Nearly 80% of eligible voters took part in the two-month postal survey, with 61.6% of respondents saying “yes” to gay unions, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.
Here is a timeline of key moments in marriage rights in Australia.
1961: Australia introduces its first Marriage Act, but it does not include a formal definition of marriage
1975: South Australia becomes the first state to decriminalise male homosexuality
1976-1997: Other states and territories decriminalise male homosexuality
2004: The Marriage Act is amended to add the definition that “marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others”
2009: De facto couples are given similar rights to those who are married
2013: Federal Labor government makes it unlawful to discriminate against LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex, queer) people
2015: Conservative coalition government commits to a national plebiscite proposal on same-sex marriage
November, 2016: Upper house Senate rebuffs the government’s plans for a national plebiscite on gay unions
August, 2017: Senate knocks backs national plebiscite proposal again, government pushes ahead with a national voluntary postal vote
September, 2017: Ballot papers for the postal vote are sent out
November 15, 2017: Some 61.6% of eligible Australians vote in favour of changing the law to allow same-sex couples to marry