Australia — Government Shifts in Supporting Marriage and Relationship Education

Abstract

In Australia, there have been several shifts in policy directions as the federal government attempts to respond to the social problems of marriage breakdowns. As part of this strategy, the government has been encouraging the development of marriage education for some decades. This chapter demonstrates the role of government policies in facilitating the provision of relationship advice and skills to marrying couples. On the one hand, in a bid to address the problem of ‘marital decline’, for decades the government has supported marital education programs that target heterosexual women and men intending to marry. The goal is to strengthen marriage and families, in some ways reinforcing conservative values about ‘the family’ — this is evident in the fervent opposition to same-sex marriage. On the other hand, the government has not developed any specific marriage initiative, but now targets relationships and families more broadly. It has also implemented measures to assist people at the time of relationship separation and divorce. Policy is therefore also informed by the ‘marital resilience’ perspective.