Russell Walker Surrogacy

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Russell Walker Surrogacy

Providing trusted advice and support on your surrogacy pathway to parenthood.

Nicole is dedicated to ensuring that the surrogacy process is efficient without an exorbitant price-tag.

27/05/2024

I have found a surrogate but she is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Is that OK?If you have found someone to be your surrogate and she lives in Australia but is not a citizen or permanent resident (PR), there are many factors to consider before going ahead.

- In some states, a surrogate must be a citizen or PR (SA and NT);
- If your surrogate is on a temporary visa, what will happen if the visa expires while she is pregnant?
- What if the surrogate needs to return to her home country during pregnancy and is unable to return before the birth?
- Will your surrogate be in Australia and available for the parentage order process post birth?
- Does your surrogate have a good command of the English language and fully understand the implications of the surrogacy arrangement?
- Is your surrogate financially secure?

Please contact me to discuss these aspects further if you are thinking of using a surrogate without citizenship or PR status.

22/05/2024

Can I be a surrogate if I have not had my own children?In some Australian states, it is a legal requirement that a surrogate has given birth. In other states, there is no such requirement.

If you are thinking of being a surrogate or using a surrogate who has never had children, I urge you to consider:

1. The unknown risk of any medical complications either in pregnancy or birth; and
2. The difficulty to predict or prepare for the emotional impact of pregnancy, specifically pregnancy with someone else’s child, and the potential complexities that come with that.

Where teams wish to proceed with a surrogate who has not previously had children, I encourage a preliminary legal meeting before commencing the process in earnest and I would urge additional counselling.

19/05/2024

I have been a surrogate and want to do it again for someone else. Can I?In Australia, there are no legal limits on the number of times a woman can be a gestational surrogate (whether for one family or multiple). However, even after having done it successfully before, a surrogate must repeat the counselling process, receive updated medical clearance and updated legal advice. I have acted for many women who have been surrogates multiple times, feel free to contact me with any questions.

14/05/2024

I hope that all of our wonderful surrogate mothers and those celebrating their first mother's day had a beautiful day of celebration and reflection.

11/04/2024

What if the Court refuses to grant our application for a Parentage Order?If a Court refuses to grant an application for a Parentage Order, the consequence is that the child’s original birth certificate cannot be changed (that is, it will not have the intended parent/s details on it) and legal parentage will remain with the surrogate.

Please feel free to send through any other surrogacy questions that you have, and we will answer these in our upcoming posts!

10/04/2024

Can we select the gender of our embryo?In Australia, gender selection may only be available in certain circumstances. In Victoria, the only permitted reason for gender selection is on medical grounds (ie where there is a risk of a genetic disease that would impact a child of one genetic but not another).

If you have specific questions you would like me to answer on surrogacy, please feel free to send them through to me!

08/04/2024

When do we create embryos for use in a surrogacy arrangement?It depends! Embryos may be created during the course of fertility treatment and once it has been recommended that a patient move to surrogacy, those remaining embryos can be used.

If that is not the case (for example, in the case of a same s*x male couple), it depends on the fertility clinic. Some clinics like the surrogacy counselling and approval (if necessary) to be obtained first. There is no legal requirement that it occur this way and my preference is that embryos are made first. If you need advice on this, please contact me!

Stay tuned over the next few posts as I answer some more common surrogacy questions. I also have lots of important and useful information in the resources section on my website.

04/04/2024

Over the next few posts, I'm going to be doing a surrogacy Q&A where I answer some common questions about surrogacy. Question 1: What is the time limit to file an application for a Parentage Order?

In each state, an application for a Parentage Order must be filed by the intended parent/s before the child is 6 months old. There are limited circumstances upon which a Court will grant a Parentage Order when it is filed after this time limit. My advice: get onto it early! If you miss the time limit, it will cost more time and money and the consequences are significant.

Hopefully you find this information helpful! You can also find lots of important and useful information in the resources section on my website which we will be regularly updating this year. Please let me know via DM if you have any specific questions you would like me to answer! Stay tuned for more over the next few posts.

29/03/2024

Change to Victoria Surrogacy Applications~For new Victorian surrogacy arrangements, it is no longer a requirement to obtain an independent psychological assessment for your Patient Review Panel application. It may still be recommended by your clinic counsellor that you seek additional counselling or an assessment by an independent psychologist but it is no longer a routine part of the application process.

21/03/2024

I am back! It has been a long time between posts, but I am officially back and taking bookings for April. Please feel free to get in touch!

24/12/2023

To my clients, colleagues, collaborators, and followers
I wish you all a happy, healthy and safe festive season. The festive season can be challenging for those trying to conceive, who are pregnant and those in the postpartum phase. If you require urgent support during this period, here are some useful resources:

PANDA national helpline 1300 726 306 (panda.org.au (http://panda.org.au/))

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 (beyondblue.org.au (http://beyondblue.org.au/))

Lifeline 13 11 14 (lifeline.org.au (http://lifeline.org.au/)

I will be taking a break and returning at the end of January 2024.

21/12/2023

Happy 6-year anniversary to our beautiful surrogate family – who can believe that your brought our baby girl into our world 6 years ago. Not a day goes by that we don’t reflect on our love and gratitude to you

Address

Bourke Street
Melbourne, VIC
3000

Telephone

+61400897110

Website

https://www.russellwalkersurrogacy.com.au/

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