Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill
This bill changes how surrogacy works in New Zealand. Right now, intended parents have to go through an adoption process to become the legal parents of a baby born via surrogacy, even if the baby is genetically theirs. This bill creates easier, faster ways to transfer legal parenthood. It also allows surrogates to be reimbursed for reasonable costs, records more information on birth registrations so surrogate-born people can find out about their origins, and sets up a formal review process if an application to a surrogacy ethics committee is declined.
What this affects
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The bill changes which surrogacy arrangements must be approved by an ethics committee and creates a right to appeal if approval is declined.
We recommend that the requirement for ECART approval should be extended to all traditional surrogacy arrangements that are clinic-assisted.
We recommend inserting sections 23L to 23S (via clause 10I) to provide for an independent right of review of any ECART decision declining approval of a surrogacy arrangement or a decision imposing a condition on approval.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
Submissions open once a bill reaches the select committee stage and the committee calls for them. In the meantime, you can write to your local MP about it.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.