- The number of marriages for every 1,000 people has generally fallen in the last 40 years (9.3 in 1970, 7.4 in 1980, 5.3 in 2001, 5.5 in 2008).
- Cohabitation before marriage has increased significantly in the last 40 years. In 1975, only 16 per cent of those married lived together beforehand, increasing to 23 per cent in 1979. . By 2008, however, 78 per cent of those married lived together beforehand.
- For those people who married in 1985–1987 and 2000–2002, the expected average duration of their total married life remained unchanged at around 32 years.
- The number of Queenslanders marrying is increasing, but marriage rates have been outstripped by divorces, de facto relationships and people choosing to remain single. From 2006 to 2011, there was a nine per cent increase in the number of Queenslanders marrying but divorces increased by 12 per cent.
- The median age for married Queenslanders is 50. The median age for those in de facto relationships is 34 and 25 for singles.
- Queensland and Tasmania recorded the highest proportion of couples living together prior to marriage.
- The number of divorces for every 1,000 people more than doubled between 1975 and 1976 (from 1.8 to 4.6) when the Family Law Act 1975 came into force.
- The number of divorces for every 1,000 people has steadily declined in the last 30 years (2.7 in 1980, 2.8 in 1999, 2.2 in 2008).
- The divorce rate from second marriages is a little higher than that from first marriages.
- At 2.2, Australia is in the top 10 countries for the highest divorce rate per 1,000 people. The United States is higher at approximately 4.95, Russia at 3.36, and the United Kingdom at 3.08.
- Growth of divorces and separations in Queensland is almost two per cent higher than the national figure. Queensland ranks second behind Western Australia in the growth rate of divorces and separations (12.57 per cent compared to 12.4 per cent).
- Reporting of domestic violence has increased. Thirty-six per cent of women who experienced physical assault by a male perpetrator reported it to the police in 2005 compared to 19 per cent in 1996, and that 19 per cent of women who experienced sexual assault reported it to the police in 2005 compared to 15 per cent in 1996.
- In 2009-10 the Queensland Police recorded 49, 372 domestic and family violence incidents (an increase of 11.5 per cent on the previous year) and laid 8,033 charges for breach of a domestic violence order.
- In the same period, the courts received 22, 754 applications for domestic violence orders (an increase of 8 per cent on the previous year).
- Contact arrangements for separated parents has changed. The proportion of children who rarely had contact with their natural parent living elsewhere (less than once per year or never) has declined (30% in 1997, 26% in 2003, 28% in 2006-07 and 24% in 2009-10).
- Australian Institute of Family Studies , Americans for Divorce Reform
- Australian Bureau of Statistics Lifetime marriage and divorce trends. (2007). (Cat. No. 4102.0). Canberra: ABS.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey, (2005), (Cat. No. 4906.0), Canberra, ABS.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics Family Characteristics Survey, (2009-2010), (Cat. No. 4442.0 Canberra, ABS.
