Enhancing Civil Protections and Remedies for Forced Marriage

Closed 23 Sep 2024

Opened 29 Jul 2024

Contact

ForcedMarriage@ag.gov.au

Feedback updated 26 Nov 2024

We asked

The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments to tackle the issue of forced marriage through a coordinated national approach.

On 5 July 2024, the Standing Council of Attorneys-General (SCAG) agreed to conduct public consultation to inform the development of enhanced civil protections and remedies for people in or at risk of forced marriage.

Led by the Australian Government in partnership with all state and territory governments, consultations commenced on 29 July 2024 and concluded on 23 September 2024.

Public consultation focused on 3 key areas:

  • building a shared understanding of forced marriage as a form of family and domestic violence
  • enhancing education and awareness raising
  • strengthening forced marriage civil protections and remedies.

You said

We travelled to every state and territory and held targeted consultation meetings with over 240 people from more than 130 organisations. We also received 44 written responses.

We heard from a range of stakeholders including:

  • people with lived experience of forced marriage
  • people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
  • people with disability
  • family and domestic violence service providers
  • legal organisations
  • academics
  • faith leaders
  • courts
  • government
  • civil society organisations.

We will continue to consider all submissions and responses received as part of the consultation. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of participants to the consultation processes.

For more information on the outcomes, read the Forced marriage public consultation overview.

We did

Feedback received during the public consultation will inform future work to strengthen Australia’s response to forced marriage.

Overview

If you're experiencing any difficulty providing a submission please email ForcedMarriage@ag.gov.au

The Australian Government is working with the states and territories to tackle the issue of forced marriage. We are now conducting consultations to inform this important work.

Everyone in Australia should be free to choose if, who and when they marry. Making someone get married when they do not want to is never acceptable and is a crime in Australia.

Forced marriage occurs when a person is forced to marry without freely or fully consenting because they have been coerced, threatened or deceived or because they are incapable of understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony. Forced marriage also occurs where a person is under the age of 16 when they marry.

To make a report or seek help

If you have immediate concerns for your safety, the safety of another person, or there is an emergency, dial Triple Zero (000).

You can also contact the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on 131 237 (131AFP), go to the AFP website at www.afp.gov.au, or use the AFP’s confidential online form for help. The AFP can keep you safe, provide advice and refer you to other services that provide accommodation, financial support, counselling, and legal and immigration advice.

You can also contact My Blue Sky, Australia’s national forced marriage service. Call (02) 9514 8115, text +61 481 070 844 (9am – 5pm AEST, Monday to Friday), email help@mybluesky.org.au or visit mybluesky.org.au for support and free, confidential legal advice.

Why we are consulting

Responses to this consultation paper will inform further work to tackle the issue of forced marriage, including by developing a model to enhance civil protections and remedies for individuals in or at risk of forced marriage.

The Australian public’s input is important to inform this work and ensure it meets community needs.

Who we want to hear from

We are seeking feedback and input from the Australian public to inform our work to strengthen Australia’s response to forced marriage. The consultation is open to all members of the public. We would particularly like to hear from:

  • people with lived experience of forced marriage
  • organisations and individuals with experience engaging with and/or supporting people in or at risk of forced marriage
  • culturally and linguistically diverse communities
  • legal sector organisations with experience working with victims and survivors of forced marriage, family and domestic violence frameworks, immigration and refugee law and family law specialists
  • family and domestic violence support services.

How to participate in this consultation

Follow the ‘Have Your Say’ link at the bottom of this page to respond to the discussion questions in an online survey format or to upload a written submission. You do not have to address all the questions.

If you wish to provide your feedback in a language other than English or if you require any other special accommodations, please contact us at forcedmarriage@ag.gov.au.

During the consultation period, we are also conducting targeted consultation sessions in-person and online. If you are interested in participating, please email us by 12 August 2024.

Privacy and information management

To support your participation in this consultation, the department will collect some of your personal information. The privacy and security of your personal information is important to us, and is protected by law. The Collection Notice, available below, outlines how we will collect your personal information, how it will be used and who it may be disclosed to. By participating in the consultation, via the online survey or by providing feedback via email, you are indicating you have read and agree to the Collection Notice.

More Information

Publishing submissions

You can submit your feedback under your name or anonymously. We intend to publish responses at the conclusion of the consultation period on our consultation hub. There will be a consent question to confirm whether you agree to your response being made public. If you email us a written submission, please indicate whether you consent to have your submission made public (and whether this is under your name or anonymously).

If you would like part of your feedback to remain in confidence, please provide the confidential information separately and clearly indicate the information you would like to remain confidential. Please refrain from including personal information about other individuals in the body of your submission. Legal requirements, such as those imposed by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), may affect the confidentiality of your submission.

Note that this consultation collects your personal information (unless you submit anonymously). This is so we can contact you if we need to clarify aspects of your response, to confirm your consent to publish information in your response, or to seek feedback.

Consultation Paper

More Information

More Information

Interests

  • Marriage celebrants
  • Family
  • Human rights
  • Criminal law
  • People trafficking
  • Modern slavery