EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Proclamation
Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General
Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Act 2008
Subsection 2(1) of the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Act 2008 (“the Act”) provides that Parts 1 and 4 of Schedule 10 to the Act commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation. However, if any of the provisions of Parts 1 and 4 of Schedule 10 do not commence within six months of the date the Act receives the Royal Assent, then those provisions commence on the first day after the end of that period. The Act received the Royal Assent on 9 December 2008.
The Act removes discrimination between same‑sex and opposite‑sex de facto couples, and their children, in a wide range of Commonwealth laws.
The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Proclamation may be exercised. The Proclamation fixes 15 March 2009 as the day on which Parts 1 and 4 of Schedule 10 to the Act commence.
Part 1 of Schedule 10 to the Act will amend the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. Under the amendments married couples and de facto couples (whether of the same‑sex or opposite‑sex) will also be recognised as the parents of the child(ren) that they have had as a result of artificial conception procedures with the use of donated genetic material or through a surrogacy arrangement under a prescribed State or Territory law (both as recognised under the Family Law Act 1975). Such parents will additionally be recognised as ‘responsible parents’ of their child(ren). Amendments will also provide parity between same‑sex and opposite‑sex de facto couples in accessing the residence discretion to count time spent outside Australia as time spent in Australia in meeting the residence requirement for Australian citizenship by conferral.
The Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 provides for an unaccompanied minor entering Australia to have a legal guardian in Australia. Part 4 of Schedule 10 to the Act will amend the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 to enable de facto couples, whether same‑sex or opposite‑sex, and married couples, who have children as a result of artificial conception procedures with the use of donated genetic material or a through surrogacy arrangement under a prescribed State or Territory law (both as recognised under the Family Law Act 1975), to be recognised as the parents of the non-citizen minor. These amendments also provide for relatives of the minor to include those who would be relatives if they were married to the minor’s blood relatives but who are instead in a de facto relationship with the minor’s blood relative (including a same‑sex de facto relationship).
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.