what is the legal definition of marriage in australia
Marriage Act 1961 (Australia) The Act was passed by the Australian Parliament and has been amended on numerous occasions. It applies uniformly throughout Australia (including its external territories); any law made by a state or territory inconsistent with the Act is invalid. The Act is made pursuant to power granted to the federal parliament under s.51(xxi) of the Australian Constitution. Although the federal parliament was given the power to pass laws about marriage at federation in 1901, it did not use this power until the 1961 Act; before 1961, Australia's states and territories all had their own marriage laws.[1] The Act recognises only marriages of two people and does not recognise any other forms of union, including traditional Aboriginal unions.[2] An amendment to the Act to legalise same-sex marriage passed into law on 8 December 2017. The Family Law Act 1975 treats de facto relationships and polygamous marriages[3] as marriages for the purpose of recognising the rights of parties at a breakup. Since 2009, the Family Law Act 2009 has also recognised the property rights of each partner of de facto relationships on separation.