Sarah Jefford

Sarah Jefford OAM is a family creation lawyer, advocating for best practice surrogacy in Australia. Sarah was an egg donor and a surrogate, delivering a baby for two dads in 2018. Sarah practises in surrogacy and donor conception law across Australia, assisting birth parents and intended parents to understand the complexities of surrogacy relationships. Sarah advocates for responsive healthcare provision for surrogacy arrangements, the best interests of the children born and the autonomy and rights of surrogates.

Sarah has published a guide to surrogacy, More Than Just a Baby, and produced the Australian Surrogacy Podcast, sharing 100 stories from intended parents, surrogates and professionals. Sarah works to destigmatise and raise the profile of surrogacy in Australia and to empower surrogacy relationships to be positive and long-lasting.

In 2023, Sarah was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia, for her services to the law and to the surrogacy community. She has a Masters in Law from Monash University, and Bachelor degrees in Arts and Law from the University of New England. Sarah has worked at Victoria Legal Aid and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service before making the change to family creation law.

Sarah often delivers presentations and education to legal and healthcare professionals, regularly appears in the media, and participates in law reform campaigns across the country. 

Sarah was awarded the 2024 Churchill Fellowship to investigate best practice surrogacy frameworks to inform law reform in Australia. Sarah will travel to South Africa, England, Ireland, Canada and USA to consider surrogacy legal frameworks and campaigns for change. Sarah hopes to raise awareness and the accessibility of surrogacy in Australia, to reduce the need for Australians to engage in international surrogacy.