More things to know about donor conception and family law

Donor-conceived South Australians will soon have greater access to information about their identity and genetic history under recent reforms to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 1988.

Where can donor conception information be accessed?

In November 2021, the South Australian Donor Conception Register (DCR) was established as a central location for information relating to both donors and donor-conceived children.

The DCR will allow donor-conceived people aged 18 and over, or the parents of a donor-conceived child, to register their preferences in relation to any contact from the donor.

In March 2024, the South Australian Parliament passed laws to increase accessibility to the information held on the DCR.

Can a donor-conceived child access information about the donor?

It is expected that from early 2025, donor-conceived people aged 18 years and over will be able to access information about their donor and genetic siblings. Parents of donor-conceived children under 18 years of age will also have access to that information. This extends to donors who donated under the condition of anonymity before September 2004.

Donor conception information can also be obtained by donor-conceived people from the assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinic, subject to the policy of the clinic.

Can a donor access information about a donor-conceived child?

The donor needs the consent of the donor-conceived child’s parents, or the donor person if 18 or over, to access information. Without that consent, the donor has limited access to information about their donation, except for the number of children conceived from their donation/s.

With that consent, the donor can obtain some information about a donor-conceived child including:

• Parent’s or parents’ names and nominated contact address
• Donor-conceived child’s name.

Who can be listed on a birth certificate?

South Australian birth registrations will soon require the birth certificate to:

• State if a child was born via donor conception
• Provide the option of providing further donor information.

Once this information is recorded via a birth registration, these details will also be included in the DCR.

For further information or advice regarding donor conception and family law, please visit www.normans.com.au to contact one of our family lawyers. Or contact one of our family law team Principal, Jill Miller at jmiller@normans.com.au or Danny Marr at dmarr@normans.com.au