Can the foreign same-sex partner of an Australian citizen receive legal permission to live in Australia?

Answer 1

Yes, they can apply for a Partner Visa. Here is a quote from the Immigration Department:

Partners or fiancés of Australian citizens, [of] Australian permanent residents or [of] eligible New Zealand citizens may apply to enter and/or remain permanently in Australia. Partner category migration may apply to:

• people intending to get married (fiancés)
• married (de jure) partners
• de facto partners (including those in a same-sex relationship).

A same-sex de facto relationship is not treated any differently than a marriage for purposes of Australian immigration except that extensive documentation is required of the relationship and there is a minimum one-year relationship requirement. The one-year requirement can be waived for humanitarian/refugee reasons and for these three exceptions:

1. Both partners are parents of a child;
2. The relationship was registered in the relevant Australian state or territory prior to the visa application;
3. The laws of the foreign country involved do not permit same-sex cohabitation.

There is no one-year requirement for legally married couples (and same-sex couples are NOT legally married according to Australian law) and the legal certificate of marriage is documentation of the relationship. So, as you can see, there is still disparity between heterosexuals and gays and lesbians, but at least there does exist a path to residency by virtue of same-sex relationship, which does not exist in many other countries, notably the United States.

See the related links below, including the Australian Department of Immigration site.