Surrogacy advocates want level playing field

February 10, 2007 12:00am

Stephanie Caballero

Article from: Daily Telegraph

AUSTRALIA'S own baby factory has delivered 27 tots and has 44 more on the way.

The nationwide service which matches egg donors with infertile women is now lobbying for legislative change and says the nation is in urgent need of uniform laws.

Aussie Egg Donors helps donors, recipients and surrogates to navigate Australia's varied surrogacy laws.

They have no age requirements but have a number of older members and a membership of more than 200.

"My first recipient was 51 when her baby was born," Aussie Egg Donor's co-director Rachel Kunde, 25, said.

"Most clinics have a cut off of 50 at time of treatment. There are pretty much no discriminations on our site. We allow all ages."

NSW is one of the few states where surrogacy is permitted and Aussie Egg Donors are now lobbying for universal laws across the country to make surrogacy legal.

Ms Kunde said varying laws between states had boosted membership in recent years with an increasing number of couples turning to the site for information and support.

NSW, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not have surrogacy legislation.

In Queensland, all surrogacy arrangements are illegal and in Tasmania it is an offence to make or receive a payment and surrogacy contracts are not legally binding.

In South Australia, couples are not legally allowed to enter into a surrogacy contract and in Victoria it is virtually illegal.

Aussie Egg Donors' directors include a women based in Melbourne and another surrogate mother in New Zealand, where surrogacy is legal.