South Australian Consolidated Acts

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS ACT 1975 - SECT 10C

10C—Rules relating to parentage

        (1)         A woman who gives birth to a child is, for the purposes of the law of the State, the mother of the child (whether the child was conceived by the fertilisation of an ovum taken from that woman or another woman).

        (2)         If—

            (a)         a woman becomes pregnant in consequence of a fertilisation procedure; and

            (b)         the ovum used for the purposes of the procedure was taken from another woman,

then, for the purposes of the law of the State, the woman from whom the ovum was taken will be taken not to be the mother of any child born as a result of the pregnancy.

        (3)         If a woman who is legally married or in a qualifying relationship undergoes, with the consent of her husband or domestic partner (as the case requires), a fertilisation procedure in consequence of which she becomes pregnant, then, for the purposes of the law of the State, the husband or domestic partner—

            (a)         will be conclusively presumed to have caused the pregnancy; and

            (b)         will be taken to be—

                  (i)         in the case of a husband or male domestic partner—the father; or

                  (ii)         in any other case—a co-parent,

of any child born as a result of the pregnancy.

        (4)         If—

            (a)         a woman becomes pregnant in consequence of a fertilisation procedure; and

            (b)         a man (not being the woman's husband or, if she is in a qualifying relationship, her domestic partner) produced sperm used for the purposes of the procedure,

then, for the purposes of the law of the State, the man—

            (c)         will be conclusively presumed not to have caused the pregnancy; and

            (d)         will be taken not to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy.

        (5)         If a woman becomes pregnant in consequence of a fertilisation procedure using the semen of a man—

            (a)         who has died; and

            (b)         who, immediately before his death, was the woman's husband, or was living with the woman in a qualifying relationship; and

            (c)         who had consented to the use of the semen for the purposes of the fertilisation procedure,

the man—

            (d)         will be conclusively presumed to have caused the pregnancy; and

            (e)         will be taken to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy.

        (6)         For the purposes of this section, a husband or domestic partner will, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to have consented to a woman undergoing a fertilisation procedure.

        (7)         This section applies in relation to a child regardless of when the child was born.

        (8)         However, nothing in this section prevents a person becoming the mother, father or co-parent of a child in accordance with another provision of this Act, or any other Act or law.

Example—

An order may be made by the Court under Part 2B Division 3 of this Act.