Is my marriage recognised in Australia?

If you got married overseas, then your marriage will generally be recognised in Australia if at the time you married;

  • your marriage was recognised as valid under the law of the country in which you married, and
  • it would have been recognised as a valid marriage under Australian law if you had married in Australia.

An overseas marriage cannot be registered in Australia, The Marriage Act 1961 states that an original or certified copy of a marriage certificate or record of marriage that is issued by the competent authority in a foreign country is proof of that overseas marriage and of the validity of the marriage.

Overseas same sex marriages

The right to marry in Australia was no longer determined by sex or gender. In 2017, Australians voted in favour of marriage equality and on 9 December 2017 the Marriage Act 1961 was updated to allow for marriage equality. The amended Act redefines marriage as ‘the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.

Therefore, overseas same-sex marriages are now automatically recognised under Australian law, provided they fulfil all the requirements that opposite sex marriages must fulfil in order to be recognised in Australia.

Can I get a divorce in Australia?

You can apply in Australia for a divorce if you were married overseas, if you can satisfy the court that;

  • either you or your spouse is an Australian citizen (this can be by birth, descent or grant of Australian citizenship).
  • either you or your spouse currently live in Australia or have lived in Australia for the past 12 months.
  • you plan to live in Australia indefinitely and consider Australia to be ‘home’.

To get a divorce, you will need to prove your circumstances and also your eligibility for a divorce. To get a divorce in Australia, you must have lived separately and apart from your spouse for at least 12 months with no reasonable chance of getting back together. The Courts have held that it is possible to live together in the same home and still be separated.

In Australia the only ground for a divorce is that the marriage is over and that there is no real likelihood that you will get back together. The Court does not have to look at why the marriage ended.

In an application for divorce, you need to file a copy of your marriage certificate. If the certificate is not in English, you need to file an English translation together with an affidavit from the translator. The affidavit must set out the qualifications of the translator and that the translation is accurate.