A woman in Queensland has given birth to a set of non-biological twins, according to court documents.
The woman was a surrogate for a couple.
One twin is the biological child of the 'intended' parents, while the other is the biological child of the birth parents.
The court documents state it is the first known birth of its kind in Australia.
The families
BNJ and DRJ are what the court calls the 'intended' parents.
BNJ was 25 and DRJ was 28 at the time of the agreement.
Two couples entered a surrogacy agreement in September 2024.
DZ was the surrogate (the woman carrying their baby).
DZ and FZ were both 27 at the time of the agreement, and had five kids.
Timeline
On 11 April 2025, BNJ and DRJ's embryo was transferred into DZ, the surrogate.
Less than a week later, a pregnancy test returned positive.
On 12 May, an ultrasound showed there were two foetuses.
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Further testing established that one baby is the biological child of the 'intended' parents, while the other baby is the biological child of the surrogate and her partner.
The pregnancy
The boy is the biological child of the surrogate and her partner.
The girl is the biological child of BNJ and DRJ, the intended parents.
The birth
Both couples agreed the babies would stay with their respective biological parents.
The babies were born in November 2025.
However, due to Queensland law, the surrogate couple were named as the parents of the girl on her birth certificate – even though she isn't biologically theirs.
The identification of the parents on the girl's birth certificate is what the couples sought to change.
It was complicated to do this because they were twins.
The parents asked an independent counsellor to assess the implications of separating them.
The counsellor told the court: "On the balance of probabilities and assuming that both infants are raised in stable and nurturing family systems, the available research does not support the conclusion that separation of the twins from birth is, in itself, likely to cause psychological harm."
The court has now permitted the separation.
The parents have said the children will grow up knowing each other.
