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Defence Force policy was amended to allow transgender Australians to openly serve in 2010. Anon, this person likes you if they are dedicating this much time to you. Retrieved 31 December 2017. Jurisdiction Same-sex marriage De facto relationships status Registered relationships status Equal age of consent Anti-discrimination legislation Adoption and foster parenting Recognition of parents on birth certificate Access to sol i. New South Wales Department of Justice. As a direct result of a petition set-up by him, the gay panic defence was removed from Queensland law on 21 March 2017. A partner in a de facto relationship may also be required to prove the existence of a relationship before a con in order to access benefits, a process which is automatic for married couples and consequently can have a discriminatory impact on same-sex couples, who cannot yet marry in Australia. Retrieved 16 December 2017. The fee also tends to put off would-be young users. Although the internet has made it easier for people to secure casual encounters, people who are after committed relationships are managing to find them online. By percentage, the older divorced or widowed section of society tend to use the traditional bar or pub meetup less than the younger ones. These laws amended gay dating australia other existing federal laws to equalise the treatment of same-sex couples, gay dating australia any children raised by those couples, in a range of areas including taxation, superannuation, health, social security, aged care and child support, immigration, citizenship and veterans' affairs.
Australia is a federation, with most laws affecting rights made by. Between 1975 and 1997, Australian states and territories progressively repealed anti-homosexuality laws that had been inherited from the. Since 2016, each jurisdiction has an equal age of consent for all sexual acts. Most jurisdictions now offer expungement schemes to clear the criminal records of people charged or convicted for consensual sexual acts that are no longer illegal. The country legalised on 9 December 2017. States and territories began granting benefits and relationship recognition to same-sex couples from 2003 onwards, with federal law recognising same-sex couples since 2009 as. All jurisdictions allow both joint and stepchild , with the the last jurisdiction to pass an adoption equality law in March 2018. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression is prohibited in every state and territory, with concurrent federal protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status since 1 August 2013. However, are not fully protected, with many intersex Australians facing coercive in childhood. Australia is recognised as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world, with opinion polls and the indicating widespread popular support for. A 2013 poll found that 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth most supportive country surveyed in the world. Because of its long history in regard to LGBT rights and its annual three-week-long festival, has been named one of the most gay-friendly cities in the country and in the world. Historical persecution As part of the , Australian colonies inherited anti-homosexuality laws such as the of 1533. These provisions were maintained in criminal passed by 19th century colonial parliaments, and subsequently by state parliaments after. Same-sex sexual activity between men was considered a , resulting in the execution of people convicted of. Different jurisdictions gradually began to reduce the for sodomy to , with Victoria the last to reduce the penalty in 1949. Community debate about decriminalising homosexual activity began in the 1960s, with the first lobby groups , Homosexual Law Reform Society and the Campaign Against Moral Persecution formed in 1969 and 1970. Over a 22-year span between 1975 and 1997, the states and territories gradually repealed their sodomy laws as support for gay law reform grew. The next jurisdictions to decriminalise male homosexuality were the 4 October 1983 , 22 May 1984 and after four failed attempts, 7 December 1989. In exchange for decriminalisation, Western Australian conservatives required a higher age of consent and an anti-proselytising provision similar to the United Kingdom's. This left Tasmania, whose refused to repeal its sodomy law. This led to the case of in which the ruled that sodomy laws violated the. Tasmania's continued refusal to repeal the offending laws led the to pass the Human Rights Sexual Conduct Act 1994, which legalised sexual activity between consenting adults throughout Australia and prohibited laws that arbitrarily interfered with the sexual conduct of adults in private. In the 1997 case of Croome v Tasmania, applied to the to strike down the Tasmanian anti-gay law as inconsistent with federal law. The Tasmanian Government decriminalised homosexuality on 1 May 1997 after failing to have the matter thrown out, becoming the final Australian jursidiction to do so. Age of consent Main article: The laws of all apply equally regardless of the gender and sexual orientation of participants. The age of consent in all states, territories and on the federal level is 16, except for Tasmania and South Australia where it is 17. The age of consent was equalised in 2002 by Western Australia and in 2003 by New South Wales and the Northern Territory. The last state to equalise its age of consent was Queensland in 2016, when it brought the age of consent for into line with and from 18 to 16 years of age. Historical conviction expungement Six Australian jurisdictions have passed legislation that allows men charged or convicted under historical anti-homosexuality laws to apply for expungement, which clears the charge or conviction from their criminal record, and in South Australia, men can apply to have their convictions spent, but not expunged. After expungement, the conviction is treated as having never occurred, with the individual not required to disclose it and the conviction not showing up on a police records check. Without expungement laws, men who had been convicted of historical sodomy offences were at a disadvantage, including being subject to restrictions on travel and in applying for some jobs. Same-sex couples can , enter into a or in most , or can simply live together in an unregistered relationship. Couples who enter into a civil union or domestic partnership are recognised as being in a de facto relationship for the purpose of federal law. According to the 2016 Census, there were around 46,800 same-sex couples in Australia. Federal de facto relationship recognition Following the 's report Same-Sex: Same Entitlements and an audit of Commonwealth legislation, in 2009, the federal introduced several reforms designed to equalise treatment for same-sex couples and their families. The reforms took the form of two pieces of amending legislation, the Same-Sex Relationships Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws-General Law Reform Act 2008 and the Same-Sex Relationships Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws-Superannuation Act 2008. These laws amended 85 other existing federal laws to equalise the treatment of same-sex couples, and any children raised by those couples, in a range of areas including taxation, superannuation, health, social security, aged care and child support, immigration, citizenship and veterans' affairs. For instance, in relation to social security and general family law, same-sex couples were not previously recognised as a couple for social security or family assistance purposes. A person who had a same-sex de facto partner was treated as a single person. The reforms ensured that, for the first time under Australian law, same-sex couples were recognised as a couple akin to opposite-sex partners. Consequently, a same-sex couple receives the same rate of social security and family assistance payments as a mixed-sex couple. Generally speaking, a couple in a de facto relationship is treated equally to a married couple in legal proceedings, with a few small differences in family law disputes, including property settlements and entitlements to spousal maintenance. A partner in a de facto relationship may also be required to prove the existence of a relationship before a court in order to access benefits, a process which is automatic for married couples and consequently can have a discriminatory impact on same-sex couples, who cannot yet marry in Australia. De facto relationships also have different time eligibility requirements than marriages under laws relating to , migration, family law matters and. The higher burden of proof for de facto relationships relative to marriages can impact on a person's ability to arrange their partner's funeral, and the rights of a de facto partner may be poorly understood by government departments. From 1 July 2009, amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 meant that customers in a same-sex de facto relationship are recognised as partners for Centrelink and Family Assistance Office purposes. All customers who are assessed as being a member of a couple have their rate of payment calculated in the same way. Inheritance and property rights Before same-sex marriage provided the automatic legal protections that married couples received under the law with regard to from their partners, same-sex couples had to take specific legal actions. Individuals were not entitled to a partial after their same-sex partner's death. Gay and de facto couples who separated also did not have the same property rights as married couples under federal law and were required to use more expensive state courts, rather than the Family Court, to resolve disputes. The plan to grant equivalent rights to gays and de factos had been up for discussion since 2002, and all states eventually agreed, but the change was blocked because the insisted on excluding same-sex couples. In June 2008, the Rudd Government introduced the Family Law Amendment De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures Bill 2008 to allow same-sex and de facto couples access to the federal Family Court on property and maintenance matters, rather than the state Supreme Court. This reform was not part of the 100 equality measures promised by the Government but stemmed from the 2002 agreement between the states and territories that the previous Howard Government did not fulfill. Coalition amendments to the bill failed and it was passed in November 2008. The Act was amended in 2004 by the to recognise only marriages between a man and a woman. Many subsequent attempts to legalise same-sex marriage nationwide failed in the. The current put legislation to the Parliament establishing a on same-sex marriage, to be held in February 2017, though this was rejected by the. The opposition supports same-sex marriage in its party platform, though allows its parliamentary members a on same-sex marriage legislation. The passed laws instituting territory-based same-sex marriage, which was rejected by the. The High Court ruled against the law on 12 December 2013 contending that only the Federal Parliament has the constitutional authority to legislate on the subject. The ruled in December 2013 that the 's same-sex marriage law was invalid, as grants the the power to legislate with regard to marriage, and the federal definition of marriage overrides any state or territory definition under. Before the legalisation of same-sex marriage in December 2017, same-sex couples who married overseas were prevented from in Australia. The returned a 61. A bill to legalise same-sex marriage was introduced into the shortly after the results were announced. The bill, titled the , passed the by 43 votes to 12 on 29 November 2017, and passed the on 7 December 2017. The bill received on 8 December 2017 and went into effect the following day. Same-sex marriages lawfully entered into overseas automatically became recognised and the first marriages under the amended law were to occur on 9 January 2018. However, several couples successfully applied for an exemption from the normal one-month waiting period, and the first legal same-sex wedding under Australian law was held on 15 December 2017, with further weddings occurring the following day. State and territory recognition Aside from Western Australia and the Northern Territory, all other states and territories in Australia have their own state-based civil union or domestic partnership laws. Otherwise, cohabiting same-sex couples may be recognised as de facto couples for the purposes of state or territory law. Same-sex couples may enter into civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory and civil partnerships in Queensland. Both unions allow couples to have state-sanctioned ceremonies and Queensland's law is commonly referred to as civil unions. These provide conclusive proof of the existence of the relationship, thereby gaining the same rights afforded to de facto couples under state and federal law without having to prove any further factual evidence of the relationship. In this way, a registered relationship is similar to a registered partnership or civil union in other parts of the world. Victoria and Tasmania's domestic partnership laws also allow any couple the option of having an official ceremony when registering their relationship. South Australia's law allowing registered relationships and recognised overseas and interstate same-sex unions went into effect on 1 August 2017. In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, same-sex couples must often seek juridical approval to prove a de facto relationship exists. Prior to the federal legalisation of same-sex marriage, six Australian jurisdictions Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia , comprising 90% of Australia's population, recognised same-sex marriages and civil partnerships performed overseas, providing automatic recognition of such unions in their respective state registers. However, in response to Australia's agreement to implement the principle of non-discrimination in employment and occupation pursuant to the International Labour Organisation Convention No. If it cannot be conciliated, the Commission prepares a report to the federal Attorney-General who then tables the report in Parliament. The Human Rights Sexual Conduct Act 1994 provided that sexual conduct involving only consenting adults 18 years or over acting in private would not be subject to arbitrary interference by law enforcement. This applies to any law of the Commonwealth, State or Territory. In late 2010, the announced a review of federal anti-discrimination laws, with the aim of introducing a single equality law that would also cover sexual orientation and gender identity. This approach was abandoned and instead on 25 June 2013, the added marital or relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status as protected attributes to the existing Sex Discrimination Act by passing the Sex Discrimination Amendment Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status Act 2013. From 1 August 2013, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people became illegal for the first time under national law. Aged care providers who are owned by religious groups will no longer be able to exclude people from aged care services based on their LGBTI or same-sex relationship status. However, religious owned private schools and religious owned hospitals are exempt from gender identity and sexual orientation provisions in the Sex Discrimination Amendment Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status Bill 2013. No religious exemptions exist on the basis of intersex status. State and territory law protections Each of the states and territories introduced their own anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTI people from discrimination before the Commonwealth did so in 2013. The first anti-discrimination protections were enacted in New South Wales by the in 1982, two years before the decriminalisation of homosexuality in that state. This meant that for violent crimes such as , a male killer could argue that an unwanted homosexual advance from another man provoked him to lose control and respond violently, which could lead to his criminal responsibility being downgraded from murder to and therefore a reduced penalty. The first recorded use of the defence in Australia was the 1992 Victorian case of R v Murley, in which a man was acquitted of murder after killing a gay man who had allegedly made a sexual advance towards him. The defence was recognised nationwide by a majority of the in the 1997 case of Green v the Queen. This led to calls for the defence to be abolished by legislation. Several subsequently abolished the defence of altogether, including Tasmania, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory took a more targeted approach to reform, specifically abolishing the availability of non-violent homosexual advances as a defence. South Australia is the only state to retain the gay panic defence; however, it is currently under review. School anti-bullying programs The seeks to combat anti-LGBTI abuse or bullying, which research suggested was prevalent across Australian schools. Initially established in Victorian schools in 2010, the program was launched nationwide in 2014 under the. The program has received support from a majority of state governments, LGBTI support groups and other religious and non-governmental organisations such as , and the Australian Secondary Principals Association. Petitions were also delivered against the program by members of Australia's Chinese and Indian communities. The concerns led to a review under the , which implemented a number of changes such as restricting the program to high schools, removing role playing activities and requiring before students take part. The federal changes were rejected by the governments of Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, who persisted with the original program and announced they would fund it independently of the Federal Government. The federal changes were supported in New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania, while Queensland and South Australia have voiced criticism without announcing whether they would implement the federal changes. As of December 2016 no Northern Territory school participates in the program. In December 2016, the Federal Government confirmed that it would not renew funding for the program after it expired in mid-2017. The program operates extensively in Victoria and is fully funded by the State Government. State governments are also fully responsible for directly funded programs in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Several schools in Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory remain signed up to the national Safe Schools registry. Main article: States and territories make laws with respect to and child-rearing. Since April 2018, same-sex couples can adopt children in all jurisdictions within Australia. The 2011 Australian census counted 6,300 children living in same-sex couple families, up from 3,400 in 2001, make up one in a thousand of all children in couple families 0. Commercial surrogacy is banned nationwide. The Northern Territory has no laws on surrogacy at all. In recent years, a dramatic increase in the use of overseas surrogacy programs has occurred amongst both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, creating some unique legal concerns with respect to citizenship and parenting rights. It is believed that only 1 in 20 surrogacy arrangements occur in Australia, with almost all involving foreign surrogates mainly from South-East Asia and the United States. ART is accessible to same-sex couples in all states and territories, with being the final jurisdiction to pass such a law, in March 2017. Female same-sex partners of mothers are usually considered the automatic co-parent of the child ren born as a result of assisted reproduction. Anti-discrimination laws concerning gender identity and On or before 12 October 2018 Birth certificates are issued by states and territories. In many states, sterilisation is or has been required for trans people to obtain recognition of their preferred gender in cardinal identification documents. Gender recognition Birth certificates and driver licences are within the jurisdiction of the states, whereas Medicare and passports are matters for the Commonwealth. The requirements for a person's change of sex to be recognised and amended in government records and official documents depend on the jurisdiction. Sex and gender recognition for federal purposes such as Medicare and passports require only a letter. By contrast, most states and territories impose additional requirements for gender recognition that have been criticised by the and LGBT advocates. In most states and territories, the person must undergo. The requirement to divorce if one was married was removed as a result of the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2017. Advocates argue that marital status and surgery requirements are irrelevant to the recognition of a person's sex or gender identity, and instead should rely on their self-identification. As of 2017, the and were the only two Australian jurisdictions to amend their laws to allow a person to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate without a requirement to undergo or divorce if already married. This has irreversible effects such as a deepened voice following or breast growth after. It is usually available once a person has reached 16 years of age. Transgender Australians are generally not eligible for until they turn 18 years old. However, there can often be a gap between the Medicare benefit paid and the amount the surgeon will charge, sometimes in the amount of thousands of dollars. However many Australian private health insurance policies provide private hospital cover policy that includes any SRS procedure that is also covered by Medicare. There is typically a waiting period before insurers allow people to claim for these services, usually about 12 months. Transgender children required approval from the to access stage 2 treatment , though the court ruled in November 2017 that in cases where there is no dispute between a child, their parents, and their treating doctors, hormone treatment can be prescribed without court permission. These procedures are criticised by intersex advocates on the basis that they compromise the individual rights to bodily autonomy, integrity and dignity, drawing parallels to. The report makes 15 recommendations, including ending cosmetic genital surgeries on infants and children and providing for legal oversight of individual cases. The recommendations have not been implemented. The statement calls for legal reform, including the criminalisation of deferrable on children, and improved access to peer support. Sponsorship of same-sex partners In 1985, changes were made to the Migration Act 1958 Cth , after submissions from the Gay and Lesbian Immigration Task Force GLITF , to create an interdependency visa for same-sex couples. The visa allows Australian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners into Australia. Unlike married couples, immigration guidelines require de facto and interdependent partners to prove a twelve-month committed relationship, but it can be waived if the couple is registered by a state or territory's. The temporary and permanent visas Subclasses 310 and 110 allow the applicant to live, work, study and receive benefits in Australia. LGBT asylum policy Australia is a party to the , which obliges member states to offer protection to those seeking asylum due to a well-founded fear of persecution in their home countries due to, among other things, their membership of a particular social group. In 2003, a majority of the held that Australia should not withhold asylum from gay refugees on the basis that they could protect themselves in their home countries by hiding their sexuality. The decision making process for assessing LGBT asylum claims lacks consistency and relies on stereotypes such as whether the person attended gay clubs or joined lesbian groups. In 2013, Prime Minister introduced a new asylum policy which meant that all asylum seekers arriving by boat would be sent offshore to in for processing and resettlement. This included gay refugees, even though they face persecution under law with homosexual acts criminalised and a potential penalty of 14 years imprisonment. People have been imprisoned or killed for performing homosexual acts. Gay asylum seekers also face bullying, assault and sexual abuse on Manus Island from others, including officials and other refugees, due to their sexuality. Australia faces accusations from refugee advocates that it has violated its obligations under international law by exposing LGBT asylum seekers to such dangers. After the in 2016 ordered the closure of Manus Island immigration detention centre on the basis that it breached constitutional guarantees of liberty, the Australian Government confirmed the closure but not what would happen to the detainees. In practice, the protections for refugees seeking asylum on the basis of sexual orientation are limited, depending largely on invasive personal questions and the whim of the immigration officials involved. In 2014, then-immigration minister introduced further changes which made it even more difficult for LGBTI refugees to prove the merits of their claim for asylum, such as narrowing the scope of protections and implementing a fast-track mechanism that may make it more difficult to gather necessary evidence to support an asylum claim. Australia's strict policy of and offshore processing for unauthorised boat arrivals has been criticised by non-government organisations including the , and , with particularly severe consequences for LGBT asylum seekers. An rally in 2013. Public attitudes to homosexuality A 2005 paper by the , Mapping Homophobia in Australia, found that 35% of people aged 14 or above considered homosexuality to be immoral, with Queensland and Tasmania having the highest levels of anti-gay sentiment and Victoria the lowest. In a 2013 Pew Research poll, 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth most supportive country in the survey behind 88% , 87% , and the both 80%. With a long history in regard to LGBT rights and an annual three-week-long festival, has been named one of the most gay friendly cities in Australia and in the world. Indigenous LGBTI community Gender diverse and transgender are often referred to as sistergirls and brotherboys. The level of acceptance varies with each community and its elders. From 1974 to 1992, the Australian military services had consistent policies against LGB personnel, who could be subject to surveillance, interviews, secret searches and discharge from the military. In early 1992, a female reservist in the made a complaint to the on the basis that she was dismissed on the grounds of homosexuality. This led to significant outrage and in response Prime Minister established a special Labor Caucus Committee to examine the possibility of removing the ban on LGBT personnel in the military. By September 1992, the committee had returned with a recommendation to remove the ban four votes to two, including the committee chairman. Despite opposition of reform from within certain military groups and the , this recommendation received support from Human Rights Commissioner Brian Burdekin and Attorney General. The subsequent cabinet discussion on the issue resulted in the Keating Government overturning the ban, despite the opposition of Ray within the cabinet. The ADF acknowledges there are male and female homosexuals among its members and has advised the Government that these members are no longer actively sought out or disciplined because of their sexual orientation. This means equal benefits in housing, moving stipends, education assistance and leave entitlements. The ADF also gives equal access to superannuation and death benefits for same-sex partnerships. Under the Human Rights Commission Act 1986, Discrimination or harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation, be it heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality, is prohibited. ADF members or APS employees are not to be asked about their sexual orientation, nor is sexual orientation, or alleged sexual orientation, to be adversely taken into consideration in promotion, posting or career development decisions. Defence Force policy was amended to allow transgender Australians to openly serve in 2010. The policy was updated following the advocacy of Bridget Clinch, who sought to transition from male to female while serving in the. Defence LGBTI Information Service Incorporated was established in 2002 to support and represent LGBTI Defence personnel and their families. The association has facilitated reforms in the ADF leading to improved recognition of same-sex partners, development of policy and guidance for members transitioning gender, and enhanced education about sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex people. Conversion therapy has a negative effect on the lives of LGBT people, and can lead to low self-esteem, depression and suicide ideation. The practice has long been performed in Australia. The patients were subjected to injections and. There is, however, no scientific or medical evidence to support the use of conversion therapy. State governements have come under increasing pressure to enact legislation to ban and crack down on the use of the pseudoscientific practice. On 9 February 2016, for instance, the Health Complaints Bill 2016 was introduced to the lower house of the. The bill created a Health Complaints Commissioner with increased powers to take action against groups performing conversion therapy; these powers ranging from issuing public warnings to banning them from practicing in Victoria. The bill passed the lower house on 25 February 2016, passed the upper house on 14 April 2016 with minor amendments and passed the lower house with the attached amendments on 27 April 2016. The law went into effect on 1 February 2017. In May 2018, the Victorian Government announced tougher regulations to crack down on people practicing conversion therapy. The and are also considering enacting laws to crack down on conversion therapy. It is abhorrent and completely inconsistent with the inclusive values of Canberrans. After much criticism, he affirmed that the Federal Government does not support conversion therapy. The supports banning the practice. Blood donation See also: and The bans blood donations from MSM in the previous twelve months. Several other countries also have MSM bans ranging from one year to lifetime or permanent deferral. The policy was challenged in 2005 with the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. Positions of religious faiths See also: Australian faith communities vary widely in their official positions towards LGBT rights, including the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The official position of several major denominations of the — Christianity, Judaism and Islam — is to oppose LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage, although this is not uniform across all denominations or clergy, with a number of religious leaders speaking out in favour of LGBT rights. The official positions of religious organisations are not necessarily shared by their adherents, with a 2005 study finding that along with members of the Anglican and Uniting Churches, Australian Catholics were among the Australians most supportive of LGBTI people and their rights. Australia's peak Buddhist and Hindhu organisations have expressed support for LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage. With the advance of LGBT rights in Australia, religious opponents have increasingly used arguments to justify continuing discrimination against LGBT people on the grounds of their personal beliefs. Religious people in favour of LGBTI rights have also become more visible in the media, with the first interfaith pro-equality forum held in 2016. The have also advertised against LGBT rights, such as in the lead up to the. However, a number of moderate Anglican leaders have called for greater debate, noting that Australian Anglicans are divided with many supporting LGBT rights. Further, a Catholic priest called Father Paul Kelly has advocated since 2008 for the abolition of the in Queensland to protect LGBT people from violence. As a direct result of a petition set-up by him, the gay panic defence was removed from Queensland law on 21 March 2017. Since 2003, the has allowed sexually active gay and lesbian people to be ordained as ministers, with each individual presbyteries given discretion to decide the matter on a case-by-case basis. Other LGBT-affirming Christian organisations include the , Acceptance for LGBT Roman Catholics and Freedom2b for Christians generally. On 13 July 2018, the Uniting Church in Australia voted to permit same-sex marriage and approve the creation of official marriage rites for same-sex couples. A number of individual ministers of religion have publicised their support for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage without their denomination taking an official position. Baptist minister Carolyn Francis asserted that churches needed to remain relevant and welcoming, including support for LGBTI rights and same-sex marriage. Buddhism Buddhist support for LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage was confirmed in 2012 by the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, which represents laypeople, and the Australian Sangha Association, which represents religious leaders. Judaism The Progressive Jewish community in Australia broadly supports LGBT rights, whereas the Orthodox branches remain opposed. Rabbi Shimon Cohen drew criticism for comparing homosexuality to incest and bestiality, and stating his support for. In 2007, the Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, New Zealand and Asia overturned their ban on same-sex commitment ceremonies. The North Shore Temple Emmanuel in began offering same-sex commitment ceremonies from 2008. In 2011, the Rabbinic Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, Asia and New Zealand announced their support for marriage equality under Australian law. This news was broadly publicised via a media release issued by on 25 May 2011. Islam The , a peak umbrella body for Sunni Muslim organisations, strongly opposed removing discrimination against same-sex couples in federal law. Nur Warsame is a gay imam in Melbourne who seeks to help LGBT Muslims reconcile their faith with their sexuality. In 2018, Warsame announced his intention to open an LGBTI-friendly mosque in Melbourne. Other Australian Muslims including and Muslims Against Homophobia Australia founder Alice Aslan have noted the need to address deep-seated homophobia in Australian Muslim communities. Hinduism Having previously been opposed, in 2015, the Hindu Council of Australia declared it would support same-sex marriage in future after a wide-ranging consultation process on the basis that it desired to support freedom and that the issue is not considered at all in Hindu scriptures. See also: Australian political parties are polarised on LGBT rights issues, with stronger support from centre-left parties such as the and the , as well as among moderate members of the centre-right. At state and territory level, most LGBTI law reform has been undertaken by Australian Labor Party governments. The number of openly LGBTI politicians has been increasing since the election of the first openly gay federal politician, Greens leader , in 1996. Coalition The conservative has mixed views on LGBT rights, but its senior partner the has fielded an increasing number of LGBTI candidates in federal elections, including the first openly gay man elected to the House of Representatives,. After the , he was joined by fellow gay Liberals and , with gay Senator representing Western Australia for the Liberals in the Senate. Each differs in their level of activism on LGBT issues, considering themselves members of the Liberal Party first and foremost. During the , the Coalition strongly opposed LGBT rights. Howard was also accused by a former ComCar driver of plotting with fellow politician to force the resignation of openly gay High Court judge by having Heffernan accuse Kirby of misconduct with underage male prostitutes, which proved to be baseless. Howard refused to apologise to Kirby and continued to support Heffernan. In 2004, the Howard Government introduced laws allowing same-sex partners to inherit their partner's superannuation. Later that year, the Government passed laws to prevent same-sex marriages being performed or recognised in Australia. Following the loss of government in the , Howard was replaced as leader by , who flagged the Coalition's support for removing legal discrimination against same-sex couples in all areas except marriage, adoption and fertility services. Under the , conservative members have used issues such as the Safe Schools program and same-sex marriage as proxy issues against the party's progressive wing following the moderate 's successful to the conservative. Conservatives have prevailed over progressives in the party by denying a in the Parliament on same-sex marriage and successfully advocating for changes and the removal of federal funding to the Safe Schools program. Aside from and , the Liberals' junior coalition partner, the , is more uniformly opposed to same-sex marriage. Australian Labor Party The 's position has increasingly shifted in favour of pro-LGBTI policies, in part to counter the electoral rise of the. Despite support from the left faction, the party opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions in 2009, but by 2013 the Labor Right faction also supported same-sex marriage. Australian Greens The are strongly supportive of LGBTI rights, with their first federal leader being the first openly gay politician elected to the Federal Parliament. They have consistently supported same-sex marriage. Jurisdiction Same-sex marriage De facto relationships status Registered relationships status Equal age of consent Anti-discrimination legislation Adoption and foster parenting Recognition of parents on birth certificate Access to fertility i. Such a specific restriction does not exist in the laws of other states and territories, with the exception of the Northern Territory. Such a specific restriction does not exist in the laws of other states and territories, with the exception of the Northern Territory. Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives Inc. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016. 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