AAWAA has led a coalition of independent feminist organisations from across Australia to present a formal submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) as part of its review of surrogacy laws.
As members of a coalition of independent feminist organisations from across Australia, we have jointly submitted our response to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) for its review of surrogacy laws. Our position is unequivocal: all forms of surrogacy constitute sex-based violence against women and girls and perpetuate systemic exploitation, and we maintain that only a universal prohibition—not further regulation—can address the legal, ethical, and policy violations inherent in surrogacy.
Central to our submission is the insistence that women must be recognised as primary stakeholders in any reform of surrogacy law.
Women—particularly those who become surrogates—bear the greatest medical, psychological, and economic burdens associated with surrogacy arrangements. We argue that reforms must be shaped by the lived realities and rights of women, not just by the interests of commissioning parents or industry representatives.
Our coalition brings together groups with a long history of advocating for women’s health, bodily autonomy, and protection from exploitation. Our collective expertise and experience are essential if the ALRC’s review is to achieve the balance consistent with Australia’s international obligations, especially under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The ALRC’s terms of reference require that the best interests of the child be paramount. We contend that this principle cannot be realised without first safeguarding the rights and interests of women.
If surrogacy is found to be inherently exploitative or harmful to women, the ethical foundation for the practice collapses.
In such circumstances, the absence of children born through surrogacy is not a problem to be solved, but instead reflects a society unwilling to permit the commodification and harm of women for the fulfilment of others’ desires.
We also raise concerns about the risk that women’s voices and interests—especially those from marginalised backgrounds—are being sidelined in favour of well-funded industry bodies or surrogacy advocates. The current list of stakeholders identified in the ALRC’s terms of reference does not adequately represent the feminist perspective.
We call for meaningful consultation with feminist and women’s groups, warning that our exclusion would undermine the legitimacy and integrity of the review process.
Our coalition urges the ALRC to
- Recognise women as central stakeholders whose rights and interests are at the heart of surrogacy policy,
- Ensure that feminist and women’s advocacy groups are actively consulted and that our expertise and lived experience are given due weight,
- Understand that the best interests of the child cannot be separated from the rights and welfare of women, and
- Guard against the further marginalisation of women’s voices in favour of those with vested interests in the continuation or expansion of surrogacy.
We frame surrogacy not simply as a personal path to parenthood, but as a practice that systematically exploits women and girls, inflicting harm that extends beyond individual cases. Only by centring women’s experiences and expertise can the ALRC deliver recommendations that truly uphold women’s rights.
Read the full submission, below.
