Recognition of Foreign Marriages Bill 2014

Sponsor: Senator Hanson-Young
Introduced: Senate, 15 May 2014

1.1        The Recognition of Foreign Marriages Bill 2014 (the bill) seeks to amend the Marriage Act 1961 to ensure that marriages which are validly entered into in foreign countries can be recognised under the laws of Australia.

1.2        The bill is accompanied by a statement of compatibility which concludes that the bill 'is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any negative human rights issues.'[1]

1.3        The committee has previously considered a substantially similar bill, the Marriage Act Amendment (Recognition of Foreign Marriage for Same-Sex Couples) Bill 2013, in its Seventh Report of 2013.

1.4                  The committee considers that the bill does not appear to give rise to human rights concerns.

1.5        However, as with the 2013 bill, the committee notes that the bill involves drawing a distinction between same-sex couples married in foreign countries (whose marital relationship would be recognised by the proposed bill) and same-sex couples in Australia who are unable to marry under Australian law. While the bill proposes to treat the two groups differently, it is unlikely that the distinction would be considered to be discriminatory. Rather, it would be viewed as a partial step towards eliminating discrimination against same-sex couples by treating them in the same way as heterosexual couples who marry overseas.

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