Submission to Senate Inquiry into a popular vote on marriage in Australia

This document is a submission made by the APS in 2015 to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into the matter of a popular vote, in the form of a plebiscite or referendum, on the matter of marriage in Australia.

The submission explains that while the APS fully supports marriage equality, the APS believes that the process for achieving equality should not be by means of a popular vote.

The reason for this position is twofold. Firstly, a public vote is likely to present significant risks to the psychological health and wellbeing of those most affected. Second, marriage equality is a human rights and equal opportunity issue and therefore on principle, should be a matter for Australian law and our parliamentary system, not a popular vote.

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