Marriage Equality

Overview

Australia’s marriage equality law came into effect on 9 December 2017. Nearly two years after the historic legislation, thousands of Australian same-sex couples have tied the knot.

The legalisation of same-sex marriage followed a voluntary postal vote held between 12 September and 7 November 2017. The vote showed that Australians were adamantly in favour of same-sex marriage: 79.5 percent of Australian citizens aged over 18 voted, of which 61.6 per cent voted “Yes” to the question, "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?"

The first country in the world to recognise same-sex marriage was the Netherlands in 2001, followed by Belgium in 2003 and Spain and Canada in 2005. Australia was 25th of 28 countries that have introduced legislation for same-sex marriage to date.

While civil marriage is now legal in Australia for same-sex couples, only the Uniting Church of Australia and Liberal Jewish synagogues currently allow same-sex couples to marry in a religious ceremony.

The stamp designs, by Sharon Rodziewicz of the Australia Post Design Studio, use a bright and graphic style and incorporates a symbol of the LGBTIQ+ community, the rainbow.