Application of MM & KF re FM

A same-sex couple, MM and KF, applied for a parentage order in relation to a child born to a surrogate under a surrogacy arrangement entered into before the commencement of the Surrogacy Act 2010. The application was heard by the Family Court of Australia, with Justice Mortimer presiding. The primary legal issues the court needed to decide were whether the court had jurisdiction to make a parentage order under the Act for a child born before the Act commenced, and whether such an order could be made in favour of a same-sex couple. The court considered whether the legislative intent behind the Surrogacy Act 2010 allowed for retrospective orders and whether the Act's provisions should be interpreted to include same-sex couples in its scope. Justice Mortimer concluded that the Act did not provide for retrospective orders, and therefore the court did not have jurisdiction to make a parentage order for a child born before the Act commenced. The court also found that the Act did not explicitly exclude same-sex couples, but the legislative intent was not to extend the Act's benefits to such couples for pre-commencement arrangements. Consequently, the application was dismissed.

No further orders were made by the court.