Legals
The Australian Civil Marriage Ceremony allows you complete flexibility in the way you wish your service to be conducted. You can customise your service by including your own words, vows and poems.
At our first meeting I will show you a booklet of readings, containing a large selection to assist you in your choice. You can have a formal or an informal ceremony, or any combination of the two.
You can choose your own location - at your own home, or one of the many beautiful parks, gardens, restaurants, hotels, and wedding function centres available in your area.i
The Civil Wedding Service in Australia.
In 1973 the Australian government initiated the"Civil Marriage Celebrant Programme". At the time it was a significant change to the way in which couples were able to marry in Australia. This new law allowed them a far greater choice in the way the marriage ceremony could be conducted.
Those who had been divorced and unable to re-marry in their church were now given the opportunity to participate in a dignified and meaningful service. It gave all couples a choice of location for the ceremony and enabled them to have a variety of wordings from which to choose, including poems, a favourite reading, and of course, a complete choice of accompanying music.
Couples are even able to write their own service, provided it is in accordance with the Laws of Australia concerning Marriage.
Since that time the programme has been an unqualified success with an increasing number of weddings being performed by Civil Marriage Celebrants.
The majority of weddings in Australia are now conducted by Civil Marriage Celebrants. Civil Celebrants are now officiating at other civil ceremonies such as Baby Namegivings, Renewal of Marriage Vows and non-religious Funeral Services.
Before you may marry, the law requires that you sign and lodge with our authorised celebrant the Notice of Intended Marriage. You can download and print a copy of the Notice of Intended Marriage from the website: www.allcertificates.com
For overseas visitors and tourists wishing to marry in Australia, this document is available at any Australian Consulate or Embassy.
When you have printed the Notice of Intended Marriage(NOIM), complete the third and fourth pages. Sign the fourth page in the presence of me or any of the approved witnesses listed on the form.
The NOIM has to be signed and lodged with your authorised celebrant not less than one month and one day before the wedding and not more than eighteen months before the wedding ceremony; together with original copies of your Birth Certificates, and if there has been a previous marriage, original copies of the Decree Absolute or Death Certificate. (These original documents must be sighted by the authorised celebrant before the wedding can take place). If you cannot supply these documents immediately, they may be produced later, but they must be produced before the marriage can take place.
Please note - under Australian law, marriage of any person under 18 years years of age without an order of a judge or magistrate is invalid. Under no circumstances can 2 persons under 18 years marry each other.
Every marriage requires two witnesses who sign the marriage documents after the ceremony. They can be related to you but both must be 18 years or over.
The fee for the solemnization of the marriage depends on your special requirements. Please contact me for further information.
Contacting your State Registry Office.
If you were born in Australia you will need to produce an original copy of your birth certificate. This can be obtained at the Registry Office of your state of birth.
If you were born overseas you will need your birth certificate and a current passport. If these documents are in a language other than English, you will need a certified translation of the documents.
If you are widowed you will also need the death certificate which can be obtained from the State Registry in the state where the death was registered.
If either partner was previously divorced, a copy of the Decree Absolute can be obtained from the Family Law Court in the state where the marriage was dissolved. (please note - this only applies to marriages dissolved after 1975).
For marriages dissolved before 1975, a copy of the decree absolute can be obtained from the Supreme Court in the state where the marriage was dissolved.