Surrogacy Application by a Couple from the United States of America [2017] NSWSC 1806

Surrogacy Application by a Couple from the United States of America [2017] NSWSC 1806

The Court held that Surrogacy Act 2010, s 32 was not a mandatory precondition and that exceptional circumstances justified making the parentage order despite the applicants not being resident in New South Wales at the time of the hearing. The applicants had been resident in New South Wales at the child's birth and when the application was filed, had organised their affairs to remain resident for about four months, and their non-residence at the hearing resulted from the timing of the Court's in-chambers list rather than any fault of theirs. The child was conceived, born and first nurtured in New South Wales, the family had strong connections with the State, and the child's best interests...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 December 2017
Procedural Posture
Application for Parentage Order Under Surrogacy Act 2010, S 18 / Equity Adoptions List; Procedural and Other Ruling
Outcome
Parentage order made under Surrogacy Act 2010, s 18.
Legal Topics
['parentage Order' 'exceptional Circumstances' 'residence in New South Wales' 'best Interests of the Child' 'altruistic Surrogacy']
['family Law' 'child Welfare' 'surrogacy'] ['parentage Order' 'exceptional Circumstances' 'residence in New South Wales' 'best Interests of the Child' 'altruistic Surrogacy']

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Procedural Posture

Application for Parentage Order Under Surrogacy Act 2010, S 18 / Equity Adoptions List; Procedural and Other Ruling

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether Surrogacy Act 2010, s 32 inhibited the Court from granting a parentage order because the applicants were no longer resident in New South Wales at the time of the hearing.' 'Whether exceptional circumstances justified making a parentage order under Surrogacy Act 2010, s 18(2)(b) despite non-compliance with Surrogacy Act 2010, s 32.' 'Whether the best interests of the child supported making the parentage order without further delay.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that Surrogacy Act 2010, s 32 was not a mandatory precondition and that exceptional circumstances justified making the parentage order despite the applicants not being resident in New South Wales at the time of the hearing. The applicants had been resident in New South Wales at the child's birth and when the application was filed, had organised their affairs to remain resident for about four months, and their non-residence at the hearing resulted from the timing of the Court's in-chambers list rather than any fault of theirs. The child was conceived, born and first nurtured in New South Wales, the family had strong connections with the State, and the child's best interests...

Court Disposition

Parentage order made under Surrogacy Act 2010, s 18.

Orders

  • ['The Court will make a parentage order under Surrogacy Act 2010, s 18 in accordance with the short minutes of order supplied.']