Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

2013-2014-2015 The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Presented and read a first time

Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

No. , 2015 (Mr Entsch, Ms Gambaro, Ms TM Butler, Mr Ferguson, Mr Bandt, Ms McGowan and Mr Wilkie) A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to marriage, and for related purposes

No. , 2015 Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 i

Contents 1 Short title ........................................................................................... 1 2 Commencement ................................................................................. 1 3 Schedules ........................................................................................... 2

Schedule 1—Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961 3 Marriage Act 1961 3

Schedule 2—Consequential amendments 6

Part 1—Amendment of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 6 Sex Discrimination Act 1984 6

Part 2—Other consequential amendments 7

No. , 2015 Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 1

A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to 1

marriage, and for related purposes 2

The Parliament of Australia enacts: 3

1 Short title 4

This Act may be cited as the Marriage Legislation Amendment Act 5 2015. 6

2 Commencement 7

(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table 8 commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with 9 column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect 10 according to its terms. 11

12

2 Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 No. , 2015

Commencement information Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Provisions Commencement Date/Details 1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

2. Schedule 1 The 14th day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3. Schedule 2, Part 1

The 14th day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

4. Schedule 2, Part 2

The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally 1 enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of 2 this Act. 3

(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. 4 Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it 5 may be edited, in any published version of this Act. 6

3 Schedules 7

Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or 8 repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule 9 concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect 10 according to its terms. 11

Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961 Schedule 1


Schedule 1—Amendment of the Marriage Act 1

1961 2 3

Marriage Act 1961 4

1 After section 2 5

Insert: 6

3 Objects 7

The object of this Act is to allow couples to marry, and to have 8 their marriages recognised, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, 9 gender identity or intersex status. 10

2 Subsection 5(1) (definition of marriage) 11

Repeal the definition, substitute: 12

marriage means the union of 2 people to the exclusion of all 13 others, voluntarily entered into for life. 14

Note: See section 110 for the application of this definition. 15

3 Paragraph 23B(2)(b) 16

Omit “a brother and a sister”, substitute “siblings”. 17

4 At the end of section 39 18

Add: 19

(4) A person who is authorised by subsection (1) or under 20 subsection (2) to solemnise marriages must not refuse to solemnise 21 a marriage if: 22

(a) the refusal would amount to unlawful discrimination (within 23 the meaning of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 24 1986); and 25

(b) section 100 of this Act does not prevent the person from 26 solemnising the marriage. 27

5 Subsection 45(2) 28

After “or husband”, insert “, or partner, or spouse”. 29

Schedule 1 Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961



Omit “a man and a woman”, substitute “2 people”. 2

7 Section 47 3

After “Part”, insert “, or in any other law”. 4


Add: 6

Note: Because of paragraph (a), a minister of religion may refuse to 7 solemnise a marriage for any reason, including because to do so would 8 be contrary to the minister’s beliefs or the minister’s understanding of 9 the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of the minister’s 10 denomination. 11


After “or husband”, insert “, or partner, or spouse”. 13


Add: 15

Note: Another ground might be that the solemnisation of the marriage would 16 be contrary to the chaplain’s beliefs or the chaplain’s understanding of 17 the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of the chaplain’s church or 18 faith group. 19

11 Section 88EA 20

Repeal the section. 21

12 Part VIII (heading) 22

Repeal the heading, substitute: 23

Part VIII—Application and transitional provisions 24

Division 1—Commencement of this Act 25

13 At the end of Part VIII 26

Add: 27

Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961 Schedule 1


Division 2—Amendment of the definition of marriage 1

110 Application of amendments relating to the definition of marriage 2

(1) The amendments of this Act made by Schedule 1 to the Marriage 3 Legislation Amendment Act 2015 apply in relation to marriages 4 that take place at or after the commencement of that Schedule. 5

(2) The marriage definition amendments apply after that 6 commencement, in relation to marriages that took place before that 7 commencement, for the purposes of the following provisions: 8

(a) Division 3 of Part IV (marriages by foreign diplomatic or 9 consular officers); 10

(b) Part VA (recognition of foreign marriages); 11

(c) this subsection; 12

(d) any other provision of this Act, in so far as the provision 13 applies in relation to a marriage that is recognised as valid 14 because of paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection. 15

(3) The marriage definition amendments are the amendments of the 16 following provisions of this Act made by Schedule 1 to the 17 Marriage Legislation Amendment Act 2015: 18

(a) the definition of marriage in subsection 5(1); 19

(b) paragraph 23B(2)(b). 20

14 Part III of the Schedule (table item 1) 21

Omit “a husband and wife”, substitute “2 people”. 22

Schedule 2 Consequential amendments Part 1 Amendment of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984


Schedule 2—Consequential amendments 1

Part 1—Amendment of the Sex Discrimination Act 2

1984 3

Sex Discrimination Act 1984 4

1 Subsection 40(2A) 5

Repeal the subsection. 6

Consequential amendments Schedule 2 Other consequential amendments Part 2


Part 2—Other consequential amendments 1

2 Regulations may make consequential amendments of Acts 2

(1) The Governor-General may, during the period of 12 months starting on 3 the commencement of this item, make regulations amending Acts 4 (including the Marriage Act 1961 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984) 5 being amendments that are consequential on, or that otherwise relate to, 6 the amendments made by Schedule 1 to this Act. The amendments may 7 directly amend the text of an Act. 8

(2) The Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters of a 9 transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application 10 provisions) relating to: 11

(a) any amendments made by regulations under subitem (1); or 12

(b) the amendments made by Part 1 of this Schedule. 13

Retrospective commencement 14

(3) Despite subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (as in 15 force immediately before the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Acts 16 and Instruments (Framework Reform) Act 2015), regulations made for 17 the purposes of this item may be expressed to take effect from a date 18 before the regulations are registered under that Act. 19

(4) Subsection 12(2) (retrospective application of legislative instruments) 20 of the Legislation Act 2003, as in force on and after the commencement 21 of Schedule 1 to the Acts and Instruments (Framework Reform) Act 22 2015, does not apply in relation to regulations made for the purposes of 23 this item. 24

(5) However, if: 25

(a) a person engaged in conduct before the regulations were 26 registered under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 or the 27 Legislation Act 2003; and 28

(b) but for the retrospective effect or commencement of the 29 regulations, the conduct would not have contravened a 30 provision of an Act or instrument; 31

then a court must not convict the person of an offence, or impose a 32 pecuniary penalty, in relation to the conduct on the grounds that it 33 contravened that provision. 34

Schedule 2 Consequential amendments Part 2 Other consequential amendments


Publication 1

(6) To avoid doubt, amendments of an Act made by regulations for the 2 purposes of subitem (1) can be incorporated into a reprint or 3 compilation of the Act. 4

Documents

Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015