325. In 2016, the Commission identified four principles that should guide the development of any regime dealing with surrogacy:309 • the best interests of the child are protected (including the child’s safety and wellbeing and the child’s right to know about their origins) • the surrogate mother is able to make a free and informed decision about whether to act as a surrogate • sufficient regulatory protections are in place to protect the surrogate mother from exploitation • there is legal clarity about the parent-child relationships that result from the arrangement. 326. A key issue is whether it is possible to make access to safe, well-regulated domestic surrogacy arrangements easier, so that there is less incentive for people to enter into potentially less well-regulated arrangements elsewhere. The Commission submitted that prohibition of surrogacy may be necessary if international surrogacy arrangements (whether altruistic or commercial) cannot be effectively regulated. 310 Recommendation 46: Australian Governments achieve consistency between surrogacy laws and include criteria directed at the suitability of intended parents. If international surrogacy arrangements are to be permitted, such checks should also form part of the regulation of those arrangements. The Australian Government should: • continue to engage with the Hague Conference on Private International Law in relation to the potential for an international convention dealing with the regulation of parentage and surrogacy • engage with countries where Australians enter into surrogacy arrangements, for the purpose of determining whether bilateral agreement can be reached on the regulation of parentage and surrogacy • undertake a systematic review of the structure and enforcement of regulatory regimes in countries where Australians enter into surrogacy arrangements. 56