also providing an exemption for conducting of same-sex marriage ceremonies for religious bodies whose doctrines oppose such relationships, passed its second reading on 5 February 2013 in a 400–175 vote. The bill passed its third reading in the House of Lords on 15 July 2013 and the Commons accepted all of the Lords' amendments on the following day, with Royal Assent granted on 17 July 2013. The law went into effect on 29 March 2014. Scotland In Scotland, which is a separate legal jurisdiction, the devolved Scottish Parliament also introduced Civil Partnerships, and performed also a consultation on the issue of same-sex marriage. On 25 July 2012 the Scottish Government announced it would bring forward legislation to legalise both civil and religious same-sex marriage in Scotland. The Government reiterated its intention to ensure that no religious group or individual member of the clergy would be forced to conduct such ceremonies; it also stated its intention to work with Westminster to make necessary changes to the Equality Act to ensure that this would be guaranteed. On 4 February 2014, the Scottish Parliament passed the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 105 to 18, legalizing same-sex marriage with effect from 16 December 2014. Northern Ireland Same-sex marriage is legal in Northern Ireland. Under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, regulations were passed to legalise same-sex marriage on 13 January 2020. The first same-sex wedding took place on 11 February 2020. Oceania Australia Australia became the second nation in Oceania to legalise same-sex marriage when the Australian Parliament passed a bill on 7 December 2017. The bill received royal assent on 8 December, and took effect on 9 December 2017. The law removed the ban on same-sex marriage which previously existed and followed a voluntary postal survey held from 12 September to 7 November 2017, which returned a 61.6% Yes vote for same-sex marriage. The same legislation also legalised same-sex marriage in all of Australia's external territories. Fiji On 26 March 2013, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage. Answering a question from a caller on a radio talk show, he stated that same-sex marriage "will not be allowed because it is against religious beliefs". New Zealand Civil unions, which grant all of the same rights and privileges as marriage excluding adoption, have been legal since 2005. On 17 April 2013, the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill,