Australian Bureau Of Statistics

National Results From Marriage Equality Survey

Victor P Taffa

Australian Bureau Of Statistics (ABS) conducted a Postal Ballot on the question of Marriage Equality. Results of the survey have been announced by the ABS.

Question Asked:

Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?

 

Of the eligible Australians who expressed a view on this question, the majority indicated that the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry, with 7,817,247 (61.6%) responding Yes and 4,873,987 (38.4%) responding No. Nearly 8 out of 10 eligible Australians (79.5%) expressed their view.

All states and territories recorded a majority Yes response. 133 of the 150 Federal Electoral Divisions recorded a majority Yes response, and 17 of the 150 Federal Electoral Divisions recorded a majority No response.

 

State/Territory                                   YES                %                    NO                  %                    Total               %

New South Wales                               2,374,362        57.8%              1,736,838        42.2%              4,111,200            100%

Victoria                                               2,145,629        64.9%              1,161,098        35.1%              3,306,727            100%

Queensland                                         1,487,060        60.7%              961,015           39.3%              2,448,075            100%

South Australia                                   592,528           62.5%              356,247           37.5%              948,775            100%

Western Australia                               801,575           63.7%              455,924           36.3%              1,257,499            100%

Tasmania                                             191,948           63.6%              109,655           36.4%              301,603            100%

Northern Territory (a)                         48,686            60.6%              31,690             39.4%              80,376             100%

Australian Capital Territory (b)           175,459          74.0%              61,520             26.0%              236,979            100%

Australia (Total)                                7,817,247        61.6%             4,873,987        38.4%             12,691,234            100%

(a) Includes Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (within the Division of Lingiari).

(b) Includes Jervis Bay (within the Division of Fenner) and Norfolk Island (within the Division of Canberra).

 

Participation

12,727,920 (79.5%) eligible Australians participated in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.

Females were more likely to participate than males. Nationally, 81.6% (6,644,192) of eligible females and 77.3% (5,980,168) of eligible males participated in the survey.

Those aged 70 to 74 were the most likely to respond to the survey, with 89.6% of eligible Australians in this age group participating. The participation rate was lowest in those aged 25 to 29 at 71.9%. The youngest age group of eligible Australians (those aged 18-19 years) were more likely (78.2%) to participate than any other age group under the age of 45 years.

 

Eligible Participants

State/Territory     Total Responding (a)   %      Non-responding %                Total                    %

New South Wales       4,122,236              79.5%              1,065,445        20.5%              5,187,681                    100%

Victoria                      3,317,755                 81.7%              743,634           18.3%              4,061,389                    100%

Queensland               2,455,163                77.9%              695,710           22.1%              3,150,873                    100%

South Australia          951,553                  79.7%              242,027           20.3%              1,193,580                    100%

Western Australia      1,260,687             78.4%              346,333           21.6%              1,607,020                    100%

Tasmania                    302,408                79.7%              77,020             20.3%              379,428                       100%

Northern Territory (b)  80,605              58.4%              57,496             41.6%              138,101                       100%

Australian Capital Territory(c)  237,513       82.4%     50,595             17.6%              288,108                       100%

Australia (Total)  12,727,920           79.5%         3,278,260        20.5%       16,006,180                  100%

(a) Includes response not clear and blank responses.

(b) Includes Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (within the Division of Lingiari).

(c) Includes Jervis Bay (within the Division of Fenner) and Norfolk Island (within the Division of Canberra).