British gay marriage law will allow same-sex unions in Australia as well

Same-sex couples will be able to use British laws to marry in Australian cities from June, after the Abbott Government told Britain it had no objection.

The move has been hailed by marriage equality advocates as a sign of how far the nation has come on the issue since 2010, when then Attorney-General Robert McClelland prevented Portugal from solemnising same-sex marriages in its diplomatic posts in Australia after the nation legalised same-sex marriage.

The decision clears the way to marry for hundreds of Australian same-sex couples in which one partner has British citizenship.

St Kilda East woman Claire Eden, 26, who has Australian as well as British citizenship through her father, was ecstatic at the news. Ms Eden is already well advanced in planning the celebration in which she will marry her partner of two years, Steph McIlroy, in November.

''With two brides, it has to be big,'' she said.

''For us, calling each other wife and being recognised as a married couple is quite significant. I mean, having someone as your domestic partner doesn't quite have the same ring to it as saying this person is your wife,'' Ms Eden said.

''We're a unit, and we want to be viewed in that way, wherever we are in the world,'' she said.