FAQ's
1. What should I consider when choosing a Civil Celebrant?
When choosing a Civil Celebrant, the most important aspect is to ensure that you have a great rapport with the celebrant. The ideal way to do this is to have a meeting with the celebrant prior to booking or making a commitment so that you can judge for yourself whether the celebrant will be a good fit for your wedding. This can be achieved either by phone, face to face or skype.
Other things to consider are:
- Celebrant must comply with the Code of Practice
- Reputation
- Knowledge
- Professionalism
- Appearance – are they well presented, well spoken etc.
- Courteous and Pleasant manner
- Accommodating and Flexible
2. Who arranges the paperwork and when?
The celebrant that you engage will supply the relevant paperwork and offer you guidance as to when the paperwork should be completed. The Notice of Intended Marriage is the first and most important document and must be completed no later than one month prior to the wedding to ensure you are eligible to marry. All subsequent paperwork will be lodged by the celebrant.
3. When do I need to lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage?
The Notice of Intended Marriage should be lodged with your celebrant at least 1 month before the date of your marriage and no longer than 18 months prior to the marriage. Failure to do so may result in you being unable to marry on your intended day.
4. How do I lodge a complaint against a Civil Celebrant?
In the first instance, try to resolve any issues with your celebrant directly, however, if reasonable measures have been taken to resolve the problem and cannot be resolved, the issue can then be escalated to the Attorney General?s office by contacting them at this link.
5. How do I get the Certified Marriage Certificate?
Your celebrant has 14 days to lodge the Marriage Certificate with Births, Deaths and Marriages. After the prescribed 14 days from your Marriage Ceremony, you will need to apply for the certificate with Births, Deaths and Marriages in the state that you were married. For information on how to apply for your Marriage Certificate, please follow the link below.
6. What Name can I use on the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM)?
Most people use the name that is recorded on their birth certificate so in most cases when completing the NOIM parties will write their name as it appears on their birth certificate.
Spelling must be identical and all given names which appear on the birth certificate must be included.
Spelling must be identical and all given names which appear on the birth certificate must be included.
If a person has changed their name from the name on their birth certificate by way of Births, Deaths and Marriages issued Change of Name Certificate or Deed Poll (prior to BDM?s Starting to issue Change of Name Certificates) they should write this name exactly as it appears on the change of name certificate or Deed Poll documentation on the NOIM.
If a person changed their name by marriage and retained a previous spouse?s surname, they may record that surname on the NOIM. A certified copy of the Court-Issued Divorce Certificate will be required.
A person may record the name on their Australian Citizenship Certificate on the NOIM if the person also has photo identification in that name, such as a driver?s licence, proof of age card or an Australian or Overseas Passport.
7. Who can witness the NOIM?
Within Australia:
- ? An Authorised Celebrant (in person)
- ? A commissioner for declarations under the statutory declarations Act 1959
- ? A Justice of the Peace
- ? A Barrister or Solicitor
- ? A Legally qualified Medical Practitioner
- ? A member of the Australian Federal Police or the police force of a State or Territory
Outside of Australia
- ? an Australian Diplomatic Officer
- ? an Australian Consular Officer
- ? a notary public
- ? an employee of the Commonwealth authorised under paragraph 3(c) of the Consular Fees Act 1955, or
- ? an employee of the Australian Trade Commission authorised under paragraph 3(d) of the Consular Fees Act 1955.
A NOIM signed outside Australia cannot be witnessed by an authorised celebrant. The witness to the signatures is required to complete both witnessing panels provided, as well as adding their credentials.
8. What Identification and paperwork do you need to provide?
Each party to a marriage must give their authorised celebrant evidence of their date and place of birth before a marriage is solemnised. The following documents only are acceptable as evidence of a party?s date and place of birth:
- an official (original) certificate of birth, or an official extract of an entry in an official register showing the date and place of birth of the party, or
- a statutory declaration from the party or the party?s parent stating:
- it is impracticable (this does not mean not practical or convenient; it means impossible) to obtain an official birth certificate or extract, and the reasons why, and
- to the best of the declarant?s knowledge and belief and as accurately as the declarant has been able to ascertain, when and where the party was born, or
- a passport issued by the Australian government or a government of an overseas country showing the date and place of birth of the party.
If the document a party provides as evidence of their date and place of birth is written in another language or alphabet, the couple should seek a translation of the document by an accredited translator. The NAATI website has a list of translators.
Parties are encouraged to produce their evidence of date and place of birth with the NOIM, but it may be produced at any time before the marriage is solemnised. For the purposes of complying with the timeframes required for giving the NOIM it is sufficient for an authorised celebrant to see copies of documents, such as those scanned and sent via email or facsimile, as long as the originals are provided and sighted by the authorised celebrant before the marriage is solemnised. It is an offence for an authorised celebrant to solemnise a marriage before this evidence of date and place of birth has been produced by each of the parties to the proposed marriage.
An authorised celebrant shall not solemnise a marriage unless satisfied that the parties are the parties referred to in the NOIM.36 This requirement is separate from, and additional to, the requirement that each party to a marriage must give their authorised celebrant evidence of their date and place of birth before a marriage is solemnised.
An authorised celebrant should require each party to a marriage to provide at least one of the following documents with photo identification as evidence of their identity:
? a driver?s licence
? a proof of age/photo card
? an Australian or overseas passport, or
? a Certificate of Australian Citizenship along with another form of photographic evidence (such as a student card or other photo identification not listed above).
A person who has been previously married must provide the authorised celebrant with proof that any prior marriage has ended whether by divorce or by the death of the other party. An original death certificate must be provided or a party whose last marriage ended in divorce must produce evidence of this divorce to the authorised celebrant. This evidence should take the form of the actual certificate of divorce, decree absolute or overseas issued equivalent.
A NOIM can be received by an authorised celebrant even though a party is, or both parties are, still married to another person at the date of receipt of the NOIM. In such cases it is sufficient that the married party or parties note when filling in the NOIM that they are still married, that a divorce order is being sought and the date upon which the divorce is expected to be finalised. However, the marriage cannot be solemnised unless evidence of the divorce is given to the authorised celebrant prior to the solemnisation of the marriage.
9. Do we have to have the Monitum included in our wedding ceremony?
Yes. It is a legal requirement that the Monitum is said by the celebrant to both parties to the marriage, in the presence of the witnesses. The Monitum reads as follows and should not be altered:
I am duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages according to law.
Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of
the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter.
Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily
entered into for life.
10. What is an Apostille Stamp and do I need one?
If you marry in Australia and plan to use the Marriage Certificate overseas, you may need an Apostille Stamp. An Australian public document must be "legalised" or formally proved valid and genuine, before it is accepted by overseas businesses, governments or courts. Apostille Certificates prove conclusively that Australian public documents are authentic and genuine for this purpose. However, Australian public documents legalised by Apostille Certificates are restricted in their use to only those countries which are signatories to The Hague Convention. If not a signatory, full document legalisation by the foreign country's Embassy or Consulate in Australia is necessary. To apply for an Apostille Stamp, please go the link below.