3306.0.55.001 - Marriages, Australia, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/10/2007   
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GLOSSARY

Cohabiting couples

Cohabiting couples refer to males and females, both aged at least 15 years, who are in a registered or de facto marriage and are usually resident in the same household.

Crude marriage rate


The crude marriage rate, is the number of marriages registered during the calendar year per 1,000 estimated resident population at 30 June. For years prior to 1992, the crude marriage rate was based on the mean estimated resident population for the calendar year. In the interpretation of this rate, it must be kept in mind that a large and varying proportion of the population used in the denominator is below the minimum age of marriage or is already married.

Estimated resident population (ERP)


The official measure of the population of Australia is based on the concept of residence. It refers to all people, regardless of nationality or citizenship, who usually live in Australia, with the exception of foreign diplomatic personnel and their families. It includes usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months. It excludes overseas visitors who are in Australia for less than 12 months.

Marital status


Two separate concepts of marital status are measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These are registered marital status and social marital status.

Registered marital status refers to formally registered marriages and divorces. Registered marital status is a person's relationship status in terms of whether he or she has, or has had, a registered marriage with another person. Accordingly, people are classified as either 'never married', 'married', 'widowed' or 'divorced'. Registered marital status is the concept used in the Marriages collection.

Social marital status is the relationship status of an individual with reference to another person who is resident in the household. A marriage exists when two people live together as husband and wife, or partners, regardless of whether the marriage is formalised through registration. Individuals are, therefore, regarded as married if they are in a de facto marriage, or if they are living with the person to whom they are registered as married. Under social marital status, a person is classified as either 'married' or 'not married' with further disaggregation of 'married' to distinguish 'registered married' from 'de facto married' persons.

Marriage


Refers to registered marriages only. Under the Marriage Act 1961, a marriage may be celebrated by a minister of religion registered as an authorised celebrant, by a district registrar or by other persons authorised by the Attorney-General. Notice of the intended marriage must be given to the celebrant at least one calendar month but within six calendar months before the marriage. A celebrant must transmit an official certificate of the marriage for registration in the state or territory in which the marriage took place.

Median value


For any distribution, the median value (age, duration, interval) is that value which divides the relevant population into two equal parts, half falling below the value and half exceeding it. Where the value for a particular record has not been stated, that record is excluded from the calculation.

State or territory of registration


State or territory of registration refers to the state or territory in which the marriage was registered.

State or territory of usual residence


State or territory of usual residence refers to the state or territory of usual residence of the population for estimated resident population. Estimated resident population is used for calculating marriage rates.

Year of registration


Data presented on year of registration basis relate to the date the event was registered.