Australia's surrogacy laws report is due 11th September
Australia’s surrogacy laws review is now due on 11th September 2026 after the Australian Law Reform Commission missed its original 29th July 2026 deadline.
On 8th August 2026, Family First used that extension to renew its opposition to both altruistic and commercial surrogacy.
National law allows only altruistic surrogacy in Australia, while commercial surrogacy is banned across the country.
Family First’s policy platform also calls for adoption to be made a kind, supported and readily available option.
Jane Foreman, writing after The Age feature of 2nd August 2026, argued that surrogacy coverage keeps adult desire at the centre of the debate.
Family First first raised the absence of children’s rights from that debate in an announcement on 10th July 2026.
The Age feature profiled a domestic altruistic surrogacy arrangement involving an Adelaide family.
It also examined the Family Court’s 2025 ruling in Lloyd and Compton, involving a Queensland couple and a commercial surrogacy arrangement.
Under Australian law, that commercial arrangement was a criminal offence carrying up to three years’ imprisonment.
After the birth, the surrogate renounced her claim, but the court found the couple had no standing to apply for parentage.
As a result, the baby in Lloyd and Compton was left with no legal mother.
Foreman said, “Every surrogacy story in the media starts and ends with the adults who wanted a baby.”
Family First argues that both the Adelaide case and Lloyd and Compton show the same problem: adults’ wishes come first and the child’s interests come last.
Reem Alsalem report
Meanwhile, Family First also pointed to the United Nations and a report issued through the OHCHR in October 2025.
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, described surrogacy as “a system of exploitation and commodification of women and children”.
Alsalem also called for surrogacy to be abolished worldwide in that October 2025 report.
The global surrogacy market is projected to reach US$99.75 billion by 2033.
Those findings featured in Family First’s 8th August 2026 statement criticising The Age’s framing of the issue.
The Australian Law Reform Commission is now due to deliver its recommendations on 11th September 2026.
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