<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Status: Current legislation </Td> </Tr> <P> In Australia, the Marriage Act 1961 is the current Act that regulates marriage law in Australia . </P> <P> The Act was passed by the Australian Parliament and has been amended on numerous occasions . It applies uniformly throughout Australia (including its external territories); any law made by a state or territory inconsistent with the Act is invalid . The Act is made pursuant to power granted to the federal parliament under s. 51 (xxi) of the Australian Constitution . Although the federal parliament was given the power to pass laws about marriage at federation in 1901, it did not use this power until the 1961 Act; before 1961, Australia's states and territories all had their own marriage laws . The Act recognises only marriages of two people and does not recognise any other forms of union, including traditional Aboriginal unions . An amendment to the Act to legalise same - sex marriage passed into law on 8 December 2017 . The Family Law Act 1975 treats de facto relationships and polygamous marriages as marriages for the purpose of recognising the rights of parties at a breakup . Since 2009, the Family Law Act 2009 has also recognised the property rights of each partner of de facto relationships on separation . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

What is the legal definition of marriage in australia
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