Recognition of Lesbian and Gay Families in Australian Law - Part Two: Children

Abstract

This article discusses the legal regulation of parenting in lesbian and gay families in Australia. This landscape of regulation includes laws that govern such families both before and after they are formed; that is, laws controlling access to potential family formation options in addition to laws that govern the status of parents and children in families that are formed through alternate means. There have been a number of important developments in these areas in recent years, including: challenges to laws that restrict access to fertility services; reforms to adoption laws in three jurisdictions; and deemed parental status for co-mothers in lesbian families formed through assisted reproduction in three jurisdictions. This article details how the new parental status reforms interrelate, including difficult questions regarding the recognition of this new parental status in other States and their interaction with federal law.

Keywords: lesbian families, gay families, lesbian mothers, gay fathers, same-sex families, assisted reproductive technology, adoption, surrogacy

JEL Classification: J79, K39