Ms Tracy O'Keeffe:

I will start by responding to the Senator's first question relating to safeguards. Processes that have been put in place by the Department of Foreign Affairs in relation to the emergency travel certificate. Guidance documents were prepared by an interdepartmental group and published in 2012, including guidance on what is required when a declaration of parentage application is made to the courts. The steps, processes and documentation required have been laid out and the purpose of all of that is to ensure the necessary safeguards for surrogate mothers and for children and to minimise, as far as possible, any risk of child trafficking or undesirable practices. That is the purpose of all of these procedures and safeguards. The aim is to ensure as far as possible that the documentation is in order. My colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs mentioned the stringent DNA testing that is required at the emergency travel certificate stage. That DNA evidence is also required to be presented to the court when an application for a declaration of parentage is made. Under the current legal framework, there as many safeguards as we can reasonably put in place.