what is the legal age for marriage in australia
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title: Marriage in Australia text: 2015 was 12.1 years. The median age at divorce was 45.3 years for men and 42.7 years for women. Same-sex marriage became legal in Australia in December 2017, after the Federal Parliament passed the "Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017". The "Marriage Act 1961" (Australia's first federal marriage legislation) did not include a definition of marriage; it left that definition to the common law. The "Marriage Amendment Act 2004" defined, for the first time by statute, marriage as "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." This title: Marriage Act 1961 (Australia) text: Part II (s.10-21) deals with the marriageable age and the marriage of minors. In the original 1961 Act, marriageable age was set at 16 for females and 18 for males. The marriageable age was equalised in 1991 by the "Sex Discrimination Amendment Act 1991", which raised the marriageable age of females to 18. The marriage of a person aged 16 or 17 to another aged over 18 is permitted in "unusual and exceptional circumstances", which requires the consent of the younger person's parents and authorisation by a court. Prior to the 1991 changes, the "unusual and exceptional circumstances" procedures applied title: Marriageable age text: marry a 7 year old girl. Marriageable age Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the minimum age at which a person is allowed by law to marry, either as a right or subject to parental, judicial or other forms of approval. Age and other prerequisites to marriage vary between jurisdictions, but in the vast majority of jurisdictions, the marriage age "as a right" is set at the age of majority. Nevertheless, most jurisdictions allow marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial approval, and some also allow younger people to marry if the female is pregnant. Until recently, the title: Marriage in Australia text: the marriage of persons under 18 but over 16 may be authorised by a court. The official registration of marriage is the responsibility of each state and territory. A Notice of Intended Marriage is required to be lodged with the chosen celebrant. According to a 2008 Relationships Australia survey love, companionship and signifying a lifelong commitment were the top reasons for marriage. In colonial New South Wales marriage was often an arrangement of convenience. For female convicts, marriage was a way of escaping incarceration. Land leases were denied to those who were unmarried. Until 1961, each Australian state and territory title: Marriageable age text: Marriageable age Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the minimum age at which a person is allowed by law to marry, either as a right or subject to parental, judicial or other forms of approval. Age and other prerequisites to marriage vary between jurisdictions, but in the vast majority of jurisdictions, the marriage age "as a right" is set at the age of majority. Nevertheless, most jurisdictions allow marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial approval, and some also allow younger people to marry if the female is pregnant. Until recently, the marriageable age for women was lower