A donor agreement is a written agreement between a known donor and the people who will
parent the child. It records what everyone has agreed about the donor’s role before a child is conceived. It isn’t legally binding, but it’s strong evidence of everyone’s intentions if a parenting question ever reaches a court.
If you’re using sperm, eggs or embryos from someone you know, you should have one. We prepare donor agreements for a fixed fee, for families and donors across Australia.
What is a Donor Agreement?
A donor agreement sets out the relationship between a donor and the recipient parent or parents: who will be a parent, and what part (if any) the donor will play in the child’s life.
They’re most common with sperm donation, especially when conception happens at home. They’re just as useful for egg and embryo donation, where a sister, friend or another family is donating.
Writing one also makes everyone talk about things they might otherwise avoid, such as what the child will call the donor or what happens if someone moves interstate. One person’s idea of a simple donor relationship can be another person’s idea of co-parenting. It’s far easier to find that out before a baby arrives.
Are donor agreements legally binding in Australia?
No. A donor agreement can’t be enforced like a contract, and it can’t take away a child’s legal rights or override the child’s best interests.
That doesn’t make it a waste of paper. If a future dispute reaches the Federal Circuit and Family Court, the judge looks at what everyone intended when the child was conceived. A signed agreement, prepared with separate legal advice for each party, is some of the clearest evidence of that intention you can have.
What does a donor agreement cover?
Every donor arrangement is different, but most agreements deal with:
- Intentions. That the donor is helping the recipients become parents, and doesn’t intend to be one.
- Parental responsibility. That the recipients make all decisions about the child.
- Contact. Whether the donor will see the child, how often and on whose terms.
- Names and roles. What the child will call the donor, and any role for the donor’s family.
- Telling the child. When and how the child will learn about their donor conception.
- Money. No child support either way, and which of the donor’s reasonable costs will be reimbursed.
- Birth certificate. Who will be registered as the child’s parents.
- Medical information. How health or genetic information will be shared.
- Future donations. Whether the donor would donate again for a sibling.
- Leftover embryos or gametes. What happens to any that aren’t used.
- Privacy and social media. What each person can share, and with whom.
- Changes in circumstances. What happens if someone separates, repartners, moves or dies.
- Disagreements. Whether you’ll try mediation first.
Who signs? Single recipient, couple or single donor
Everyone involved signs. That might be a single recipient or a couple on one side, and a single donor or a donor and their partner on the other. Each combination raises different issues, especially for a single recipient, so we write the agreement around your family.
Donor or co-parent?
A donor agreement is for a donor who won’t be a parent. If the donor will share time and decisions with you, that’s co-parenting, which needs a different agreement and different advice. Mixed expectations cause most known donor disputes, so settle this first.
Do you need a donor agreement with a clinic donor?
With an unknown donor recruited by a clinic or imported from an overseas bank, usually not. The clinic’s consent forms and the law already set out the donor’s position.
With a known donor, yes, even if you use a clinic. Clinics require fertility counselling for known donation and handle the medical consents, but counsellors and clinics won’t record what you’ve agreed about the donor’s role in your family. Your agreement and the clinic paperwork should say the same thing.
Sperm donor agreement
Sperm donation can happen through a clinic or at home. A sperm donor agreement matters most when a single recipient conceives at home, because that’s where the donor’s legal position is least certain. Our page on sperm donor agreements goes into detail.
Egg donor agreements
Egg donation always involves a clinic. The agreement covers contact with the donor’s own children (your child’s genetic half-siblings), how the child will be told and what happens to leftover embryos. See our guide to egg donation in Australia, or surrogacy with donor eggs if you’re also using a surrogate.
Embryo donor agreements
Embryo donation involves two families. Any child born will be a full genetic sibling of the donating family’s children, so agreeing on contact matters. Our page on embryo freezing and transfers covers moving embryos between clinics.
Known donors and home insemination
Home insemination (artificial insemination at home with a known donor’s sperm) is legal, and many families conceive this way. It carries the most legal risk, because there’s no clinic paperwork or counselling, and the line between “donor” and “father” can blur over time.
Who is a legal parent under family law?
Under Australian family law, section 60H of the Family Law Act 1975 says that when a woman conceives through an artificial conception procedure with her partner’s consent, she and her partner are the child’s parents. This applies to heterosexual and same-sex couples. Our post on who is a parent under the Family Law Act explains this in detail.
For single women, the position is less certain, because these laws were written mostly with couples in mind.
Each state also has its own state base legislation that deals with parentage of children born through donor arrangements.
Masson v Parsons
In Masson v Parsons (2019), the High Court found that a man who provided sperm to a single friend was the child’s legal father. He was named on the birth certificate, had an ongoing role in the child’s life and had always intended to be a parent. NSW law said he wasn’t a parent, but the High Court held that the Family Law Act decided the question.
The case turned on its facts, but what everyone intends before conception, and how they behave after the birth, can decide whether a known donor is a parent. A donor agreement records the first part. You control the second. Read more about home insemination with a known donor and single women using a sperm donor.
What happens if there’s a dispute?
Most disputes start when expectations drift apart. A donor wants more contact, or a new partner changes the picture. If you can’t resolve it yourselves:
- Go back to the agreement. It often reminds everyone what they agreed on and why.
- Try mediation. Before anyone can apply for parenting orders, the law generally requires family dispute resolution.
- Apply to court. A donor might seek a declaration that they’re a parent, or time with the child. The recipients might ask the court to confirm the donor isn’t a parent.
The court’s first concern is the child’s best interests. It looks at the agreement, messages between you and the donor’s role since the birth. The agreement won’t decide the case on its own, but it’s often the strongest evidence of what everyone intended. If a dispute has started, get advice early.
How do the rules for donor agreements differ by state?
The Family Law Act applies across Australia, but each state and territory has its own parentage and fertility laws:
- Parentage laws. Each state has a law saying a donor isn’t a parent in certain situations, such as Queensland’s Status of Children Act 1978. How they treat single women and home insemination varies. After Masson v Parsons, the Family Law Act will usually decide the question in a family law dispute.
- Clinic regulation. Victoria, NSW, WA, South Australia and now Queensland (Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2024) regulate fertility clinics by law. Tasmania, the ACT and the NT rely on national NHMRC guidelines.
- Family limits. It’s 5 women per donor in NSW, 5 families in WA and 10 in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
- Payment. Under Australian law, paying for eggs, sperm or embryos is illegal everywhere. Donors can be reimbursed for reasonable expenses. See do sperm donors get paid in Australia.
Donor registers in Victoria and other states
Victoria, NSW and WA keep central donor registers, and Queensland has just started one. Victoria goes furthest: donor-conceived people can apply for identifying information about their donor regardless of when they were born. See our posts on donor information access and the Queensland donor registry.
If the donor and recipients live in different states, tell us early.
How much does a donor agreement cost?
We prepare donor agreements for a fixed fee, so you’ll know the cost before we start. The fee covers:
- Initial consultation about your plans and who is involved.
- Drafting the agreement in plain language.
- Negotiating any changes with the donor’s lawyer.
- Signing before the first insemination or embryo transfer.
The donor’s independent legal advice is a separate cost, usually paid by the recipients. We can suggest lawyers for the donor.
Can we use a template contract?
Template donor agreements might look cheaper, but a template can’t see the risks in your situation, such as being single, conceiving at home or living in different states. An experienced family lawyer will pick those up, and a lawyer-prepared agreement with separate advice for each party carries more weight as evidence.
How a family lawyer can help
Katie Cox is a family creation lawyer with more than 19 years of legal experience. She founded The Family Village after years of IVF and the birth of her son through surrogacy in 2022. She gives recipients and donors across Australia fertility law support on donor agreements, parentage and donor conception.
We can also make sure your donor agreement fits with clinic consents, a surrogacy agreement or a parentage order. If you have legal questions about a known donor, read about our donor conception legal services or book a time to talk.
Or call 0489 311 855, or email hello@thefamilyvillage.com.au
Frequently asked questions
A donor who isn’t a legal parent has no child support obligation. If a court found a donor was a parent, as in Masson v Parsons, child support could apply. A donor agreement and legal advice reduce that risk.
If you have a consenting partner, your partner is registered as the other parent. A single woman is usually the only parent registered. Being named on the birth certificate was one of the facts in Masson v Parsons, so think carefully before naming a donor.
Before conception, while everyone’s intentions are clear and nobody is under pressure.
A donor can usually vary or withdraw consent at the clinic until the sperm, eggs or embryos are used. After that, their legal position depends on how the child was conceived and what everyone did before and after the birth.
Ideally, yes. Contact arrangements affect the donor’s partner and their own children. Clinics usually ask partners to attend counselling and sign consents too.
If you’re planning another child with the same donor, someone separates or repartners, the donor’s role changes or a family moves.
That’s up to you and the donor. The donor’s children will be your child’s genetic half-siblings. Many families agree on some contact and record it in the agreement.
