australia wide. We have also advised clients from 30 countries overseas from as far afield as the US, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Solomon Islands and Brazil.
We have also acted for IVF clinics and sperm and egg banks.
Is surrogacy legal in Australia?
The Northern Territory has no laws about surrogacy. In practice for a number of reasons, this means that NT residents typically go overseas or interstate.
Isn’t it illegal to go overseas for surrogacy?
It’s legal for those residing in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory to go overseas for commercial surrogacy.
What is commercial surrogacy?
Have you done surrogacy for people where I come from?
Do I need a surrogate from around here?
We are at the very start of our journey to become parents. What happens next?
We don’t live in Brisbane. How can we have a meeting with you?
Do I have to do IVF here for surrogacy?
In the ACT, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia some or all of the IVF needs to be done locally.
None of the IVF can occur in the Northern Territory, so Territory residents need to go somewhere else.
Australia is one country. Surely the same rules apply across the country?
If we are overseas, can we commit an offence to do with surrogacy and egg donation in Australia?
You may commit a surrogacy offence in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Western Australia if you are temporarily overseas.
If you are living overseas but not domiciled there, you may commit an offence to do with surrogacy under New South Wales law if you are domiciled in New South Wales.
Is it lawful to advertise for an egg donor?
Is it legal to advertise for a surrogate?
It is legal in the Northern Territory to advertise for a surrogate – but IVF and transfer of parentage are not available.
My mother/friend/aunt/sister-in-law has offered to have a baby for us. Can she?
What is surrogacy?
What is traditional surrogacy?
What is gestational surrogacy?
Is traditional surrogacy legal?
IVF clinics may decline to treat because of concerns that the surrogate may not give up the baby. We help clients identify surrogacy options that are right for them, appropriate clinics and identify and deal with risk factors with traditional surrogacy – to minimise risk.
What is the point of having a sperm donor agreement?
When we bring our child back home to Australia, surely we are the parents?
Does the law apply to me when I live in Australia but I am not an Australian citizen?
I am single. Is surrogacy available to me?
Surrogacy is not available in effect in the NT for people living there- due to a lack of laws. Other surrogacy options may be available.
We are in a same-sex relationship. Can we do surrogacy?
Surrogacy is not available in effect in the NT for people living there- due to a lack of laws. Other surrogacy options may be available.
Where can I go for overseas surrogacy?
- Legal settings overseas – to make sure that you are recognised as the parents, and that the human rights of the surrogate and baby are protected.
- Quality and reliability of IVF.
- Exchange rates and cost of the surrogacy journey.
- Health care costs overseas.
- The ease or difficulty in having your child come back to Australia.
- Whether your journey overseas is lawful in that country.
- Whether the surrogacy journey is commercial surrogacy and therefore may be a criminal offence at home.