Recognition of Same-sex Unions in Australia - Civil Partnerships and Registries - Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

Since 1994 the ACT has had the Domestic Relationships Act 1994 becoming the first jurisdiction in Australia to "acknowledge same-gender couples legally". This provided for distribution of property and finances in the event of a separation, and inheritance in the event of death. On 16 August 2003, The ACT enacted laws relating to same-sex adoption.

9 years later 6 extra acts came into force that was passed by the Stanhope Government to abolish all discrimination against LGBT individual people, their partners and even their children in every piece of ACT law and statutes.

The ACT was the first Australian jurisdiction to pass legislation for civil unions with its Civil Unions Act 2006 which was enacted on 9 June 2006, but it was disallowed by the Governor-General on 13 June on the instruction of the Federal Executive Council. That December, the ACT government proceeded with new legislation recognising same-sex unions based on the United Kingdom civil partnership laws, but that was blocked as well. In December 2007, a third attempt was made when the newly elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he would not override ACT legislation allowing for civil unions because it was a matter for states and territories. However on 17 February 2008 Attorney General Robert McClelland said it was unacceptable that the ACT proposal would allow public ceremonies for same-sex couples to celebrate their unions.

In May 2008, after several attempts to amend the Civil Partnerships Bill, ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell announced the Territory had again been forced to abandoned its civil partnerships legislation and would instead settle for a system of relationship registers virtually identical to the ones operating in Tasmania and Victoria.

The Civil Partnerships Amendment Bill 2009 was presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly by the ACT Greens on 26 August 2009, allowing ceremonies to be conducted with civil partnerships, which was the contentious item removed from the previous year's legislation. Labor initially accused the Greens of playing politics by resurrecting the issue, but unanimously backed the bill as a matter of principle as it is ACT Labor Party policy to support civil unions. The Federal Labor government has agreed not to overturn the bill. The first ceremony was held on 25 November 2009, despite criticism from the Australian Christian Lobby. Then again the ACT government made a plan with the Commonwealth government not to veto the civil partnership legislation if the ACT government made more amendments and changes to the legislation and then introduced the Civil Partnerships Amendment Bill 2009 (No 2) to address the Commonwealth Governments concerns.