Enhancing Civil Protections and Remedies for Forced Marriage

Overview

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.

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.

• Privacy Collection Notice and Consent Form [PDF 187KB]
• Privacy Collection Notice and Consent Form [DOCX 98KB]

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

• Consultation Paper [PDF 1.0 MB]
• Consultation Paper [DOCX 175 KB]
• Consultation Paper Summary [PDF 1.2 MB]
• Consultation Paper Summary [DOCX 41 KB]