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Legal requirements

Legal Requirements for Marrying in Australia

To get married in Australia, a couple has to:

  • Lodge a Notice of Intention to Marry Form
  • Provide evidence of who you are, and your marital status
  • Sign a Statutory Declaration stating that there are no impediments to you marrying
  • Two Witnesses over 18 years of age
  • Marrying less than the one calendar month
  • Authorisation of marriage of person under 18 years in exceptional circumstances
  • If either party has changed their name , original documents certifying this must be provided
  1. Notice of Intention to Marry Form (NOIM):

I can provide you with a ‘Notice of Intended Marriage’ form, or you can download this from either the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department website www.ag.gov.au or Births Deaths and Marriages WA www.bdm.dotag.wa.gov.au This must be completed no more than eighteen months, and no less than one month before the Wedding, for example if you signed the NOIM on 27 March, you could be married on or after the 28th April.   At our first meeting this form can be filled in, signed, and witnessed by me.

If you are unable to see me, you can also post it, provided these forms are filled in correctly – in Capital letters and using Black ink. In Australia, your form must be signed in front of a person who is authorised to witness your signature, these are;

A Marriage Celebrant, a Commissioner of Declarations, a Justice of the Peace, a Barrister or Solicitor, a legally qualified Medical Practitioner, or a member of the Federal, State or Territory police.  Please note that unless a pharmacist is also a justice of the peace, they are not authorised to witness your signatures. The Attorney-General’s Dept website has a list of Prescribed Authorities within WA, and other States and Territories.

If you live overseas and intend to marry in Australia, you can complete the NOIM  while in your home country, and have it witnessed by;

An Australian Diplomatic Officer, an Australian Consular Officer, a Notary Public, an employee of the Commonwealth authorised para 3 (c) of the Consular Fees Act 1955, or an employee of the Australian Trade Commission authorised under para 3 (d) of the Consular Fees Act 1955.

You can scan and email this to me, but please bring the original with you.

2. Evidence of Identity and Marital Status:

You will need your birth certificates (originals), a birth certificate from overseas is fine, as long as it is in English, or a person authorised to do this, has translated it, and a Translation Certificate supplied. Your valid (non-Australian) passport if you were born overseas, but that also must be translated into English, and a Translation Certificate supplied. In Australia only those who are accredited by and registered with the National Accreditation Authority for Translators; www.naati.com.au, email info@naati.com.au, or phone 1300 557 470, can translate your documents.

If you cannot provide, and believe that you cannot obtain, any of the above documents, talk to me about the possibility of you filling in and signing a Statutory Declaration, for example you may have had to flee your country of birth or records have been destroyed.

I also need to see some  form of photo ID, if you do not have your passport, a drivers licence, proof of age card, or student ID will suffice.

If you had been married, you will need to provide an original of the Decree Absolute or Certificate of Divorce, or Death Certificate of your former spouse.

3. Commonwealth Statutory Declaration:

In times past, at a Wedding the Minister or Priest would ask, at the beginning of the Ceremony “does anybody present know of any reason why this couple should not marry?”, or words to that effect. Instead of this, you now sign a Statutory Declaration declaring that there is no legal impediment to your marriage with your fiancé/partner.  This form is on the reverse of the Marriage Certificate, it must be signed in my presence, a few days before the Wedding Ceremony.

4. Witnesses:

You must have two official witnesses for your ceremony; they will need to have attained eighteen years of age. I will need their full names, because they will be included on your official Certificate of Marriage, which is forwarded by me to the Register-General of Births Deaths and Marriages.

5. Marrying less than the one month:

There are certain prescribed reasons that can lessen the time before the ceremony and they must meet the prescribed regulations

  • Employment related
  • Wedding or celebration arrangements or religious considerations
  • Medical reasons
  • Legal proceedings
  • Error in giving notice

The reason for seeking a shortening of time must fall within one of these categories and it is up to the prescribed authority (Local Court or Registry Office) to approve the application and it is not an automatic process.

6. Under 18 years of Age:

Authorisation of marriage to a person under 18 years of age in exceptional circumstances.

1) A person who has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 18 years may apply to a Judge or magistrate in a State or Territory for an order authorising him or her to marry a particular person of marriageable age despite the fact that the applicant has not attained the age of 18 years.

The Judge or magistrate shall, subject to subsection (4) hold an inquiry into the relevant facts and circumstances and, if satisfied that

(a) the applicant has attained the age of 16 years; and

(b) the circumstances of the case are so exceptional and unusual as to justify the making of the order;

the Judge or magistrate may, in his or her discretion, make the order sought, but otherwise the Judge or magistrate shall refuse the application.

Marriage Act 1961 pages 9/10