While the recent introduction of same sex marriage legislation has led to many couples being able to plan their long-awaited weddings, for one couple the new provisions are a cause for celebration for an entirely different reason – they are now able to legally end their marriage.
The two women had married in 2015 in Perth, reports ABC News. Same sex marriage obviously wasn’t legal in Australia at that time, but they held the wedding ceremony in a consulate building belonging to a European country where same sex marriage was legally recognised.
However, when their relationship subsequently broke down the couple found themselves in legal limbo and unable to divorce. They weren’t resident in the European country that had formalised their marriage and therefore weren’t able to use its laws to divorce. Equally, they were unable to divorce under Australian law because their marriage wasn’t legally recognised here.
Fortunately, they are now able to end their marriage and move on with their lives. As well as allowing same sex couples to get married, the new legislation also means that same sex marriages carried out in other countries are legally recognised in Australia. As a result, the couple can now obtain a divorce in Australia in the same way that heterosexual married couples can.
Australian law has a principle of no-fault divorce, and the only ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down and there is no reasonable likelihood that the parties will reconcile.
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