Impact

The legalization of homosexual marriage in Australia has a huge impact on both individuals and Australian society.

For individuals

With the legalization of same-sex marriage, sexual minorities have gained more rights and can register for marriage. Society has more inclusion for this group nowadays. So people can have a better understanding of sexual minorities that LGBTQ+ people are more comfortable. All individuals are encouraged to love bravely.

The most important thing is that, now, two same-gender people can get married! That is to say, they are given the legal rights and responsibilities of a married couple under Australian law. These rights are varied and include the automatic recognition of spouses in national laws on wills and inheritance, and the ability to claim short-term and long-term financial support after divorce under the Family Law.

From 2018 to 2020, in Australia, there are more than 14,000 same-sex marriages. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show there were 12,045 same-sex unions in Australia in 2018 and 2019, making up 4.8% of all weddings. In the aspect of gender, there were more same-sex marriages between women than men (58.9% vs. 41.1%), and the average age of marriage was 39.3 years for men and 36.5 years for women in 2019.

For Australian society

Australian society is becoming more diverse and multicultural. Some non-governmental organisations launch social media campaigns related to marriage equality to fight for more options.

For example, Equality Australia, Australia’s first non-profit legal advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in 2018. This group, which marks the first anniversary of the passage of same-sex marriage legislation in Australia, hopes to bring support to people in sexually diverse communities who face discrimination.