When they split at the end of 2014, Killen was initially too grief-stricken to think about divorce.



"But then I met my current partner, and then I started thinking seriously about how to get divorced," she told BuzzFeed News. "We’re looking at doing serious life things like buying a house.

"I think my ex is doing similar sorts of things with her life, so it became pertinent to get divorced, and also for closure."



But she hit the same kind of walls as Wilson.

"I would have these late night googling sessions that were often a bit tear fuelled," Killen said.

"I would find myself in this hole of government forms. There was no way to do it through the Australian system, so I would google 'divorce in British Columbia', and they have a system in place where you have to be a resident. There’s a loophole where you can apply for an exemption, but you have to apply to the Supreme Court with a series of forms.

"I always sat down thinking, this time I'm going to figure it out – how to fill in forms, which ones, where to send them. And then an hour later I’d be like, I just can’t. I just can’t figure it out."

Information provided by the Australian government could be clearer. The Australian Federal Circuit Court states on its website, with no caveats, that couples married overseas are eligible to apply for a divorce if they are an Australian citizen or resident.



A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the court was unable to confirm whether same-sex couples could divorce in Australia, and referred questions to the attorney-general’s department.

The attorney-general’s department supplied background information on de facto separation, clarifying that overseas same-sex marriages are not legally recognised in Australia.

It did not respond directly to questions about whether same-sex couples can or can't divorce in Australia, or what legislative remedies – other than legalising same-sex marriage – are possible.