Fewer Aussies head down the aisle as marriage rates drop
Thousands fewer Australians are getting married than in previous years and Victorian divorce numbers are the highest they’ve been in 20 years.
VIC News
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Thousands fewer Australians are getting married each year, while Victorian divorce numbers are at a 20-year high.
Last year just 112,954 Aussie couples walked down the aisle — a 4.6 per cent drop on 2016.
For the first time, the average age of women tying the knot rose to 30 and men to 32.
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McCrindle social researcher Geoff Brailey said the increasing casualisation of the workforce and rising cost of living were factors in the higher average marriage age.
“There are shifting expectations to be able to not only earn a full-time wage but to buy a place before and move out of home before they get married.”
“It’s delaying some of those traditional markers for people getting married and moving out of home.”
The social researcher pointed to the decreasing religious belief in the country as a reason for fewer marriages.
“We live in an Australia with a culturally and religiously diverse community,” Mr Brailey said.
“While the institution of marriage is available for all.. we are seeing a slight move away from religion in society and religious related ceremonies.”
But loved-up Victorians boasted the highest marriage rate of all the states and territories last year.
Statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed more than 30,000 Victorians were married in 2017.
November was the most popular month for marriages and June the least.
While fewer people were getting married, national divorce rates remained steady, with almost 50,000 divorces granted last year.
And almost 13,000 Victorian couples called it quits last year, the highest number in at least 20 years.
The average age for divorce last year was 45 for men and 42 for women.
Changes to the Marriage Act 1961 in December to allow same-sex couples to marry offered the first statistical insights into Australian same-sex marriages.
Between December 2017 and June 2018, 3,149 same-sex weddings were held in Australia.
More than a quarter of those marriages were in Victoria.
ABS Director of Health and Vitals Statistics James Eynstone-Hinkins said there were distinct differences between men and women in the same-sex marriage data.
“There were more female same-sex couples marrying,” Mr Eynstone-Hinkins said.
“The median age at which male same-sex couples got married was almost 10 years older than females.”