Same-sex marriage in Australia

Part of the LGBTQ rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. ^ Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
  1. ^ a b Not yet in effect.
LGBTQ portal

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Australia since 9 December 2017. Legislation to allow it, the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017, passed the Parliament of Australia on 7 December 2017 and received royal assent from Governor-General Peter Cosgrove the following day. The law came into effect on 9 December, immediately recognising overseas same-sex marriages. The first same-sex wedding under Australian law was held on 15 December 2017.[nb 1] The passage of the law followed a voluntary postal survey of all Australians, in which 61.6% of respondents supported legalisation of same-sex marriage.[1]

Other types of recognition for same-sex couples are also available. Under federal law, same-sex couples can also be recognised as de facto relationships. De facto couples have most of the same rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples, although these rights may be difficult to assert and are not always recognised in practice. Although there is no national civil union or relationships register scheme in Australia, most states and territories have legislated for civil unions or domestic partnership registries. Registered unions are recognised as de facto relationships under federal law.

Prior to legalisation, 22 bills to allow same-sex marriage were introduced to Parliament between September 2004 and May 2017. These failed attempts came after the Howard government in 2004 amended the Marriage Act 1961 to codify the then exclusively heterosexual common law definition of marriage.[2] The Australian Capital Territory passed a same-sex marriage law in December 2013 that was struck down by the High Court for inconsistency with federal law. Australia was the second country in Oceania to allow same-sex couples to marry after New Zealand.[3]


Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Commons Librarian (12 August 2021). "Marriage Equality Campaign Timeline and Reflections". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Same-Sex Marriage Around the World". Pew Research Center. 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2019.