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Two families have had to ask the court to separate biologically unrelated twins born on the Gold Coast, in what a judge referred to as “sufficiently atypical” circumstances.
A woman, known as DZ in court documents, agreed to be a surrogate for a couple, known as BNJ and DRJ, in September 2024.
This agreement stipulated that any child born through the arrangement was to be treated as the child of BNJ and DRJ and not of the surrogate and her spouse, known as FZ.
BNJ, then 25, is a childcare educator and DRJ, then 28, is a cabinetmaker. The surrogate and her partner, both then 27, have five other children including a child born in 2024.
A single embryo transfer occurred on April 11, 2025, and the surrogate produced a positive pregnancy test on April 15, 2025.
But an ultrasound two weeks later found the surrogate was carrying two children. Further tests discovered one child, a boy, was the result of the embryo transfer and the second child, a girl, was the biological child of the surrogate and her spouse.
The children grew as gestational twins and she gave birth to both by caesarean section in November 2025.
Under the Surrogacy Act, and as a result of the agreement entered into by both couples, the baby girl was considered BNJ and DRJ’s child and they were named her parents on her birth certificate.
The couples were always in agreement the boy was BNJ and DRJ’s child, and the girl was the surrogate and her partner’s child. The baby girl left hospital with the latter couple, and her name was chosen by them.
However, the surrogate and her partner had to seek a parentage order for custody of their daughter, which BNJ and DRJ did not oppose.
An independent counsellor found separating the children was not likely to cause psychological harm.
“On the balance of probabilities and assuming both infants are raised in stable and nurturing family systems, the available research does not support the conclusion separation of the twins from birth is, in itself, likely to cause psychological harm attributable to separation alone,” she said.
“The evidence more strongly supports the view developmental outcomes will be shaped by the quality of caregiving, family functioning, openness about origins, and the thoughtful management of relationships over time.”
The families connected through mutual friends and social media, and told the court they intend to raise the children knowing each other.
Judge Jodie Wooldridge found making the order was in the best interest of the baby girl.
While the act precludes separating birth siblings, Wooldridge concluded that under the unique circumstances they were not considered birth siblings and could be separated.
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