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Married Women can own Property
Victoria becomes the first Australian colony to pass legislation allowing married women the right to own property, in the wake of the UK Parliament passing the Married Women's Property Act. -
Laws Control Aboriginal Marriage
The Aboriginals Ordinance 1918 restricts marriage between Indigenous women and non-Indigenous men in the Northern Territory. There were also state laws in place to control marriage for Indigenous Australians. -
Marriage Age Raised
Tasmania passes a law to raise the minimum age of marriage from 12 for women and 14 for men to 16 and 18 respectively. Other states follow. -
Australia's First Marriage Act
The Marriage Act 1961 makes marriage law uniform across the country and sets the minimum marriageable age as 18. It does not, however, formalise a definition of marriage. -
'Marriage Bar' Abolished
The bar on employment of married women in the Commonwealth Public Service is abolished. Introduced at the beginning of the 1900s, the "marriage bar" was intended to keep women from "stealing" men's jobs and also to boost the birth rate. It meant many women kept their marriages a secret. -
The Female Eunuch Publsihed
The Female Eunuch, by Germaine Greer, argued that the limitations placed on women within the nuclear family cut them off from their sexuality and vigour. It was a huge hit with the growing feminist movement. -
First Civil Celebrant Appointed
Civil celebrancy is formally established in Australia by the Commonwealth Attorney General, Lionel Murphy, despite widespread opposition. Murphy appoints a 26-year-old woman, Lois D'Arcy, as the first independent civil marriage celebrant. -
No-Fault Divorce
The Family Law Act 1975 establishes the principle of no-fault divorce, with 12 months separation being sufficient to prove breakdown of the marriage (prior to that, some form of wrongdoing by either party had to be proved). In the wake of the act, the divorce rate temporarily skyrockets. -
Marriage Act Amended
Under prime minister John Howard, the Marriage Act is amended to add the following definition: "Marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. "Certain unions are not marriages. "A union solemnised in a foreign country between: a man and another man; or a woman and another woman; must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia." -
De Facto Status
De facto relationships are granted similar rights to married couples. In some states a couple needs to have lived together for a minimum period before they can claim de facto status. -
Push for same-sex Marriage Plebiscite Defeated
In November, the Australian government's push for a plebiscite on same-sex marriage is defeated in the Senate. Same-sex marriage is now legal, either nationally or in some parts of the country, in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the US and Uruguay -
Postal Plebiscite
The Federal Government's bid to hold a plebiscite on whether or not to legalise same-sex marriage is blocked by the Senate.
Senator Penny Wong calls the moves to ask Australians to vote a damaging and expensive stunt to avoid having Parliament decide on allowing same-sex marriage.
Malcolm Turnbull says the postal vote will cost Australian taxpayers $122 million and would be organised by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. -
Results Announced for the Postal Vote on Same-Sex Marriage
Australians were asked to answer yes or no to the question: 'Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?' 12.7 million postal votes were submitted with 61.6 per cent voting Yes. 7.82 million voted Yes, and 4.87 million people responded No. The strongest vote in favour of gay marriage was in the ACT, followed by Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. New South Wales had the lowest Yes vote at 58 per cent. -
Bill Passes House of Representatives
Federal parliament passes a bill in which the definition of marriage is changed to 'the union of two people to the exclusion of all others', replacing the previous definition that marriage was between a man and a woman. There is loud applause in the chamber when the vote is read out. Some same-sex marriage campaigners in the gallery break out into an impromptu rendition of 'I am, you are Australian' with some politicians joining in.
