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Equality Quiz

Think you know what it takes to makeover our parliament? Want to know if lesbians and gay men are equal when it comes to Federal legislation? Take the Equality Quiz now to find out.

Question 1: Are lesbians and gay men protected from discrimination at a federal level?

Question 2: Did you know that same-sex partners of veterans are not treated equally by the department of veteran affairs?

Question 3: Does the Commonwealth think that our families are equal?

Question 4: Are you and your partner treated the same as straight couples when it comes to tax?

Question 5: Are there barriers to my same-sex partner immigrating to Australia?

You answered Yes which is Incorrect. Whilst anti-discrimination exists at a state level, there is no such legislation that covers discrimination on the basis of sexuality at the Commonwealth level<back to to next question>

You answered No which is Correct. At a Federal level anti-discrimination legislation exists to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, marital status and disability. However, there is still no legislation which protects lesbians and gay men from discrimination.

You answered Yes which is Correct. It is true that our Federal Government continues to refuse to acknowledge the entitlements of same sex partners of war veterans. This is despite a UN decision last year, which found that such a refusal was a breach of Australia’s international human rights obligations.

You answeres No: which is Incorrect. As same-sex partners are not considered to be “de facto spouse” within Federal legislation, they are not entitled to the same veterans benefits as heterosexual partners of veterans.

You answered Yes which is Incorrect. Our families still face discrimination when it comes to Family law. Whilst same-sex couples can use the Family Court for disputes regarding children, they cannot use it to divide up property. <back to to next question>

You answered No which is correct. The Federal Attorney General has refused to allow the states to hand over their power over same-sex property disputes to the Family court, whilst heterosexual de facto couples will now have access to the Family court property regime.

You answered Yes which is Incorrect. Lesbians and Gay couples are still not treated the same way as straight couples when it comes to taxation. With a lack of recognition of same-sex relationships as de facto relationships, we continue to face discrimination in taxation law as well as many other federal areas. <back to to next question>

You answere No which is Correct. Same sex partners cannot be claimed as dependents for taxation purposes. Nor can our partner’s income be counted in the few areas where household rather than individual income is counted – for example for purposes such as the Medicare levy and medical expense rebates. <back to to next question>

You answered Yes which is Correct. While same sex partners can apply for interdependency visas, these are more onerous than de facto partner visas. Further, the number of interdependency visas available has been dramatically reduced during the term of the Howard Government.

This concludes the quiz!!<back to to questions> <back to election page>

You answered No which is Incorrect. Whilst Australia has traditionally had been one of the more progressive countries when it comes to same-sex de facto immigration, our relationships are still not considered equal to heterosexual de facto and married couples for immigration purposes.

This concludes the quiz!!<back to to questions><back to election page>