Same-sex marriage in Belgium Same-sex marriage in Belgium On 1 June 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands. "Statutory cohabitation", open to any two legally consenting cohabiting persons, is also possible since 1 January 2000. In 1995, a bill was introduced in Parliament to provide for a legal framework of "cohabitation agreements". It was mostly intended as a response to the lowering marriage rates, rather than giving rights to same-sex couples. In 1998, the bill was changed to "statutory cohabitation" (; ; ) and finally voted on. The Chamber of Representatives approved it by a
History of same-sex marriage in Australia plebiscite via postal mail, a proposal which received a mixed response. Soon after that the issue of same-sex couples being unable to divorce in Australia following a marriage in an overseas jurisdiction (where same-sex marriage is legal) emerged. In August 2017, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that the lack of an official same-sex divorce scheme in Australia constituted a breach of human rights and stated the Australian Government was obligated to provide "an effective remedy". Liberal MP's who raised the prospect of a free vote in the party in June 2017 had their advances rejected by several members