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Marriage
Amendment (Celebrant Administration and Fees) Bill 2013
Marriage
(Celebrant Registration Charge) Bill 2013
Introduced into the House of
Representatives on 20 March 2013
Portfolio: Attorney-General
Overview
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The Marriage
Amendment (Celebrant Administration and Fees) Bill amends the Marriage Act
1961 to introduce cost recovery for Commonwealth-registered marriage
celebrants from 1 July 2013, and makes minor amendments to the administration
of the Marriage Celebrants Program. There are three categories of persons
authorised under the Marriage Act 1961 to solemnise marriages in
Australia:
- Ministers of
religion of a recognised denomination who are nominated by their denomination
and registered and regulated by state and territory Registries of Births,
Deaths and Marriages;
- State and
territory officers who are authorised to perform marriages as part of their
duties and are registered and regulated by state and territory Registries of
Births, Deaths and Marriages; and
- Commonwealth-registered
marriage celebrants (including civil celebrants and celebrants who are
ministers of religion whose denomination is not proclaimed).
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The bill
proposes to introduce the following fees in relation to the third category of
celebrants only: an annual celebrant registration charge, a fee for applying to
become a marriage celebrant, and a fee for applying for an exemption from
professional development requirements.
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The Marriage
(Celebrant Registration) Charge Bill provides for the imposition of the
celebrant registration charge (which is a cost recovery levy which requires
imposition legislation). There is a statutory limit of $600 on the charge, but
the actual amount of the annual registration charge will be set out in a
legislative instrument.
Compatibility with human
rights
Freedom
of religion and equality and non-discrimination
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The bills are
each accompanied by self-contained statements of compatibility, which note that
the proposed annual celebrant registration fee may engage the right to freedom
of religion and the right to equality and non-discrimination.[1]
Imposing a fee for applying to become a marriage celebrant would also appear to
engage these rights. This is because celebrants who are ministers of religion
whose denomination is not proclaimed under the Marriage Act 1961 may not
solemnise a marriage unless they are registered celebrants under the Act (and
pay the fee), whereas ministers of religion whose denominated is proclaimed are
not required to pay a registration fee in order to be able to solemnise a
marriage.
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The statement of
compatibility notes that the reason for the imposition of the registration
charge only on ministers of non-proclaimed religions is that ministers of
proclaimed religions are already registered and regulated by state and
territory authorities.[2]
It also notes that, where a minister of a non-proclaimed religion does not wish
to pay the registration fee, section 113 of the Marriage Act 1961
provides for a marriage by a registered celebrant to be followed by a religious
ceremony of marriage. This might also be viewed as engaging the right of men
and women to marry as contained in article 23(2) of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Right
to work and right to an effective remedy
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The statement of
compatibility also notes that the bill engages the right to work of celebrants,
including those already registered for life as a celebrant, by requiring the
payment of an annual fee. The imposition of an application fee to become a
marriage celebrant would also engage this right. The right to work is protected
under article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR). Limitations on the enjoyment of that right are permissible
under article 4 of the ICESCR, provided that such limitations are ‘determined
by law only in so far as this may be compatible with the nature of these rights
and solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic
society.’ The statement of compatibility notes the availability of an
independent review before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of a decision to
deregister a celebrant.
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The committee:
- considers
that to the extent that the measures involve a limitation on the exercise of
the freedom of religion, they are a permissible limitation on the enjoyment of
that right, and notes in particular the possibility for a religious marriage to
follow a civil ceremony;
- considers
that to the extent that the differential treatment of ministers of religion
engages the right to equality and non-discrimination, the fact that ministers
of proclaimed religions are regulated by state and territory authorities is an
objective and reasonable basis on which to treat the two categories of minister
differently; and
- considers
that any limitation on the right to work is a reasonable and proportionate
measure provided by law in pursuit of a legitimate objective and is
permissible.
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