A register instead of a wedding
In New South Wales in 2010 there was no wedding, just an entry. A beginning for some, an insult for others.
On 19 May 2010, the Relationships Register Act received royal assent in New South Wales. A week earlier, both houses of parliament had passed it, the lower house by sixty-two votes to nine and the upper house by thirty-two to five. In future, couples could register their relationship with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, regardless of sex.
It was expressly not a wedding. There was no ceremony and no new rights in the strict sense. The entry served as proof of a genuine relationship and was meant to make access to benefits easier, for example with tax, social security and visa applications. Anyone wanting to register had to be an adult, and at least one person had to live in New South Wales. Nobody had to prove that they lived together or shared finances. Those who separated could have the entry revoked. Attorney General John Hatzistergos spoke of a reform that respected the dignity of unmarried couples.
Reactions in the community were divided. The queer newspaper Star Observer now counted New South Wales among the Australian jurisdictions with formal recognition, alongside the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania. In reader comments, some said a mere register was an insult and demanded full marriage. Others countered that legal protection was what mattered: whether a partner counts as family in hospital, or whether relatives can contest a will.
The register began operating at the beginning of July 2010. Marriage equality remained out of reach in Australia for years to come. That a register entry was felt to be both progress and an insult says a lot about the debate of those years.