The ALRC would like to thank everyone who made a submission to the Surrogacy Inquiry Issues Paper. We greatly appreciate hearing your experiences, views, and expertise. 

This page will list all submissions received during the Inquiry. We will publish all submissions that meet our submissions policy. Please note that many submissions have been de-identified (listed as ‘Name withheld’) as some Australian laws prohibit the identification of people involved in surrogacy arrangements or family court proceedings. Some submissions will remain confidential (listed as ‘Not published’) at the author’s request. 

We have received a large number of submissions which appear to have been generated in response to an email campaign. See, for example, Submission 354. These submissions cover similar themes with some variation in wording.  

1. Name withheld

2. Not published

3. Name withheld

4. Name withheld

5. Name withheld

6. Name withheld

7. P Peace

8. Name withheld

9. Name withheld

10. Name withheld

11. Name withheld

12. Name withheld

13. P Parkinson

14. Name withheld

15. Name withheld

16. Name withheld

17. Name withheld (minor)

18. Name withheld (minor)

19. Name withheld

21. Name withheld

22. Name withheld

23. Name withheld

24. Name withheld

25. C Lynch

26. Name withheld (minor)

27. Not published (minor)

28. Name withheld

29. Name withheld

30. Name withheld (minor)

31. Not published

32. Name withheld (minor)

33. Name withheld (minor)

34. J Attawet

35. D Caruso

36. Name withheld (minor)

37. Name withheld

38. Name withheld

39. Name withheld

40. Not published

41. Name withheld

42. Name withheld (minor)

43. Name withheld

44. Name withheld

45. Name withheld

46. Name withheld

47. A Clarke

48. P Zagarelou-Mackieson

49. Name withheld

50. Name withheld

51. Name withheld

52. Name withheld

53. Name withheld

54. Name withheld

55. J Taylor

56. Name withheld

57. Name withheld

58. Not published

59. Name withheld

60. Name withheld

61. Name withheld

62. Name withheld

63. Name withheld

64. Name withheld

65. R Lukins

66. Name withheld

67. Name withheld

68. Name withheld

69. Name withheld

70. Name withheld

71. P Hadfield-Jia

72. Not published

73. Not published

74. Name withheld

75. Name withheld

76. Name withheld

77. Name withheld

78. Name withheld

79. S Nicholes

80. Not published

81. Name withheld

82. Not published

83. Name withheld

84. Name withheld (minor)

85. Name withheld

86. Name withheld

87. Name withheld

88. Name withheld

89. Name withheld

90. Centre for Bioethics and Culture (US)

91. K Smith

92. Name withheld

93. E Cervini

94. Name withheld

95. S Lambert

96. Name withheld

97. Name withheld

98. A Fouche

99. Name withheld

100. Name withheld

101. KQ Ho

102. Name withheld

103. Not published

104. Australian Christian Lobby

105. K Cox

106. M A. Somerville

107. Name withheld

108. Not published

109. Not published

110. Name withheld (minor)

111. Name withheld

112. Abolish Surrogacy Australia

113. Name withheld

114. Name withheld

115. Name withheld

116. Not published

117. Name withheld

118. Not published

119. Not published

120. H Drabsch

121. Not published

122. Presbyterian Church of Australia

123. Not published

124. Name withheld

125. Name withheld

126. Name withheld

127. Name withheld

128. S Jefford

129. Sam Everingham

130. S Page

131. Name withheld

132. Name withheld

133. Name withheld

134. International Coalition for the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood

135. Name withheld

136. A Sanfillipo Fermie

137. Name withheld

138. Name withheld

139. Name withheld

140. Name withheld

141. Name withheld

142. J Holder

143. Name withheld

144. L Ransome

145. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation

146. Name withheld

147. Name withheld

148. Name withheld

149. P Shearing

150. D Cody

151. D Kooyong

152. D McGregor

153. Attorney-General’s Department (Cth)

154. Name withheld

155. Coalition of Australian Feminist Organisations

156. Name withheld

157. Not published

158. Name withheld

159. S Bryan

160. Name withheld

161. Name withheld

162. Name withheld

163. Jigsaw Queensland Inc.

164. Name withheld

165. N McLean

166. E Kendal

167. A-R Crispin

168. L Tripodi

169. Name withheld

170. Name withheld

171. Name withheld

172. Not published

173. Name withheld

174. Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness

175. National Health and Medical Research Council

176. E Cummings

177. Name withheld

178. Not published

179. Not published

180. FINRRAGE (Australia)

181. H Drew

182. Australian Feminists for Women’s Rights (AF4WR)

183. Health Law Group, Monash Law School

184. Not published

185. Name withheld

186. Name withheld

187. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

188. Name withheld

189. Name withheld

190. NSW Council of Churches

191. Name withheld

192. You Gave Me a Voice

193. Name withheld

194. Name withheld

195. Name withheld

196. Name withheld

197. Name withheld

198. Name withheld

199. Casablanca Declaration Organisation

200. Not published

201. A Whittaker, C Volks, A Molas (et al)

202. Not published

203. Name withheld

204. Not published

205. Name withheld

206. Not published

207. Name withheld

208. Name withheld

209. Not published

210. Name withheld

211. Name withheld

212. Name withheld

213. Names withheld

214. Name withheld

215. Not published

216. Name withheld

217. Not published

218. Les Syndicate de la Famille

219. Name withheld

220. Not published

221. Not published

222. Name withheld

223. Name withheld

224. Children’s Voices in Surrogacy Law Project

225. Name withheld

226. S Swanepoel

227. Name withheld

228. Name withheld

229. Name withheld

230. Not published

231. Name withheld

232. FamilyVoice Australia

233. P Lyons

234. Name withheld

235. Name withheld

236. Name withheld

237. Name withheld

238. Name withheld

239. Name withheld

240. Not published

241. Catholic Women’s League Australia

242. J Sliwka

243. Name withheld

244. R Boneham

245. J McHitchinson

246. Not published

247. Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney

248. Department of Home Affairs (Cth)

249. Not published

250. Active Watchful Waiting Inc.

251. Name withheld

252. Coalition of Activist Lesbians

253. Equality Australia

254. Not published

255. Name withheld

256. Name withheld

257. R Rowland

258. T Trevor

259. Name withheld

260. Rainbow Families

261. Not published

262. Name withheld

263. M Montrone

264. A McKie

265. J McCloy

266. U Narawa

267. Single Mother Families Australia

268. Name withheld

269. Name withheld

270. Names withheld

271. Feminist Legal Clinic Inc.

272. Name withheld

273. VANISH

274. Not published

275. ARMS(Vic)

276. Name withheld

277. ANZICA

278. Name withheld

279. Name withheld

280. Not published

281. Name withheld

282. Name withheld

283. Name withheld

284. G Boneham

285. Switchboard Victoria

286. Name withheld

287. Name withheld

288. Name withheld

289. Name withheld

290. P Harper

291. Mothers Adoption Loss Alliance

292. Not published

293. Not published

294. H Driesen

295. Name withheld

296. Women’s Declaration International (Australia)

297. Plunkett Centre for Ethics

298. Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (Cth)

299. Name withheld

300. Name withheld

301. Name withheld

302. Name withheld

303. Stop Surrogacy Now UK

304. Name withheld

305. Not published

306. Name withheld

307. Name withheld

308. Name withheld

309. Not published

310. Not published

311. Donor Conceived Families Australia

312. Name withheld

313. Name withheld

314. Not published

315. Name withheld

316. Not published

317. Name withheld

318. Name withheld

319. Name withheld

320. Name withheld

321. E Kneebone

322. Not published

323. Name withheld

324. Name withheld

325. Not published

326. Name withheld

327. Name withheld

328. Not published

329. Name withheld

330. Name withheld

331. Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

332. Not published

333. K Gribble

334. Name withheld

335. Name withheld

336. Legal Aid NSW

337. Not published

338. GeneEthics

339. Name withheld

340. Name withheld

341. Not published

342. Law Council of Australia

343. Name withheld

344. Adoptee Rights Australia

345. Not published

346. ANZSREI

347. Name withheld

348. Women’s Forum Australia

349. Women’s Bioethics Alliance

350. MRKH Australia

351. S Cureton

352. Victorian Women Lawyers

353. Name withheld

354. P Kerrison

355. A Banerjee

356. S Piercey

357. A Fouche

359. S Jefford

360. J Attawet

361. P Zagarelou-Mackieson

362. Name withheld

365. S Page

366. ANZSREI

367. B Tobin

368. ANZICA

369. Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

370. The National Catholic Bioethics Center

371. S Allen

372. Name withheld

374. M Montrone

375. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation

376. Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness

377. K Hammarberg

378. S Everingham

379. Centre for Bioethics and Culture

380. L Ransome

381. M Quinlan

382. D Adams

383. Name withheld

384. Stop Surrogacy Now UK & Surrogacy Concern

386. Name withheld

387. Name withheld

388. Child Identity Protection

389. K Cox

390. Active Watchful Waiting Inc

391. LifeSiteNews

392. Name withheld

396. ICASM

397. Virtus Health

398. Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney

399. National Health and Medical Research Council

400. Coalition of Activist Lesbians

401. Centre for Health Law & Policy, University of WA Law School

402. Abolish Surrogacy Australia

403. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

404. Relationships Australia

405. F Farmer

406. J Tritton

407. Mothers Adoption Loss Alliance

408. ARMS (Vic)

409. Feminist Legal Clinic Inc.

410. FINRRAGE

411. World Youth Alliance

412. M Eason

413. ADF International

414. Z Mahmoud

415. E Kneebone

416. Women’s Forum Australia

417. Surrogacy Australia

418. K Horsey

419. Australian Christian Lobby

420. Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

422. Name withheld

423. AAWAA

424. AF4WR

425. GeneEthics

426. R West

427. Fertility & Family

428. Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia

429. Rainbow Families

430. P Harper

431. Law Council of Australia

432. Name withheld

433. Australian Human Rights Commission

434. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

435. Equality Australia

436. NSW Council of Churches

438. Adoptee Rights Australia

The views and opinions expressed in the submissions belong to their authors and do not reflect those of the Australian Law Reform Commission. For more information, see our submissions policy.

1. TASC Legal and Social Justice Services

2. Resilience Rising

3. Confidential

4. B Tuch

5. D Verran

6. National Health and Medical Research Council

7. Melbourne IVF

8. M Sharman

9. Confidential

10. Name withheld

11. Confidential

12. C Stern

13. Confidential

14. Consortium for Australian Children’s Trials in Brain Cancer

15. G Lomdahl

16. K Appleby

17. R Balleine

18. Confidential

19. Macquarie University

20. Children’s Medical Research Institute

21. Australian Christian Lobby

22. PlusLife

23. Department of Health for Western Australia

24. Transplant Australia

25. Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales

26. Confidential

27. T Trevor

28. Lions Eye Donation Service

29. Australasian Biospecimen Network Association

30. Cardiac Transplant Advisory Committee of TSANZ

31. Confidential

32. R Banks, A Newson, M Otlowski and G Watts

33. NSW Health Pathology

34. Confidential

35. Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ)

36. Lung Transplant Advisory Committee of TSANZ

37. Liver and Intestinal Transplant Advisory Committee of TSANZ

38. Paediatric Transplant Advisory Committee of TSANZ

39. RTAC Kidney Machine Perfusion Working Group of TSANZ

40. NSW Organ & Tissue Donation Service

41. Confidential

42. Stem Cell Donors Australia and ANZTCT

43. C Ting

44. Norton Rose Fulbright

45. Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine

46. Confidential

47. Centre for Law and Genetics

48. R Jenkin

49. Confidential

50. Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics

51. Department of Health, Disability and Ageing Portfolio

52. Falun Dafa Association

53. Confidential

54. International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China

55. Donor Families Australia

56. Confidential

57. Co-Directors of Liver and Kidney Transplant Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

58. Confidential

59. J Chapman

60. University of Sydney

61. Law Council of Australia

62. S Page

63. The Kids Research Institute Australia

64. Private Healthcare Australia

65. Australian Centre for Transplantation Excellence and Research

66. Children’s Cancer Institute

67. Health Law Group, Monash University

68. Victorian Cancer Biobank Consortium

69. W Duncan

70. A Cignarella, A Marshall, J Hewitt and K Ranse

71. Name withheld

72. Name withheld

73. A Johnston

74. B McDowell

75. M Fisher

76. L Campbell

77. Western Australian Paediatric Kidney Transplant Service

78. B Myerson

79. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

80. S Catt

81. Biotherapeutics Association of Australasia and the Eye Bank Association of Australia and New Zealand

82. Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Melbourne

83. Confidential

84. C Stewart, I Kerridge, L Macken and G Skowronski

85. G Harrison

86. H Northam

87. Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

88. Clinical Training and Evaluation Centre, University of Western Australia

89. C Politi

90. Confidential

91. Confidential

92. Confidential

93. Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, Death and Organ Donation Committee

94. N Hawkins and D Wakefield

95. N Hawkins, D Wakefield, J Turchini, A Field, N Tedla, A Gill, G Velan, J Baum, S McColl, C Herbert, S Thomas and T Mackenzie

96. A Suthananthan

97. L Mou

98. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Nephrology & Renal Transplantation Department

99. L Delriviere

100. G P Jeffrey

101. G Garas

102. A Philipoff

103. Royal College of Pathologists of Australia

104. K Stefanidis

105. I Jayasinghe

106. D Jacques

107. D Burnett

108. Name withheld

109. B Ng

110. S Kurdyukov

111. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

112. Confidential

113. Confidential

114. P Gunning

115. DonateLife Qld

116. PlusLife

117. E Hardeman

118. N Smith

119. Confidential

120. Confidential

121. A Johnston

122. Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists

123. Confidential

124. Confidential

125. D Verran

126. B Myerson

127. Confidential

128. National Health and Medical Research Council

129. Confidential

130. BMDI Cord Blood Bank

131. N Widdicombe

132. G Formentin

133. Children’s Cancer Institute

134. R Balleine

135. The Volunteer Biospecimen Donor Registry, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

136. Australian Christian Lobby

137. Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists

138. L Schroeter

139. G Moalem-Taylor

140. Confidential

141. A Wong

142. C Cox

143. Confidential

144. Eye Bank of South Australia

145. J Hook

146. The Working Group, 2025 Code of Practice for the Diagnosis and Confirmation of Death, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, United Kingdom

147. R Martinez Marmol

148. L Liu

149. E Sierecki

150. D Matas

151. M Trout

152. Australian Centre for Transplantation Excellence and Research

153. Confidential

154. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists

155. Confidential

156. K Poole

157. Confidential

158. R Brynn

159. K Wahi

160. Confidential

161. A Jefferson

162. Confidential

163. Confidential

164. Transplant Australia

165. Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Board

166. Australian and New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion

167. Confidential

168. University of Queensland

169. L Campbell

170. Australasian Biospecimen Network Association

171. N Jones

172. D Luque Buzo

173. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government

174. Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

175. Confidential

176. R Jenkin

177. Victorian Cancer Biobank Consortium

178. Westmead Biobank

179. J Byrne

180. J Liu

181. International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China

182. M Andrew

183. D Wakefield and N Hawkins

184. Johnson & Johnson

185. Queensland Intensive Care Clinical Network

186. Donor Families Australia

187. Confidential

188. Australian Tissue Donation Network

189. Falun Dafa Association

190. Confidential

191. Confidential

192. Centre for Law and Genetics

193. Human Tissue Advisory Committee, School of Medicine, Deakin University

194. SN Then

195. Liver and Kidney Transplant Services Clinicians, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, New South Wales

196. Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics

197. Confidential

198. Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

199. Biotherapeutics Association of Australasia and Eye Bank Association of Australia and New Zealand

200. Confidential

201. The Alfred (Alfred Care Group, Bayside Health), Victoria

202. Lions Eye Donation Service

203. Australian Breastfeeding Association

204. H Opdam

205. J Smith

206. A McGee and D Gardiner

207. St Vincent’s Health Australia

208. Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, University of Melbourne

209. Plunkett Centre for Ethics, Australian Catholic University

210. University of Sydney

211. Australian Organ and Tissue Authority

212. Bellberry Limited

213. World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative Australia

214. National Blood Authority

215. Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne

216. Western Australian Liver & Kidney Transplant Service

217. H Pleass

218. W Lim and K Wyburn

219. Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand

220. Paediatric Transplantation Advisory Committee of TSANZ

221. Confidential

222. Western Australia, Department of Health

223. Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

224. Confidential

225. Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine

226. Coroners Court of Victoria

227. NT Health

228. Name withheld

229. Law Council of Australia

230. Department of Health (Tas)

231. B Leigh

232. Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, Death and Organ Donation Committee

233. NSW Health

234. Confidential

235. Confidential

The ALRC typically forms an advisory committee, or panel of experts, for each Inquiry. The Advisory Committee for the ALRC’s Review of Surrogacy Laws comprises the following members: 

• Ms Narelle Dickinson, Director and Lead Clinician, Lotus Health and Psychology
• Dr Alison Gee, Fertility Specialist, IVF Australia
• Professor Paula Gerber, Law Faculty, Monash University
• Mr Michael Gorton AM, Consultant, Russell Kennedy
• Her Honour Judge Alexandra Harland, Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia
• Ms Sarah Jefford OAM, Family Creation Lawyer
• Dr Jaya Keaney, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne
• Ms Rachel Oakeley, Barrister
• Mr Stephen Page, Principal, Page Provan family and fertility lawyers, and Secretary, Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand
• Professor Jens Scherpe, Aalborg Universitet, Denmark
• Mr Ashley Scott, Executive Officer, Rainbow Families Australia 

Below are additional resources, links and references related to the Review of Surrogacy Laws. Please note that these are external links, and that the ALRC is not responsible for content on third party websites.  

Legislation 

• Parentage Act 2004 (ACT)  

• Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW)  

• Surrogacy Act 2022 (NT)  

• Surrogacy Act 2010 (Qld)   

• Surrogacy Act 2019 (SA) 

• Surrogacy Act 2012 (Tas) 

• Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 (Vic)  

• Status of the Children Act 1974 (Vic) 

• Surrogacy Act 2008 (WA)  

Reports and Inquiries  

• Family Law Council, Report on Parentage and the Family Law Act 1975 (2013) 

• House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, Surrogacy Matters: Inquiry into the regulatory and legislative aspects of international and domestic surrogacy arrangements (2016) 

• NSW Department of Justice, Statutory Review: Surrogacy Act 2010 (2018) 

• South Australian Law Reform Institute, Surrogacy: A Legislative Framework – Review of Part 2B of the Family Relationships Act 1975 (SA) (2018) 

• NT Department of Health and Department of the Attorney-General and Justice, Discussion Paper: A conversation about surrogacy in the Northern Territory (2019) 

• Sonia Allan, Review of the Western Australian Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991 and the Surrogacy Act 2008 (2019) 

• Ministerial Expert Panel on Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy: Final Report (2023) 
  
  
• Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety (ACT), Inquiry into the Parentage (Surrogacy) Bill 2023 (2024)
  
  
• NSW Department of Communities and Justice, Discussion Paper: Review of the Surrogacy Act 2010 and the Status of Children Act 1996 (2024)

To read a one-page information sheet about the Inquiry, click here. The Inquiry’s timeline, our submission process, and link to register for Inquiry updates, are available below. 

Timeline

The timeline below sets out the main milestones for the Surrogacy Law Inquiry through to its completion in July 2026.

Making a submission to our Inquiry  

We will ask for submissions in response to our Issues Paper to help us identify the most important issues for us to focus on and potential reform options.  

There will be another opportunity to make a submission when we publish our Discussion Paper. The Discussion Paper will contain ideas for reform and ask for feedback on those ideas.   

You are welcome to make a submission in response to one or both of our papers. 

For more information, please see our Submissions Policy. 

Stay updated 

We will email updates throughout the Inquiry, including updates on key moments, such as the release of publications, opening of submissions, and scheduled events. To stay updated, subscribe via the below form. 

The ALRC typically forms an advisory committee, or panel of experts, for each Inquiry. The Advisory Committee for the ALRC’s Review of Human Tissue Laws comprises the following:

• Professor Dominique Martin, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University
• Professor Shih-Ning Then, Deputy Director, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, QUT
• Professor Jeremy Chapman AC, Clinical Director, Division of Medicine and Cancer, Westmead Hospital
• Dr Marisa Herson, Honorary Associate Professor in Bioethics, Deakin University
• Professor Ian Kerridge, Professor of Bioethics and Medicine, School of Public Health and Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney
• Ms Kelli Owen, Adelaide Nursing School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide
• Ms Debbie Stracey, Executive Director, Australian Tissue Donation Network
• Associate Professor Helen Opdam, National Medical Director, OTA
• Dr Rowena Lalji, Child and Adolescent Renal Service, Queensland Children’s Hospital
• Dr Brett Sutton, Health and Biosecurity Director, CSIRO
• Professor Dianne Nicol, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Centre for Law and Genetics, University of Tasmania
• Ms Jodie Clarkson, Representative Palliative Care Australia; Volunteer Aboriginal Interpreter Service, Northern Territory

Submissions in response to the Discussion Paper are  open until Friday 19 December 2025.  

When you make a submission, please tell us if: 

• you have personal experience of surrogacy, for example as a surrogate, intended parent, parent through surrogacy, or person born through surrogacy. The ALRC will de-identify all submissions from people with personal experience of surrogacy (see below). 

• you would like your submission to be confidential — this means it will not be published online, and your name will not be included in our list of submissions. 

If you do not specify, we will treat your submission as a public submission, subject to any laws that apply and our submission policy.       

We want to encourage submissions from people who have personal experience of surrogacy. This includes surrogates, intended parents, parents through surrogacy, and people born through surrogacy. However, some Australian laws prohibit the identification of people involved in surrogacy arrangements or family court proceedings. For this reason, we will de-identify all submissions which identify, or may identify, people involved in surrogacy arrangements. This means it will be published online, but anonymised — we will remove your name, the names of anyone else mentioned in the submission, and any other identifying details before we publish it. If we determine that your submission does not need to be de-identified, we will ask for your consent before publishing it.  

We will only disclose identifying information outside the parameters above if the law or a court tells us to do so. Given ‘commercial’ surrogacy is illegal is some jurisdictions, when making a submission you may want to consider whether you are disclosing information that might expose you, or others, to legal risks or consequences.  

Submissions for the Review of Surrogacy Laws closed at 11:59pm on Friday 19th December 2025.

If you are unable to make a written submission or upload it through our website, please contact us about other ways to make a submission.  

Below are additional resources, links and references relevant to the Review of Human Tissue Laws. Please note that these are external links, and that the ALRC is not responsible for content on third party websites.

Legislation – Human Tissue Acts

• Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1978 (ACT)
• Human Tissue Act 1983 No 164 (NSW)
• Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979 (NT)
• Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979 (QLD)
• Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1983 (SA)
• Human Tissue Act (1985) (TAS)
• Human Tissue Act (1982) (VIC)
• Human Tissue and Transplant Act 1982 (WA)

National Reports and Inquiries

• Australian Law Reform Commission, Human Tissue Transplants (1977)
• EY, Review of the Implementation of the National Reform Agenda on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (2015), and related Australian Government Response (2017)
• PwC, Final Report: Analysis of the Australian Tissue Sector (2016)
• EY, Review of the Australian Organ Donation, Retrieval and Transplantation System: Final Report (2018), and related All Governments’ Response
• House of Representatives, Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Compassion, Not Commerce: An Inquiry into Human Organ Trafficking and Organ Transplant Tourism (2018)
• National Indigenous Kidney Transplant Taskforce, Final Report (2023)

Government Statements and Strategies

• Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, National Eye and Tissue Sector Framework (2022)
• Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, National Strategy for Organ Donation, Retrieval and Transplantation (2024)

Practice Guidelines and Professional Statements

• The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS):
  • Statement on Death and Organ Donation (2021)
  • Brain Death Determination Statement
• National Health and Medical Research Council:
  • Organ and Tissue Donation after Death, for Transplantation – Guidelines for Ethical Practice for Health Professionals (2007)
  • Making a Decision about Organ and Tissue Donation after Death (2007)
  • Organ and Tissue Donation by Living Donors – Guidelines for Ethical Practice for Health Professionals (2007)
  • Making a Decision about Living Organ and Tissue Donation (2007)
  • Ethical Guidelines for Organ Transplantation from Deceased Donors (2016)
  • National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023)
• Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand, Clinical Guidelines for Organ Transplantation from Deceased Donors

International Donation and Transplantation Legislative and Policy Forum

• Dale Gardiner et al, “Baseline Ethical Principles and a Framework for Evaluation of Policies: Recommendations from an International Consensus Forum” (2023) 9(5) Transplant Direct, doi: 1097/TXD.0000000000001471
• Manuel Escoto et al, “Research and Innovation in Organ Donation: Recommendations from an International Consensus Forum” (2023) 9(5) Transplant Direct, doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001446
• Jacinto Sánchez-Ibañez et al, “Tissue and Cell Donation: Recommendations from an International Consensus Forum” (2023) 9(5) Transplant Direct, doi: 1097/TXD.0000000000001466
• Maeghan Toews et al, “Legislation and Policy Recommendations on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation from an International Consensus Forum” (2023) 9(5) Transplant Direct, doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001395
• Phil Walton et al, “Organ and Tissue Donation Consent Model and Intent to Donate Registries: Recommendations from an International Consensus Forum” (2023) 9(5) Transplant Direct, doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001416
• Claire Willment et al, “Organ Donation Organization Architecture: Recommendations from an International Consensus Forum” (2023) 9(5) Transplant Direct, doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001440

International Declarations, Principles and Protocols

• Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group, The Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism, (2018)
• Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations, The Barcelona Principles: An Agreement on the use of human donated tissue for ocular transplantation, research, and future technologies, (2018)
• United Nations, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Protocol), (2000)
• World Health Organization, Increasing availability, ethical access and oversight of transplantation of human cells, tissues and organs (2024)
• World Health Organization, Principles for global consensus on the donation and management of blood, blood components and medical products of human origin, (2016)
• World Health Organization, Guiding principles on human cell, tissue and organ transplantation, (2010)

To read a one page information sheet about the Inquiry, click here. Information about the Inquiry’s timeline and our submission process is below, along with a link to register for Inquiry updates.

Timeline

The below timeline sets out the planned activities and engagement of the Review of Human Tissue Laws through to its completion in August 2026. Please note that the planned dates and activities may change.

We are now planning to publish our Discussion Paper towards the end of November. We will publish submissions received in response to our Issues Paper on our website before the Discussion Paper is released, and will allow a ten-week window for submissions. 

Making a submission to our inquiry

We know that making a submission can be time-consuming and sometimes difficult. We also know that people have competing demands on their time and resources.  

We will ask for submissions in response to our Issues Paper to help us identify the most urgent issues for us to focus on during our Inquiry. 

If you cannot make a submission in response to the Issues Paper, there will be another opportunity to make a submission when we publish our Discussion Paper. The Discussion Paper will contain ideas for reform and ask for feedback on those ideas.  

You are welcome to make a submission in response to one or both of our papers. 

Stay updated

We will email updates regarding the Review of Human Tissue Laws throughout the course of the Inquiry, including updates on key moments, such as the release of publications, opening of submissions, and scheduled events. To stay updated, subscribe via the below form.