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Can Sperm Donors Get Paid in Australia?

Can you be paid to donate sperm in Australia? Stephen Page, fertility lawyer and accredited family law specialist, explains why the answer is no, and what out-of-pocket expenses sperm donors can lawfully be reimbursed for.

In this episode:

• Why sperm donation in Australia must be altruistic
• The federal law making it an offence to give, offer or receive valuable consideration for sperm, punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment
• How state and territory tissue laws also prohibit paying for sperm
• The exceptions for reasonable expenses, including collection, storage and transport
• What known donors can be reimbursed for, from legal fees on a donor agreement to travel, parking and medical costs

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.
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Egg Donation Process in Australia: Legal Steps Before Treatment

What are the legal steps before egg donation treatment in Australia? Stephen Page, fertility lawyer and accredited family law specialist, explains the process for anonymous and known egg donors. He also covers when a written egg donor agreement is worth having.

In this episode:

• Medical clearance, consent forms and counselling for anonymous and known egg donors
• Oral vs written agreements between known donors and intended parents
• Why the American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimated about 1 hour for a sperm donor compared with 50+ hours for an egg donor
• What egg donors go through, from daily injections to egg collection
• Why written agreements are more important for sperm donors, and when families still choose an egg donor agreement

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.

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Egg Donation in Australia: Who Can Donate and What Are the Rules?

Who can donate eggs in Australia, and what legal rules apply? Stephen Page, fertility lawyer and accredited family law specialist, walks through the key requirements for anonymous and known egg donors.

In this episode:

• Typical clinic age limits for egg donors, and why known donors are usually in their thirties
• Why egg donation must be altruistic, and the role of fertility counselling
• Consenting to disclosure to the child, and how quickly parents may learn the donor’s identity in some places
• Family limits, and when consent can and can’t be withdrawn
• How clinic and state donor registers work, and why Australia doesn’t yet have a national donor register

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.

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What Makes a De Facto Relationship Under the Family Law Act?

When is a couple in a de facto relationship for the purposes of the Family Law Act? Bruce Provan, Managing Director and accredited family law specialist, explains the legal test and why it’s about much more than living under the same roof.

In this episode:

• How the Family Law Act was extended to de facto couples from 1 July 2009
• The criteria in section 4AA, including a genuine domestic basis, financial intermingling, a sexual relationship and public reputation as a couple
• Why some people who live together, like housemates, aren’t in a de facto relationship
• How couples living apart, including where one partner is interstate, overseas or in prison, can still be de facto
• How case law guides lawyers on when the court will find a de facto relationship

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.

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Can You Get Paid to Donate Eggs in Australia?

It’s a question that comes up often: can you be paid to donate eggs in Australia? Stephen Page, fertility lawyer and accredited family law specialist, explains why the answer is no, what expenses can lawfully be reimbursed, and how this applies if you want to donate eggs you’ve frozen for your own future fertility.

In this episode:

• Why only altruistic egg donation is allowed in Australia
• The Commonwealth, state and territory laws that make paying or being paid for donation a criminal offence
• What counts as reasonable expenses, including collection, storage and transport of eggs
• Whether you can recover egg freezing costs if you donate eggs you no longer need
• Why some clinics say this can’t be done, and why Stephen takes a different view

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.

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In Smith v Chief Executive, Queensland Corrective Services, the High Court of Australia unanimously held that egg freezing is not “assisted reproductive technology” under Queensland’s Corrective Services Act. This means a prisoner can seek approval to freeze her eggs. Stephen Page, fertility lawyer and accredited family law specialist, walks through the four judgments and what they say about prisoners’ basic human entitlements.

In this episode:

• How Ms Smith’s application to freeze her eggs, made at 32, was refused and went through the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal before her High Court win, including costs orders in her favour
• The joint judgment of Acting Chief Justice Gordon and Justice Beech-Jones, and its reference to the right to procreate
• Justice Edelman’s view that ART means procedures capable by themselves of achieving reproduction
• Justice Gleeson’s reasoning on humane containment and the special needs of female prisoners
• Justice Jagot’s firm rejection of the argument that unwanted sterility could be part of a prisoner’s punishment

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.
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Clients often ask about Page Provan’s ethos in family formation, from surrogacy and egg, sperm and embryo donation to posthumous retrieval. Stephen Page, multi-award winning surrogacy lawyer and accredited family law specialist, explains the four principles at the centre of the firm’s work.

In this episode:

Why every journey must be lawful, for clients and for the firm

What “first, do no harm” means for surrogates, donors, intended parents and the child

How reflecting on his early custody cases shaped Stephen’s child-centred approach

Why intended parents are encouraged to make sure their children can find out who their donor is, including after overseas treatment

How human rights became a guiding principle of South Australia’s Surrogacy Act 2019

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.

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A little-known regulation has repealed Regulation 10.3 of the Family Law Regulations 2024. It was made without notice or apparent consultation. From 9 December, the parentage presumptions for children born overseas via surrogacy will be removed. Stephen Page, multi-award winning surrogacy lawyer and accredited family law specialist, explains what this means for just under 3,000 children whose parents may no longer be presumed to be their parents.

In this episode:

• What Regulation 10.3 did, and how it recognised parents named on overseas birth certificates, in court orders or through acknowledged paternity
• Which prescribed overseas jurisdictions are affected, including the United States, Canada (except Quebec), Mexico, Colombia and India
• How Freedom of Information data on Australian citizenship by descent puts the number of affected children at just under 3,000
• The real-world impact on childcare enrolment, medical decisions and inheritance
• Why the timing is concerning, with the change made ahead of the ALRC surrogacy inquiry report and without consulting key stakeholders

📞 Need advice? Contact Page Provan Family & Fertility Lawyers.
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