Marriage Amendment Act 2004

No. 126, 2004

An Act to amend the Marriage Act 1961, and for related purposes

Contents

1............ Short title............................................................................................ 1

2............ Commencement.................................................................................. 1

3............ Schedule(s).......................................................................................... 1

Schedule 1—Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961                                          1

Marriage Amendment Act 2004

No. 126, 2004

An Act to amend the Marriage Act 1961, and for related purposes

[Assented to 16 August 2004]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

                   This Act may be cited as the Marriage Amendment Act 2004.

2  Commencement

                   This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3  Schedule(s)

                   Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961

1  Subsection 5(1)

Insert:

marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.

2  At the end of section 88B

Add:

             (4)  To avoid doubt, in this Part (including section 88E) marriage has the meaning given by subsection 5(1).

3  After section 88E

Insert:

88EA  Certain unions are not marriages

                   A union solemnised in a foreign country between:

                     (a)  a man and another man; or

                     (b)  a woman and another woman;

must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 24 June 2004

Senate on 13 August 2004]