Family Law
As family lawyers, Page Provan’s focus remains on identifying what our clients hope to achieve from our very first meeting. We work with you on a plan to reach a solution, quickly and cost-effectively.
Domestic Violence
At Page Provan, we have a reputation for being highly experienced domestic violence lawyers. Our Director, Stephen Page was responsible for adding sections to our domestic violence legislation to ensure kids were not witnesses in their parents’ domestic violence trials.
Fertility
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.
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Citizenship in Australia
In this webinar, Stephen Page from Page Provan, Kate Clark from Identilab and Roman Deuna of Far and Wide Migration discuss citizenship in Australia.
Surrogacy Lawyers Melbourne
One of the most complex areas of law is that dealing with fertility issues of surrogacy and donation of eggs, sperms and embryos.
One in nine Australian couples are estimated to experience fertility issues once they reach reproductive age. For about two in five couples, the man’s sperm production is the problem, while in another two of five couples, it’s the woman’s reproductive system which is the issue.
Because this area of the law requires specialist knowledge and real-world experience of the different jurisdictions under which a surrogacy arrangement might be made, as one example, there are not many law firms in Australia who offer the appropriate experience and credentials.
Surrogacy Lawyers Melbourne is one such firm, with experience advising thousands of clients on the complicated issues involved in surrogacy and donor arrangements throughout Australia and more than 30 international countries.
Those who enter such arrangements are often in a vulnerable place. The dream of having a child can be frustrating, stressful and lengthy as they purse the options of surrogacy or donation of sperm or eggs.
At Melbourne Surrogacy Lawyers, our deeply experienced practitioners provide clients with clear, upfront and compassionate guidance on the journey to parenthood via these methods.
Our mission is to smooth the entire process by helping people navigate the sometimes complex and confusing area of fertility law, while giving them fuller knowledge of the potential risks and problems.
Surrogacy Lawyers Melbourne – experts in the field
In the area of surrogacy and donations, there is a lot of online misinformation to go along with the somewhat confusing legal environment, where Australian and international approaches to this issue can differ.
Surrogacy Lawyers Melbourne will provide accurate advice on a client’s options, gleaned from years of helping thousands of people on the path to legal parenthood.
Surrogacy
One of our specialty areas is surrogacy arrangements. Only ‘altruistic’ surrogacy is permitted in Australia. Surrogacy arrangements for commercial purposes are not allowed.
The creation of such arrangements need to be carefully written and formalised, despite not being legally enforceable in Australia. The existence of the document setting out the rights and obligations of the parties involved can still be vital for the intended parents in a later battle to establish parental rights in court.
Surrogacy Lawyers Melbourne’s expertise is demonstrated by the fact we have advised more than 1700 people on their surrogacy journey. We have more experience in fertility law issues than any other law firm in Australia.
Our guidance on surrogacy arrangements in Australia encompasses traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate mother conceives through her own eggs and sperm from an intended father or donor, and gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate carries an embryo created from an egg provided by the intended mother or another donor.
Donor agreements
Melbourne Surrogacy Lawyers will create a donor agreement for those intended parents who require an egg or sperm donation.
Donors might be sourced in impersonal fashion through fertility clinics or might be a person known to the intended parent/s, such as a close friend or someone they have been in contact with over a period of time. Whatever the arrangement, an agreement is the advisable course to cover some common issues with donations, including donor health disclosures (genetic conditions, illnesses, etc), the role of the donor in the child’s life, if any, and how disputes that might arise as a result of the donation will be mediated and resolved.
International arrangements
Melbourne Surrogacy Lawyers has helped people work out international surrogacy and donor arrangements across more than 30 countries.
These arrangements are particularly complex due to the need to comply both with international human rights treaties as well as different Commonwealth and state laws in Australia.
Australians in Queensland, NSW and the ACT are not permitted to embark on commercial surrogacy arrangements in foreign countries. Commercial surrogacy is defined as ‘the provision of a fee, reward or other material benefit or advantage to a person for the person or another person’ by the Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW), for example.
One of the major hurdles to overcome with international surrogacy arrangements is that intended parents of children born to surrogates overseas do not have the automatic right to be recognised as legal parents under Australia’s Family Law Act 1975.
The implications of this provision, if parental rights are not established, is that an international surrogacy may not allow an intended parent to:
- make decisions about their child’s education and medical care;
- travel abroad with the child;
- separate or divorce without a legally uncertain result;
- provide for a child’s inheritance;
- involve the surrogate in future decisions regarding the child.
Surrogacy Lawyers Melbourne Provide The Right Advice
Melbourne Surrogacy Lawyers has the experience and expertise to provide the right advice on the complex issues involved in making an international surrogacy arrangement. Our background advising clients on arrangements in countries from Indonesia to Russia means we can help those whose only option is to look overseas for surrogacy or donation.
The importance of the right legal advice
The journey to having a family through surrogacy and donation can be difficult for many reasons, not least because the legal structures around fertility issues are sometimes described as ‘a minefield’.
In Australia, fertility issues are predominantly governed by state and territory laws but Commonwealth and international law can also come into play where people pursue international arrangements.
It can be daunting and exhausting for individuals to work their way through this complicated legal environment. The guidance and assistance of experienced legal professionals who have a proven track record in fertility law, such as Melbourne Surrogacy Lawyers, will be invaluable.
Our understanding, expert team will make the journey to raising a child as trouble-free as possible so call us today for an initial consultation on your case.
We have a team of surrogacy lawyers who can assist you in Sydney & Brisbane also in Australia.
Page Provan are privileged and honoured to help parents do the best they can by their children – whether it’s in their quest to become parents, or in separation issues such as dealing with their former partner as to where their children live and when children spend time with each of their parents.