What Has Happened to Surrogacy in New Zealand
Tuesday March 18, 2025

What Has Happened to Surrogacy in New Zealand

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

In this video, Page Provan Director, Stephen Page, steps beyond Australia’s borders to discuss the complex world of surrogacy in New Zealand.

If you’re considering surrogacy in New Zealand, brace yourself for a challenging legal journey. Unlike in Australia, surrogacy laws in New Zealand operate under an outdated Adoption Act from the 1950s, creating a bureaucratic maze that can make the process incredibly difficult.

  • Gestational vs. Traditional Surrogacy – The differences and legal hurdles
  • Committee Approval – A major roadblock for gestational surrogacy
  • Adoption Laws – Why intended parents must undergo an intrusive assessment
  • International Surrogacy – Why Kiwis still face adoption requirements even when pursuing surrogacy overseas
  • Proposed Law Reforms – How New Zealand’s Law Commission is pushing for change

The good news? A 2024 Law Commission review may finally modernize New Zealand’s surrogacy laws and bring them closer to international best practices. Will New Zealand automatically recognize intended parents without forcing them into an adoption process? Time will tell.

Request an Appointment
Fill in the form below to find out if you have a claim.
Request an Appointment - Stephen Page
Things to Read, Watch & Listen
Fertility Lawyer Australia: How Stephen Page Became a Surrogacy Law Expert

How I Became a Fertility and Surrogacy Lawyer

A legal career that began in mainstream family law evolved into one of Australia’s most specialist practices in fertility, surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology. Over almost four decades, Stephen Page has handled thousands of complex matters, influenced law reform, advised clinics, taught ethics and regulation, and championed the human rights of everyone affected by assisted… Read More »How I Became a Fertility and Surrogacy Lawyer

My Surrogacy Journey: Medical, Emotional & Legal Lessons

Lessons From My Own Surrogacy Journey

Stephen Page’s story is a frank, sometimes brutal, ultimately hopeful account of what it means to pursue parenthood when the path is anything but straightforward. From a childhood conviction to be a dad, to confronting infertility, miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy and the legal uncertainty around parentage, his journey illustrates the medical, emotional and legal hurdles… Read More »Lessons From My Own Surrogacy Journey

Australian Surrogacy Law: Setting the Record Straight on Misleading Claims

Response to op-ed in The Australian by Stephen Page On Wednesday, a UK writer and anti-surrogacy advocate wrote an op-ed in The Australian. I first became aware of the article when my colleague Sarah Jefford OAM told me. For some reason, the author conflated transmen giving birth with surrogacy ( I am still missing the… Read More »Australian Surrogacy Law: Setting the Record Straight on Misleading Claims

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