A gay couple has proved same-sex marriage is possible in Australia – as long as it is by using a legal loophole.

Dan Waknin, 35, and James Hanley, 23, who has dual British/Australian citizenshop, tied the knot at the UK consulate under the marriage equality laws in England and Wales.

Their marriage will not be recognized in Australia.

‘The reality is we are happy and we want to be a family,’ Waknin said. ‘We want other people to have the same right as us to marry the love of our lives.’

Hanley told the Courier Mail that same-sex marriage should be a ‘non-issue’.

‘It’s 2016. I can’t believe it’s still so hotly debated in politics. We just need to legalize gay marriage and move on to bigger issues,’ he said.

The couple celebrated their nuptials in Manly, northern Sydney.

The Consular Marriages and Marriages under Foreign Law Order 2014 means any gay couple – with at least one person holding a UK passport – can get married in a country where it is illegal to do so.

The list of countries includes Australia, China, Dominican Republic, Germany, Japan, Peru, Philippines, Russia and Vietnam.