In late September 2016, the three ÖVP-led ministries agreed to remove two prominent differences between registered partnerships and marriages: it would be possible to register a partnership at the "Standesamt" (municipal civil registration) rather than the "Bezirkshauptmannschaften" (district authorities), and people in a registered partnership would have a regular "Familienname" (family name) rather than a "Nachname" (last name), which was specifically created for partnerships. Following approval by the Council of Ministers on 22 November 2016 and by Parliament on 15 December, the law took effect on 1 April 2017. The "Deregulierungs- und Anpassungsgesetz 2016", which included various other unrelated changes such as changes to the gun law, was approved by both governing parties and NEOS and opposed by FPÖ, the Greens and Team Stronach. Opposition parties criticised mixing unrelated legal matters in one law.