Australian Marriage Equality Bus participating in the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, 2012

In 2004, the Australian Government, led by Prime Minister John Howard, added a definition of marriage to the 1961 law. This definition specifically stated that marriage could only occur between a man and a woman. After this change, calls for marriage equality grew stronger and gained support from many politicians, the media, and the broader Australian community. On 9 December 2019, the federal Marriage Act was amended, giving same-sex couples the right to marry.