 In August 2012 Tasmanian premier Lara Giddings announced that Tasmania would pass new laws allowing same-sex couples to marry.However, although the same-sex marriage bill passed 13-11 in the lower house, the Legislative Council rejected the bill 6-8 on 27 September 2012.Same-sex marriage became legal in Tasmania, and in the rest of Australia, in December 2017, after the Federal Parliament passed a law legalising same-sex marriage.