Collins and Tangtoi

[2010] FamCA 878

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

COLLINS & TANGTOI [2010] FamCA 878

FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN – With whom a child lives – Equal shared responsibility – Surrogacy

Family Law Act1975 (Cth)

APPLICANTS: Mr and Mrs Collins

RESPONDENT: Ms Tangtoi

FILE NUMBER: SYC 4264 of 2010

DATE DELIVERED: 9 August 2010

PLACE DELIVERED: Sydney

PLACE HEARD: Sydney

JUDGMENT OF: Loughnan J

HEARING DATE: 9 August 2010

REPRESENTATION

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANTS: Lewis Law Solicitors

RESPONDENT: No appearance

Orders

1. That the children A born … January 2010 and N also born … January 2010, live with the applicants and that the applicants have equal shared parental responsibility for making decisions on both day to day and long term issues relating to the children

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Collins & Tangtoi is approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT SYDNEY

FILE NUMBER: SYC 4264 of 2010

MR AND MRS COLLINS

Applicant

and

MS TANGTOI

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. These are proceedings in relation to two children, N and A Collins.  They were born in January 2010.  Orders are sought in terms consented to by the parties that the children live with the applicants and that they have equal shared parental responsibility for them.  That is not what the engrossed orders says, but there is a document that indicates consent to a variation.

2. Probably little more than that needs to be said.  All of the parties agree to the orders.  The matter is of some interest in a technical sense because the children were born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement made in Thailand whereby the male applicant, Mr Collins, provided sperm with which an egg from an anonymous donor was fertilised and that fertilised egg was then implanted in a Thai citizen, Ms Tangtoi, who was a party to the surrogacy arrangement. The children were born in January.

3. There is some evidence about Thai law, whereby the surrogate mother is the mother of the children, albeit that she has no genetic link with the children.  The mother sets out the facts that I have repeated.  She says that she doesn’t know the egg donor.  She believes that the egg was fertilised with sperm provided by Mr Collins.  She acknowledges Mr Collins as the biological father of the children and she says she gave consent to him being recorded as the children’s father on their birth certificates. Copies of their birth certificates and translations are in the material.

4. The mother says that prior to the procedure she met with the applicants and spoke to them with the assistance of a Thai interpreter.  She says that she subsequently entered into an agreement whereby she agreed to act as surrogate mother and she consented to Mr Collins having sole responsibility for the children.  She carried the children through the course of the pregnancy and gave birth to them.  She remained in hospital for a couple of days and…