The Importance Of Same-Sex Marriage

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The definition of marriage set by the ‘Hyde V Hyde and Woodmansee case’ has increasingly become challenged due to the changing values of society a different family arrangements. Same-sex couples are not entitled to the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples under the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). Same-sex marriage is perceived as void in Australia under the Marriage Amendment Act which clearly states that marriage is ‘the union of a man and a woman’. Therefore, despite laws such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) which aim to protect discrimination against marital status, homosexual couples do not receive such protection as their legal marital status remains ‘single’.
In an attempt to reflect the dynamic nature of society’s social values, numerous law reforms had been introduced across Australian states and territories to recognise same-sex relationships. In 2008, acting in accordance to the Australian Human Rights Commission Report Same-sex: Same entitlements, the government introduced law reforms with the intention of freeing homosexual couples from discrimina...

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