Dear Nathan,

«So why is getting a marriage license so much easier?»

Because it means nothing.

«Flow on effects can include family violence»

No, violence never flows on from love.
If there is no love then there is no marriage, no matter how many certificates you hold.

«So many want the right of marriage, which includes the need for a marriage license»

No, no license is needed: you can marry at any time, anyone (and even several people) without any license at all.
Alright, government might not recognise your marriage, but what's the big deal about that?

Well at the very least, as with a driving test, those applying for a marriage licence, especially the female partner, should be required to take an oral test.

One more time. There is no such thing as a marriage licence in Australia!

ttbn,

Marriage licence or marriage contract - it's still just a tax.

Nobody has yet mentioned the benefits of the Marriage Learner's Licence.

Or what about a Provisional Marriage Licence? Zero tolerance on no-sex for the first 12 months.

This is where we need to get somebody who really knows all about this sort stuff like our own Australian version of Romeo and Juliet: Dazza and Gladys B.

ttbn: "One more time. There is no such thing as a marriage licence in Australia!"

It's not exactly clear what NathanJ means when he says "marriage licence". I initially assumed that he meant the authorization of a person to be able to solemize a marriage. But he does mildly seem to be conflating the ease for a couple to marry with the ease for people to become both qualified and authorised to solemnise a marriage.

To get a "marriage licence", ie. become qualified and authorised to conduct a marriage ceremony, in the case of marriage celebrants requires them to have completed this course*: Certificate IV in Celebrancy http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/CHC41015 and to also register with the Government. (I don't know what the training requirements are for ministers of religion, but I know that they also need to be registered before they can solemnise a ceremony).

All legally valid marriages conducted in Australia must be conducted in accordance with the Marriage Act. From what I understand, for the person solemnizing the marriage, this basically just amounts to preforming background checks on those wishing to get married (eg: check that they are not about to engage in bigamy), filling out the government's paper work, and ensuring that certain proceduures when conducting the marriage ceremony are performed. (eg: exchange of vows).

After a quick internet search I've found this web-page that outlines the skills/proficiency that a celebrant needs to attain before they can conduct a marriage: http://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2018L00989 . Apparently there is also an ongoing yearly fee that must be paid (not surprising because we are dealing with government here) and additionally some yearly minimal amount of professional development.

[*By-the-way: I previously knew this is general but I just googled it to get the particulars. But the name of the course has now got me wondering why is it called a Certificate IV? Are there other sorts of certificates, eg: certificate III?. Or is this just some sort of nomenclature that the government uses to label courses in general?]

ttbn is quite right.

In Australia, there are no marriage licences so getting one is much harder than getting a driver's licence.