Types of surrogacy

A surrogate is someone who agrees to give birth for someone else.

Find out about surrogacy in the Northern Territory.

How a surrogate can become pregnant

There are different ways a surrogate can become pregnant.

These include using:

• the surrogate’s own egg and the sperm from an intended parent or another donor
• the egg and sperm of the intended parents, there may be no genetic product from the surrogate
• genetic material from one of the intended parents and a donor egg or sperm
• a donor egg and donor sperm.

Gestational surrogacy is when the surrogate’s egg is not used. Traditional surrogacy is when the surrogate’s egg is used.

Both are allowed in the NT. However, some assisted reproductive technology providers may not support traditional surrogacy.

Assisted reproductive technology

Assisted reproductive technology, or ART, is any medical treatment or procedure where sexual intercourse is not used to get pregnant.

These treatments include:

• artificial insemination - medically putting sperm into a woman
• in-vitro fertilisation - eggs are removed from a woman's ovary and combined with sperm outside the body to form embryos
• sperm / egg /embryo transfer.

The NT does not have laws for ART. Any provider of ART must meet the:

• National Health and Medical Research Council’s ethical guidelines on the use of assisted reproductive technology in clinical practice and research
• Surrogacy Act 2022.

Providers of ART in other Australian jurisdictions must meet the regulations of the Act if they are providing ART to a person from the NT who has a surrogacy arrangement under the Act.

Contact

To find out more about becoming a surrogate or intended parent, contact Surrogacy Australia.