The passage of the Marriage Act in 1961 marked the culmination of a slow and hesitant process by which Australia's federal government assumed control over the law governing getting married in Australia.  This paper will examine two key aspects of the Commonwealth's new law.  First, it will consider contending viewpoints on the minimum age for marriage.  Secondly, it will explore the allocation of responsibility for policing the Commonwealth's new regulations.  Rather than providing for organs of the state to monitor compliance with legal requirements for getting married, the Marriage Act continued the long-term 'partnership' between religious bodies and the state that had long regulated getting married in Australia.  The paper will discuss the key regulatory responsibilities concerning the solemnization of marriages that were retained by ministers of religion at a time when at least 88% of marriage ceremonies were conducted in churches.  This examination of the way the legal requirements for entry into marriage operated in practice provides a fresh and nuanced perspective on a key Australian historical debate concerning the relationship between religious bodies and the state.