By Sharla Stevens
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) just released their latest statistics on marriages and divorces from 2015 on the 30th November 2016.
Although the number of marriages ending in divorce was slowly decreasing, the latest figures show that the divorce rate has just increased. In 2010 the ABS released data that around 42% of marriages ended in divorce whereas in 2014 that rate decreased to 38% but unfortunately in 2015 that rate has increased to around 41%.
The number of couples choosing to marry has decreased from around 121,000 registered marriages in 2010 to 113,595 marriages in 2015.
The median age that couples are choosing to get married at has also slightly increased from 2010:
- For men the median age at marriage in 2010 was 31.4 years whereas in 2015 it was 31.8; and
- For women the median age at marriage in 2010 was 29.2 years whereas in 2015 it was 29.8.
Also, the number of couples choosing to live together before getting married is also increasing. In 2010 around 78% of couples lived together before getting married and this has continued to increase, such that in 2015 81% of couples lived together before getting married.
It also appears as if the length of marriages is also increasing with the median duration of time from marriage to separation being 8.8 years in 2010 and then increasing to 12.1 years in 2015.
For more information on the data results see: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3310.0Main+Features12010?OpenDocument, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3310.02014 and http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3310.0.
If you need any assistance with a family law matter, please contact Cristina Huesch or one our solicitors Sharla Stevens or Angela Li at Alliance Family Law on (02) 6223 2400.
