Coalition of Celebrant Associations

Australia’s Peak Celebrant Body

Additional submission on transition arrangements

Download:

CoCA-letter-transition-issues-180320.pdf

The Expert Panel on Religious FreedomC/O Department of the Prime Minister and CabinetPO Box 6500Canberra ACT 2600AustraliaEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 20th March 2018 Transitional Arrangements for Subdivision C and D Marriage Celebrants. Dear Expert Panel              Thank you so much for the opportunity to present CoCA’s comments and recommendations in relation to this review.  CoCA is responding to your further request of 1st March 2018: "As discussed last week, if CoCA happens to have any information on hand regarding the thoughts of its members on the transitional arrangements for celebrants choosing to identify as ‘religious marriage celebrants’, we would certainly be interested to share this with…
Appendix 1. New forms still include gender bias. The department has revised the marriage forms current ly used, without consultation with CoCA, which now requires asking couple to define themselves by gender identity as Groom/ Bride/Partner as well as by biological sex as Male/ Female/ X on the new Notice of Intended Marriage as well as requiring the couple to define themselves according to their gender identity as Husband/ Wife/Partner on the Official Certificate of Marriage rather than leaving this open field as the couples’ choice.   The new Notice of Intended Marriage includes both requiring the couple to define themselves…
Appendix 2 CoCA is concerned that the department’s 2 hours compulsory activity is very likely to lead to more confusion about the celebrant’s role and responsibilities in relation to marriage equality because the Act is not fully transparent as regards Subdivision C and D and the Marriage Celebrant and Law Section seem to focus on the letter, rather than the spirit, of the law. Focus on Sex Identity, Gender Identity and Proof of Gender Identity In this year’s Compulsory activity, the department stresses that marriage celebrants can require proof of gender identity by stating the following: “Marriage celebrants may find…
Appendix 3 - Commonwealth marriage celebrants’ advertising obligations. The compulsory activity implies that the term “marriage celebrant” must be on celebrant’s business cards and that the Registrar may impose a disciplinary measure on a celebrant, if these two words are not joined as a phrase. An extract from the Compulsory activity states: This legislative obligation means that a celebrant identified as religious marriage celebrant must disclose that they are a religious marriage celebrant, and a marriage celebrant who is not identified as a religious marriage celebrant on the register, must identify their status as a marriage celebrant in any document…
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