Australia

There is no publicly available government data on child marriage in Australia.

Australia defines child marriage as forced marriage and a form of modern slavery, therefore data on forced marriage and modern slavery is the most readily available information. Reported statistics are found in the Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery reports of the Australian Government. According to the latest report, in 2015-16 there were 69 referrals related to forced marriage. The Australian Federal Police reported to the Senate they had received 91 referrals for forced marriage in 2018-19. It should be noted that this is reporting data and not an indication of prevalence. Between 2019-20 the Australian Federal Police reported 223 cases relating to human trafficking and slavery, 92 of which were forced marriage cases. Of those forced marriage cases, 51% involved victims under the age of 18 years. 70% of cases were related to offshore marriages for girls between the ages of 15-19 years old.

In 2019, the Australian Institute of Criminology estimated there to be between 1300-1900 victims of modern slavery in Australia which includes victims of forced marriage.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

Evidence suggests that child marriage in Australia is also driven by:

Migration: As reported by Girls Not Brides member, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, there is a trend of cases involving Australian residents or citizens under the age of 18 being forced into marriage overseas, with the expectation that the individual will sponsor their spouse to immigrate to Australia. Often relatives are alleged to have organised or been organising the marriage. According to reports, those most commonly affected include women and girls aged between 16 and 21 years of age.

Harmful practices: There are a number of court cases of children under the age of 18 that have been married in cultural or religious marriages that took place outside the provisions of the Marriage Act 1961.

Australia has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The government reported on progress made the against target 5.3 during its 2018 Voluntary National Report at the High Level Political Forum (the forum in which countries report progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals) through its initiative My Blue Sky, Australia’s first website dedicated to forced marriage prevention, information, referrals and legal advice. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum to date.

Australia has signed the 2021 Human Rights Council resolution on Child, Early and Forced Marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia co-sponsored the 2019 Human Rights Council resolution recognising the consequences of child, early and forced marriage, 2017 resolution related to child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, the 2015 resolution recognising child, early and forced marriage as a violation of human rights, and the 2013 Human Rights Council resolution on child, early and forced marriage. In 2014, Australia also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Australia co-sponsored the 2013, 2014 and 2018 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Australia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1983, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 2018, the CEDAW Committee recommended Australia to build the capacity of immigration and child protection workers and law enforcement officers to detect and respond to cases of early and forced marriage and investigate and prosecute such cases.

In 2019, the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child recommended Australia to eliminate any exception to the minimum age of marriage of 18 years, and strengthen measures to raise awareness of the harmful effects of child marriage.

At the London Girl Summit in July 2014, the government signed a charter committing to end child marriage by 2020.

Australian Border Force is the lead government department responsible for responding to forced marriage as part of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery (2015–19). A Review of the 2015-2019 Action Plan indicated:

Domestically measures were taken to raise awareness and actively engage communities on forced marriage, human trafficking and slavery through online resources;

Legislative amendments were made to the Migration Act to broaden the definition of trafficking to include forced marriage;

The government provided funding to the Association of Southeast Asian Networks (ASEAN) projects aimed at combating trafficking, slavery and forced marriage;

Implementation of the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children and the Indo-Pacific Justice and Security program.

As of December 2020, the Australian Government launched the National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020-2025. This action plan builds on the previous one to provide a strategic framework to end modern slavery. This action plan highlights five strategic priorities:

Prevent modern slavery by combatting drivers and empowering victims;

Disrupt, investigate and prosecute perpetrators of modern slavery;

Support and protect victims;

Partner with government, key stakeholders, international agencies and civil society organisations to end modern slavery;

Research to collect an evidence base to end modern slavery.

Following criminalisation of forced marriage in 2013, the Support for Trafficked People Program was launched, administered by the Australian Red Cross and funded by the Department of Social Services. This program was expanded in 2018 to provide 200 days of support to victims of forced marriage without having to agree to a criminal prosecution, however, an individual can only be referred to this program if they are willing to first report to the Australian Federal Police.

In 2014 Anti-Slavery Australia, through government funding, launched the country’s first e-learning course on human trafficking and slavery-like practices, including forced marriage. The course is designed for the wider Australian community, and frontline workers including teachers, counsellors, health care workers, child protection officers and law enforcement.

In 2015, The Australian government also funded the development of My Blue Sky, delivered by Anti-Slavery Australia. My Blue Sky is a dedicated website and online legal service responding to individuals affected by forced marriage.

In terms of international aid, at the 2019 Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, Australia committed to continue supporting UNFPA and six partner governments through the Transformative Agenda for Women, Adolescents and Youth to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes in Pacific island states.

As per the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), in Australia the marriageable age is 18. However, under exceptions a person aged 16 may apply for authorisation to a judge or magistrate in a State or Territory to be married to a person of marriageable age. This authorisation must be coupled with parental consent.

In February 2013, the Australian Parliament passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act (the ‘Slavery Act’), which introduced a range of new offences related to slavery and slavery-like conditions, including offences that criminalise the practice of forced marriage. This legislation was amended in 2019 to provide that the marriage of an individual aged below 16 will be automatically considered a forced marriage, and therefore a Commonwealth crime.

Advocates in Australia have argued that the minimum age of marriage must be 18 years, without exception, a position not agreed to by the members of the Australian Government.