Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill – Briefing Note

Purpose
The Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill modernises New Zealand’s surrogacy framework by replacing adoption-based outcomes with a child-centred parentage regime, strengthening regulatory oversight, and improving certainty and transparency for families formed through surrogacy.

Legislative Process

The Bill incorporates many of the reforms recommended by the Law Commission in its 2022 review of surrogacy law. On 1 April 2026, the Health Select Committee reported back to Parliament following its detailed consideration of the Bill. The Bill is now before the House awaiting its second reading. The second reading is the stage at which Parliament debates the Bill’s overall purpose and policy direction, taking into account the Select Committee’s recommendations. If the Bill passes its second reading, it will proceed to the Committee of the Whole House, where MPs examine the legislation clause‑by‑clause and consider detailed amendments.

Why Reform Is Needed
Current law requires intended parents to adopt their own child, even where genetically related. Surrogacy agreements are largely unenforceable, oversight is inconsistent, and existing processes can obscure a child’s genetic and gestational origins.

Key Proposed Reforms

1. New Parentage Pathways
The Bill introduces a bespoke surrogacy parentage regime under the Status of Children Act 1969. Legal parenthood may transfer either administratively (by operation of law where ECART approval conditions are met and the surrogate consents post-birth) or through a Family Court parentage order. The welfare and best interests of the child are paramount.

2. Expanded ECART Oversight
All clinic-assisted surrogacy arrangements, including traditional surrogacy, will require ECART approval. Direct applications to ECART are permitted, and all applications must be supported by an Oranga Tamariki social worker report assessing risks of serious harm to the child.

3. Review of ECART Decisions
A new statutory right of review is created for declined ECART approvals or imposed conditions, with decisions considered by an independent review panel.

4. Surrogacy Costs
The prohibition on commercial surrogacy is retained, but reasonable surrogacy costs are clarified and expanded. Pre-conception agreements to reimburse reasonable costs become enforceable, and most reimbursed costs are tax-exempt.

5. Legal Status Clarifications
The automatic presumption that a surrogate’s partner is a legal parent is removed. The Bill clarifies guardianship and parentage outcomes where a party dies or exceptional applications are made.

6. International Surrogacy
The Family Court is given jurisdiction over international arrangements. Overseas parentage determinations may be recognised in New Zealand where statutory safeguards are met.

7. Identity and Origins
Surrogate-born people gain enhanced rights to access information about their genetic, gestational, and whakapapa origins. Identity information is recorded separately from the birth certificate, with mechanisms to alert individuals that such information exists.

Commencement
If the Bill passes through parliament in its present stage, most provisions will come into force 12 months after Royal Assent, with the ECART review panel provisions commencing after 18 months.

Overall Impact
The Bill represents a significant shift toward a child-centred, transparent, and purpose-built surrogacy framework aligned with contemporary family formation.