Who is a 'parent'? The need for review of Australian laws

When children are conceived through artificial conception or surrogacy arrangements, identifying their legal parents can be problematical even when all the facts are known, because Australian law fails to provide a clear answer to the question who is a childs parent. The water was made muddier when the High Court held in Masson v Parsons that in many situations the answer depends on the ordinary meaning of parent. What is that ordinary meaning, in the distinctly un-ordinary situations that can be involved in assisted conception? This article explores that problem, pointing to the difficult policy issues involved, and showing how parent means something different under the relevant state and territory laws and under the federal Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). It argues that the law is a mess, and renews the numerous calls by scholars and law reform bodies for legislative intervention that will give a clear and satisfying answer to the many families now unable to answer that most basic of a childs questions: who is my parent?