Inquiry into the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in
Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Bill 2008
Information about the Inquiry
The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee is inquiring
into the provisions of the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in
Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Bill 2008. The purpose of this
Bill is to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples and the
children of same-sex relationships in a wide range of Commonwealth laws.
The Bill will amend 68 Commonwealth laws, a list of which is included in
the Explanatory Memorandum for the Bill.
According to the Explanatory Memorandum, the amendments contained in
this Bill are required because same-sex de facto relationships and
registered relationships are not accorded recognition in a wide range of
Commonwealth laws which already provide recognition to opposite-sex de
facto relationships. This differential treatment prevents same-sex
couples from accessing many benefits which are available to opposite-sex
couples, and also relieves them of some obligations commonly imposed on
opposite sex couples. The amendments are also intended to ensure that
children of same-sex couples are not disadvantaged solely because of
their family structure.
The Bill is intended to remove discrimination by amending a number of
different definitions across Commonwealth legislation. These amendments
will include:
- a new model definition of ‘de facto partner’ which will apply equally
to same and opposite-sex de facto couples;
- the definitions of ‘child’ and ‘parent’ will be expanded where
appropriate to include the children of same-sex couples; and
- amendments will also be made to ensure that de facto partners,
children of same-sex couples, and persons whose relationship is traced
through them will be considered to be members of a person’s family, and
relatives for the purposes of relevant Commonwealth legislation. The
general approach taken by the Bill is to extend the existing meaning of
these terms to include same-sex relationships.
The reporting date for this inquiry is 14 October 2008.
The Committee invites written submissions by Monday 15 September 2008.
Submissions should be sent to:
Committee
Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Department of
the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament
House
Canberra ACT
2600
Australia
Persons lodging
submissions should note that this inquiry is into the bill only, and to be
considered relevant to the inquiry, submissions must address the provisions
of the bill.
The Committee requests that where possible, submissions
should also be provided by email to
legcon.sen@aph.gov.au,
preferably as MS Word or RTF format documents. Notes to assist in preparing
submissions are available from the website
https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm or
telephone the Secretariat on 02 6277 3560, fax: 02 6277 5794, or e-mail at
the above address.
Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes
a confidential committee document and is protected by Parliamentary
Privilege. You must not release your submission without the
Committee’s permission. If you do, it is not protected by Parliamentary
Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes
submissions public. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept
confidential.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people
should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02 6277 7799). Adobe
also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF
documents. These tools are available at:
http://access.adobe.com/. If you
require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a
committee inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretary.
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
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