Australia Yearbook - 2001

156 Year Book Australia 2001
%
100
5.41 PERSONS IN DE FACTO RELATIONSHIPS—1997
Never married
Separated or divorced
75
50
25
0
15–19 25–29 35–39 45–49 55–59 65 and over
Age group (years)
Source: Family Characteristics, Australia (4442.0).
De facto partnering has arisen as an alternative
living arrangement following separation, divorce
or widowhood. Some couple relationships, such
as that between a boyfriend and girlfriend who
live together but do not consider their
relationship to be marriage-like, are classified as
de facto.
Of all people in de facto relationships in 1997,
69% had never been in a registered marriage, and
29% were either separated or divorced. The
likelihood of being never married was higher
among those aged under 35, counterbalanced by
higher proportions of separated and divorced de
facto partners aged 35 and over (graph 5.41). In
1997, 46% of de facto couples had children,
compared with 39% in 1992.
Divorces
For most of this century there has been a slow
but steady rise in the numbers of divorces
granted each year, increasing from annual
averages of 0.1 divorces per 1,000 population
between 1901 and 1910 to 0.8 per 1,000 between
1961 and 1970. However, the most important
factor involved in the higher divorce rates in the
latter quarter of the century has been the
introduction of the Family Law Act 1975 which
came into operation on 5 January 1976. This
legislation allows only one ground for divorce:
irretrievable breakdown of the marriage,
measured as the separation of the spouses for at
least one year. Following the implementation of
this law, there was a large increase in the divorce
rate in 1976. The rate then declined until 1979 as
the backlog of applications was cleared. Since
then the crude divorce rate has fluctuated
between 2.4 and 2.9 divorces per 1,000
population (graph 5.42). The pattern of divorces
per 1,000 married couples is very similar; in 1999
there were 12.7 divorces per 1,000 married
couples.
A study of marriages from 1977 to 1994
(Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 1994
(3310.0)) found that about 43% of all marriages
are likely to end in divorce: 8% within five years
of marriage, 19% within ten years, 32% within
twenty years and 39% within thirty years.
Remarriages following divorce have the highest
risk of divorce. The probability of divorce is
slightly lower for first marriages and much lower
for remarriages following widowhood.
Table 5.43 brings together summary measures
of divorces for Census years between 1901
and 1986, and individual years between 1990
and 1999.