Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey

Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 7,817,247 61.60% No 4,873,987 38.40% Valid votes 12,691,234 99.71% Invalid or blank votes 36,686 0.29% Total votes 12,727,920 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 16,006,180 79.52%
Survey outcome Participation rate Results by electorates and states/territories

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The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey by the Australian Government designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in elections and referendums, which is compulsory in Australia, responding to the survey was voluntary.

The results of the survey were published on 15 November 2017. The survey returned 7,817,247 (61.6%) "Yes" responses and 4,873,987 (38.4%) "No" responses. An additional 36,686 (0.3%) responses were unclear and the total turnout was 12,727,920 (79.5%).^[2]

A survey form, instructions, and a reply-paid envelope were mailed out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to every person on the federal electoral roll, asking the question "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?" The ABS established processes to ensure eligible Australians lacking access to post could participate.^[3]

Prior to the survey, the Liberal–National Coalition government pledged to facilitate a private member's bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the Parliament in the event of a "Yes" outcome. Had the survey returned a majority "No" result, the government said it would not allow a parliamentary debate or vote on legalising same-sex marriage.

The Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017, which legalised same-sex marriage, was debated in and passed by Parliament following publication of the survey results.^[4] The Coalition government allowed its parliamentarians a conscience vote on the legislation. The opposition Australian Labor Party supported the legislation, but exceptionally, also granted its parliamentarians a conscience vote.

Many same-sex marriage proponents were critical of the postal survey, viewing it as a costly delaying tactic and an unnecessary hurdle to a conscience vote on same-sex marriage in the parliament.^[5] The survey was subject to two legal challenges questioning the authority of the ABS to conduct the survey and the government's right to fund the cost of the survey from funds designated by law for "urgent" and "unforeseen" circumstances. Both legal challenges failed and the High Court of Australia found that the survey was lawful.