Surrogacy Australia Conversations

Joel is a trail blazer as the first man to become a single dad through surrogacy in Tasmania. His son, Mason, was born in February 2025. His surrogate, Jess, lives in Launceston with her husband Ryan and their blended family of 8 children. They were previously strangers but connected thanks to a Facebook post he did explaining his situation, which got shared widely. His egg donor, Vanessa, is a fr...

Jess and husband Ryan live with their blended family of 8 children in Launceston, Tasmania. She birthed a little boy, Mason, as a surrogate in February 2025. Jess met dad, Joel, through a facebook post and reached out to offer to be his surrogate. Joel is a single dad and has moved from WA back to Tasmania to navigate surrogacy. Jess has also been an egg donor, having donated to two families with...

Kelsey and her husband Aaron, became parents to their daughter, Charlotte, in March 2024. Charlotte was carried by their surrogate whom they had jointly known for 20 years. It worked first embryo transfer after 14 attempts in Kelsey. Charlotte was first to be born under the NT Surrogacy Act 2022. These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Australia. If you wou...

We hear from 3 dads through surrogacy today - all who are part of a same sex male couple. Check out the full episode show notes: https://www.surrogacyaustralia.org/podcast/episode-130-how-do-you-decide-which-sperm-to-use Looking to find a surrogate in Australia? Consider joining SASS . Looking for an overview of surrogacy? Join us in a free, fortnightly Wednesday night webinar . Looking to chat wi...

Beth, a mum of 2 boys, has birthed two children as a surrogate for dads Tyson and Dan - they were initially strangers and all live in Melbourne. She birthed their daughter London in December 2021 and son River in November 2024. They have been a SASS supported, self matched team for their 2 journeys and Beth and Dan have been Mentors with SASS helping many other who are at the beginning of their jo...

Beth birthed as a surrogate in Melbourne, VIC in December 2021 for a couple who were initially strangers and are now life long friends. They had a little girl, London, and her two dads are Tyson and Daniel who also live in Melbourne. Beth has been a Surrogate Mentor within SASS (Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service) and is one of the first surrogates to have been through SASS as a team, to have b...

Monica Blizzard leads the KHQ Lawyers’ Family & Relationship Law team, and is an Accredited Family Law Specialist with the Law Institute of Victoria. With nearly 30 years of experience and 10 of that in surrogacy. Her work in this field aligns with her own family creation, due to needing IVF. This lived experience means she understands what it’s like to have limited options and a challenge to...

This series of episodes springs from my work with SASS (Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service). When Intended Parents (IPs) have completed their profile and are in the pool of IPs waiting to connect with a surrogate, I do monthly check-ins to make sure they’re still active and waiting. I like to give some guidance and support along the way because the waiting game can be hard. This series of episo...

Dwayne and Shane became Dads to their daughter (Zara) in August 2018. Zara was carried by their surrogate (previously a stranger) Amelia who was also a Traditional surrogate for them, meaning it was her egg. Dwayne was also one of the original Mentors with SASS and has supported many new gay Intended Dads who are at the beginning of their journey. These podcasts were recorded as part of the free w...

Alex and Carlo became dads to their daughter, Elodie in December 2024. Their surrogate, Em, previously a stranger was initially their egg donor, but became their traditional surrogate (meaning it was also her egg). They all live near each other on the Sunshine Coast and are planning a sibling journey. They are also long term attendees of this webinar series, with a total of 30 and once co-hosting...

Em and husband, Kurt, live in Brisbane with their 2 children and she has birthed 2 children as a surrogate, with plans for a 3rd! The first girl, Alice, was born in March 2022 in Perth for a couple who were friends of Em's mum. She then offered to be an egg donor for Alex and Carlo, but moved to being their traditional surrogate. They had a little girl, Elodie, in December 2024 with plans for...

One of the 'main' facebook groups in Australia for surrogacy is called Australian Surrogacy and Donation (ASD). It is open to Intended Parents (IPs) and surrogates who live in Australia, and who are navigating either domestic or overseas surrogacy. It is a growing group with 600+ members.  If you're looking for a one-on-one connection, SASS has a buddy system that we call the Mentor Pr...

Hear from 3 midwives who have supported surrogacy teams Guests: Julie, Rachel and Ashlee PREGNANCY * When assigned a surrogacy team, what were your initial thoughts / concerns? * Is the schedule of appointments the same/different? * The woman who births a child is usually also the parent - but these roles are separated in surrogacy. How do you plan for that?  * What are the emotional and physical...

Sylva and husband Kim from Tweed heads became parents to their daughter (Delilah) in July 2024. Delilah was carried by surrogate Micaela, from Sydney, who was previously a stranger and now a lifelong friend. Sylva had previously birthed her angel baby, son Roman, in 2021 before needing a hysterectomy. This was Micaela's second time as a surrogate, and also the second surrogate for Sylva as her...

SASS = Surrogacy Australia's Support Service. Since 2019, we are the first agency for surrogacy in Australia. We support Intended Parents (IPs) and surrogates who are looking for a match and also teams who are self matched.  Still have questions? We have a recorded webinar to take you through the whole SASS process and a flow chart of Stage 1 and 2.  Check out the full episode show notes: http...

Marnie birthed as a surrogate in Sydney in August 2018 for a couple who were initially strangers and are now life long friends. They had a little girl, Sienna, whose parents are Kristy and Ben. Marnie was one of our original SASS Surrogate Mentors, has been an admin for the surrogates facebook group where together we created and ran a Buddy program for years, and she has helped many at the beginni...

Kristy and Ben from Canberra became parents when their surrogate, and now life long friend Marnie, birthed their daughter Sienna in August 2018. Kristy was one of our original SASS Parent Mentors and has helped many IPs at the beginning of their journey. These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Australia. If you would like to attend one, head to our website...

Fraser and David, from Sydney, became dads to their son (Harry) in June 2024. Harry was carried by their surrogate Rachel who is David's sister. It was traditional surrogacy, meaning Rachel was the surrogate and egg donor. They went through IVF (as opposed to home inseminations) and were successful first go.   These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webinar series run by Surrogacy Aus...

This series of episodes springs from my work with SASS (Surrogacy Australia’s Support Service). When Intended Parents (IPs) have completed their profile and are in the pool of IPs waiting to connect with a surrogate, I do monthly check-ins to make sure they’re still active and waiting. I like to give some guidance and support along the way because the waiting game can be hard. This series of episo...

Hear the simple yet meaningful technique that Psychologist Katrina Hale has developed to help you develop the unique birth story narrative for your child.  Katrina and covers questions such as: ❤️ How do I tell my child their birth story? 🧡 When to tell them? 💛 Why is it important? 💚 How much information do I share? 💙 What language do I use? 💜 How often should I tell them? 🤎 How formal/infor...

SJ birthed as a surrogate in Brisbane in March 2025 for a couple who were initially strangers and are now life long friends. They had a little girl, Blake, and her parents are Emma and Steve who also live nearby on the Gold Coast. SJ is a member of the Surrogacy Australia Board, a regular on our Zoom monthly catch ups and advocates for surrogacy at every chance she gets! These podcasts were record...

Laura and husband Brendan from Penrith, became parents to their son (Mason) in February 2025. Mason was carried by surrogate Brie, who is Brendan's sister, and was also created using donor eggs from Laura's niece, Tiger. It was a very long journey to parenthood with endometriosis, adenomyosis, a full hysterectomy and low AMH levels (meaning low egg reserves). So Mason was nearly a 10 year journey...

It's very normal to be nervous about surrogacy, both as an Intended Parent (IPs) and as a potential surrogate. There are others who have gone before you, as well as experienced counsellors who can help you to navigate through those feelings.  Check out the full episode show notes: https://www.surrogacyaustralia.org/podcast/episode-110-im-nervous-about-surrogacy Looking to find a surrogate in A...

Kristen birthed as a surrogate in April 2019 for a couple who also live in QLD. The husbands worked together prior to surrogacy, as well as Kristen and the Intended Mother (which we abbreviate to IM), and they welcomed a little girl into the world. Unfortunately the Surroship dissolved in the later stages of pregnancy and post birth. Kristen has had time to reflect on her journey and has some teac...

Erinna birthed as a surrogate on the Gold Coast in January 2017 for a couple who were initially strangers. They had a little boy, named Sidney, for his mum and dad Alison and Pearce. Unfortunately, when Sid was nearly 2 years old, Alison passed away from ongoing health issues (health was part of her reason for needing a surrogate initially).  These podcasts were recorded as part of the free webina...