Vic surrogate kids' parents now named

Victorian children born through interstate surrogacy arrangements will be able to have their biological parents named on their birth certificate under changes to eradicate anomalies in existing laws.

Currently, the biological parents of a child born to a surrogate mother in another state in a non-commercial arrangement cannot be named on the child's birth certificate.

Attorney-General Robert Clark said legislation to be introduced to parliament this week will close that gap, but parents will need to prove they have a connection to the other state and did not travel there merely to avoid Victoria's surrogacy laws.

Under the proposed changes, genetic parents will be able to obtain a parentage order from the state or territory where the assisted reproductive treatment took place and a court order in Victoria recognising them as the child's parents.

"Having a birth certificate that accurately reflects a child's genetic or commissioning parents is important, legally, practically and symbolically," Mr Clark said.

He said the government was aware of at least one case where parents of a child born through interstate surrogacy arrangements were unable to be registered on the child's birth certificate.