Marriage: Love and Law exhibition catalogue - Flipbook - Page 94
CHANGES,
CHOICES
14
AP-21-02 1000 x 700
12
Crude marriage rate
The marriage rate in Australia increased throughout the 1960s
and peaked in 1971 before beginning a long period of decline.
In 1970 there were 9.3 marriages per 1,000 Australian residents.
By 2016 this had dropped to 4.9. The Whitlam Labor Government
introduced the Family Law Act 1975 offering thousands of people
across Australia the chance to end unhappy marriages without
the onus of proving fault. Following the introduction of the Act—
and after the compulsory 12 month period of marital separation
was over—the number of divorces jumped dramatically,
peaking at 65,230 or 4.6 per 1,000 Australian residents in 1976.
8
1970 Germaine Greer’s
The Female Eunuch published
1939 Start of
Second World War
10
DIVORCE
1945 End of
Second World War
6
1975 Family
Law Act
4
Crude
marriage
rate
2
Following the introduction of the Family Law Act 1975,
the number of divorces jumped dramatically, peaking
at 4.6 per 1,000 Australian residents.
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010 2016
5.0 Source: ABS (various years) Marriages and Divorces Australia (Catalogue No. 3310.0)
4.5
The Whitlam Government lifted the tax on the Pill and made
it available to all women, not just to those who were married.
It funded child care centres for working women, and pursued other
agendas to advance women’s equality both at home and in the
work place. For some Australians, these reforms would result
in a reshaping of relationships, marriage and family.
1976 Introduction
of no fault divorce
Crude
divorce
rate
4.0
3.5
Crude divorce rate
3.0
2.5
2.0
1975 Family
Law Act
1.5
1945 End of
Second World War
1.0
1939 Start of
Second World War
0.5
1900
94
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Source: ABS (various years) Marriages and Divorces Australia (Catalogue No. 3310.0); ABS (various years) Divorces Australia
(Catalogue No. 3307.0, 3307.0.55.001)
2000
2010 2016
95
