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 As debate rages on, the entitlements of same-sex couples continue to
expand and grow. SX has prepared this special feature to guide you
through your rights.
Gay marriage, same-sex entitlements, lesbian parents: Australia is in the midst of an important and sometimes confusing debate about legally recognising same-sex couples and their families.
This following report has been prepared by Australia’s most respected gay human rights advocates and academics.
So keep it in your drawer or hang it on your fridge – you never know when you might want to say “I do”.
RELATIONSHIPS: THE FACTS
Australian relationship law is a patchwork of rapidly-changing rights and entitlements. Below is an outline of where same-relationships currently stand in state and federal law.
MARRIAGE
Same-sex marriage is presently recognised in the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, and, in the USA, in the states of Massachusetts and California.
However, the Australian Marriage Act was amended in 2004 to prohibit any recognition of same-sex marriage in this country.
Some constitutional experts believe the states can enact same-sex marriage laws but this has not yet happened.
If you plan to marry overseas make sure you understand local law. For example, visitors can easily marry in Canada, but it is much harder to obtain a divorce than in Australia.
You should also be aware that your marriage will not be legally recognised when you return to Australia.
Despite opposition from both major parties, support for same-sex marriage is relatively high in Australia (57% according to recent polls).
If you would like to contribute to the campaign for same-sex marriage, visit
australianmarriageequality.com.
CIVIL UNIONS
There is no national civil union scheme in Australia although such schemes do exist at a state level.
There are civil union registries in Tasmania and the ACT. Victoria will have a registry by the end of this year.
These registries provide couples with a way to immediately access all available relationship entitlements in state law (and soon federal law), and to prove their relationship entitlements if challenged in situations like a medical emergency.
Registries also provide personal relationships with the official, symbolic recognition of government and, through it, society.
Australia’s registries recognise same- and opposite-sex couples, as well as companionate partners in Tasmania and Victoria.
Couples should contact their local Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to find out how to have their civil union registered.
Couples can also enter a municipal civil union in Sydney and Melbourne, or a British civil union at a British Consulate. These unions can provide evidence of the existence of a relationship in some circumstances, but they confer no legal rights in Australian law and are largely symbolic.
rgo.act.gov.au | cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
justice.tas.gov.au | relationshipstasmania.org.au | melbourne.vic.gov.au
DE FACTO COUPLES
Australian federal law gives married and opposite-sex de facto couples the same legal rights and responsibilities.
The Federal Government is currently extending the definition of de facto partner to include same-sex partners across all federal laws, beginning with superannuation in mid-2008 and ending with social security in mid-2009.
Other areas where relationship entitlements will be extended include taxation, immigration and workplace entitlements.
All Australian states and territories give opposite-sex de facto couples the same legal rights and responsibilities as married couples. They also give same-sex de facto couples the same entitlements in areas like wills and intestacy, property division and state taxes and pensions.
Parenting rights are not yet extended to same-sex partners in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia.
Definitions of what constitutes a de facto relationship differ between the states. With the exception of Tasmania there is usually a requirement that de facto partners live together for a certain period before qualifying for relationship entitlements.
hreoc.gov.au
YOU AND YOUR CHILD
Laws dealing with family and children are split between state and federal governments.
Some states, including WA, Tasmania and the ACT, allow co-parents in same-sex relationships to adopt their partner’s children. WA and the ACT allow same-sex partners to adopt children relinquished by other people.
Most states allow women in same-sex relationships to access IVF and other fertility services. The exception is Victoria, where reform is expected soon.
Some states including WA, the ACT, the NT and, more recently, NSW, allow co-mothers to be deemed legal parents of children born through fertility treatment. Reform is expected soon in Victoria and Tasmania.
The Family Court allows child custody disputes to be resolved if the parents are in a same-sex relationship. Disputes over child support and property division are still resolved in state Supreme Courts, but reform is also imminent.
Only the ACT recognises surrogacy arrangements between surrogate mothers and same-sex couples.
Surrogacy is available in other countries such as the US, but these arrangements are not automatically recognised in Australia.
None of the other countries with which Australia has adoption protocols allows same-sex partners to adopt their children.
glrl.org.au | vglrl.org.au
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Relationships and the law
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