Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
Notarial Services Handbook
(Domestic and Overseas Services)
28 January 2016
1
Contents
SECTION 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Notarial Services explained ................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Legal Framework ................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Current consular fees and disclaimer.................................................................................... 5
1.4 Authorised providers............................................................................................................. 7
1.5 Notarial tools ......................................................................................................................... 9
SECTION 2: Legalisation of signatures and seals on documents through Authentications and
Apostilles ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1 Signature and Seals Database ............................................................................................. 11
2.1 (a) Locating Signatures and Seals on the database ............................................................. 12
2.2 Authentication of signatures and/or seals. ......................................................................... 12
2.3 Affixing of an Apostille ........................................................................................................ 12
2.4 Determining which stamp is required ................................................................................. 13
2.5 Authentication and Apostille fees ....................................................................................... 14
2.6. Acceptable documents ....................................................................................................... 15

2.6(a) Australian Government Documents ........................................................................ 15

2.6(b) Documents issued by Embassies or Consulates ...................................................... 16

2.6(c) Private Documents................................................................................................... 16

2.6 (d) Electronic documents ............................................................................................. 24
2.7. Issuing Apostilles ................................................................................................................ 24
2.8. Issuing Authentications ...................................................................................................... 30
2.9. Bindings .............................................................................................................................. 37
2.10. Labels for legalisations ..................................................................................................... 40
2.10 (a) Label procedure ........................................................................................................... 40
2.11. Wet Stamp Lablling .......................................................................................................... 41
2.12. Record keeping for authentications and apostilles ......................................................... 41
2.13. Obtaining and setting up new signatures on the CIS database ....................................... 42
2

2.13 (a) Obtaining a new signature (within Australia only) ............................................... 42

2.13 (b) Scanning in a new signature ................................................................................. 43

2.13 (b) Editing an existing signature in the database ...................................................... 51
SECTION 3: Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage .............................................................. 53
3.1 General information and requirements .............................................................................. 53
3.2 Issuing CNIs from CIS ........................................................................................................... 57
3.3 Record keeping for CNIs ...................................................................................................... 59
3.4 Issuing an authentication or apostille on a CNI .................................................................. 60
ADDITIONAL NOTARIAL SERVICES PROVIDED AT OVERSEAS POSTS ............................................ 61
SECTION 4: Witnessing Signatures ............................................................................................... 61
4.1 Authority to witness signatures .......................................................................................... 61
4.2 Steps to witness a signature................................................................................................ 63
SECTION 5: Certifying Copies ....................................................................................................... 64
5.1 Authority to certify copies................................................................................................... 64
5.2 Steps to certify a copy of a document ................................................................................ 64
SECTION 6: Statutory Declarations .............................................................................................. 65
SECTION 7: Oaths and Affirmations (via Affidavits) ...................................................................... 66
7.1 Authority to witness affidavit and administer oath or affirmation .................................... 67
7.2 Attachments ........................................................................................................................ 67
7.3 Other forms of oath ............................................................................................................ 68
7.4 Administering an affirmation .............................................................................................. 69
7.5 Amending an affidavit ......................................................................................................... 70
SECTION 8: Preventing fraud ....................................................................................................... 70
8.1 Binding a document ............................................................................................................ 71
SECTION 9: Online references ...................................................................................................... 72
SECTION 10: Forms ...................................................................................................................... 74
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SECTION 1: Introduction
This manual should be read in conjunction with the Consular Handbook (Chapter 22). These
practical guidelines are best practice and should replace any existing procedures or reference
material for the issuing of notarial acts.
All posts are reminded that notarial acts must be processed electronically and recorded in CIS.
Clients should be encouraged to read the material
http://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents.html
available
at
Smartraveller
1.1 Notarial Services explained
Notarial services are legal acts which allow a written record to be used for official or legal
purposes including in a court of law. Notarial services provided by DFAT will differ depending
on whether they are requested within Australia or at Australian missions overseas. Within
Australia, notarial services are provided by Notary Public. The only notarial related services
provided by DFAT within Australia are issuing Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage
(including the witnessing of the declaration made as part of the application) and the legalisation
of signatures/seals on documents through either an authentication or affixing of an apostille
certificate. At Australian missions overseas, DFAT notarial related services include witnessing of
signatures, certifying copies of documents intended for use either in Australia or abroad,
legalisation of signatures/seals through an authentication or an apostille, taking of affidavits
and affirmations, and issuing Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage (including the
witnessing of the declaration made as part of the application).
The range of, and requirements for, notarial services are varied. It is the client’s responsibility
to know which service he/she requires. DFAT does not provide legal advice and the onus is on
the client to present documents in the correct form and provide the correct instructions for
witnessing any signatures on the documents. Clients must be made aware of the notarial
disclaimer.
1.2 Legal Framework
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is permitted to provide a limited range of
notarial services under Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation; court rules; the Consular
Fees Act 1955; and the Statutory Declaration Act 1959.
Normally an explanation will be provided with a form, detailing what legislation is permitting
the DFAT officer to sign a form or witness a signature. The text normally refers to an
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“Authorised officer of an Australian Foreign Mission” or “Consular officer or Diplomatic Officer”
etc. Where a form or document does not stipulate which legislation is permitted the DFAT
officer to perform a function, staff should revert to the Consular Fees Act 1955.
1.3 Current consular fees and disclaimer
The Consular Fees Act 1955 and regulations set out the amount DFAT is permitted to charge for
consular services. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2004C00333
Column
Column 2
1
Column 3
Item
Consular act
Fee
1
Administering an oath or receiving a declaration
or affirmation, with or without witness of
$20
signature
2
Marking an exhibit to an affidavit or declaration
in writing
$10
3
Witnessing:
$20
(a) the signature; or
(b) the seal; or
(c) the signature and seal;
of an authority or person, other than a person
mentioned in section 3 of the Act
4
Signing a document, or affixing a seal to a
document or other article, in a case not
otherwise specified in this Schedule
$20
5
Signing and affixing a seal to a document in a
case not otherwise specified in this Schedule
$20
6
Preparing a declaration or other document in a
case not otherwise specified in this Schedule or
taking down in writing an oral declaration or
deposition made before a person mentioned in
section 3 of the Act
$30 and, in addition, $20 for each 50 words, or part
of 50 words, by which the document exceeds 50
words
7
Making and certifying a copy of a document or
part of a document
$30 and, in addition:
(a) if the consular act
includes the typing of the document or a part of the
document — $20 for each 50 typed words
(b) $2 for each copy, other than the first typed
copy, of a page of the document
8
Verifying and certifying a copy of a document or
$30 and, in addition:
part of a document
(a) if the consular act includes the typing of the
document or a part of the document — $20 for
each page
(b) $10 for each copy, other than the first typed
copy, of a page of the document
9
Uniting documents and affixing a seal to the
fastening
$20
5
10
Initialling alterations to, or interlineations in, a
document not prepared by a person mentioned
in section 3 of the Act
$5 for each 3 initiallings, or part of 3 initiallings
11
Taking evidence under a commission or order
from a court
$50 for each hour, or part of an hour, spent in
taking the evidence or $200, whichever is the
greater
12
Effecting, or attempting to effect, service of a
document and issuing a certificate or affidavit of $30
service or attempted service
13
Transmitting through official channels a
document or other article
$12 and, in addition, the amount of the postal
charges which would be payable if the document or
article were transmitted by post
14
Witnessing the execution of a will
$40
15
Transferring funds through official accounts,
other than for the purposes of the realisation of a $40
deceased estate
15A
Preparation and issue of an Apostille (being a
certificate of the kind referred to in Article 3 of
the Hague Convention Abolishing the
Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public
Documents)
16
The performance of a consular act specified in a $10 and, in addition:
preceding item of this Schedule:
(a) if the act is performed away from diplomatic
(a) away from diplomatic or consular premises;
or
(b) outside the hours when those premises are
open to the public for business
$60
or consular premises:
(i) the cost of the travel of a person mentioned in
section 3 of the Act from those premises to the
place where he or she performs the act
(ii) if the person is required to be absent overnight
from his or her usual place of residence — the cost
of his or her meals and accommodation
(b) if the act is performed outside the hours when
those premises are open to the public for business
— the amount of the remuneration (if any) of the
person in respect of the period in which the act was
performed
Posts are required to display prominently in the public area of the mission a disclaimer notice
which should be drawn to the attention of consular clients. The wording of the notice should
be:
Please ensure that documents relating to notarial services you require from the Australian
Government/Embassy/Consulate, are presented in the correct form and that you provide the
correct instructions for witnessing any signatures on the documents. If you are unsure of the
legislative requirements relating to witnessing signatures on a particular document, you should
seek independent legal advice. Please note, by witnessing a signature on a document neither
the Australian Government nor the Australian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate in
Post/Country guarantees the legal effectiveness of the document or the accuracy of its contents.
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Fees are not payable when the notarial act is performed at the request of and for the purposes
of a foreign government. In practice, this is usually under a Mutual Assistance Request and
would ordinarily only be approved through Canberra (Consular.policy@dfat.gov.au). An
example is a foreign court requesting the release of court documents or charge sheets through
a MAR administered by the Attorney Generals Department. When fees are payable overseas,
the fees are paid in the post's local currency. Local currency fees are to be reviewed monthly
and need only be amended when the exchange rate moves by 3 per cent or more since the last
variation. Local currency fees may be rounded to the nearest commercially used local currency
unit. In countries with multiple Australian posts, for example, the United States, responsibility
for setting local currency fees lies with the primary mission. For posts in countries using the
Euro, Brussels sets the local currency fees.
Handling and receipting of funds should be in accordance with the Financial Management
Manual. Receipt number should be recorded before the document is issued to the client and
should be entered into CIS before the notarial act/service is finalised.
Posts are also required to display prominently, in both English and the local language (for
overseas posts), a current list of local currency fees in their consular public area.
Overseas, if the act is performed away from diplomatic or consular premises, the following
additional charges apply:
•
the cost of the travel of a person specified in regulation 3 (an Australian diplomatic or
consular officer or an authorised locally engaged staff) from those premises to the place where
he or she performs the act
•
if the person is required to be absent overnight from his or her usual place of residence
the cost of his or her meals and accommodation.
•
if the act is performed outside the hours when those premises are open to the public for
business the amount of the remuneration (if any) of the person for the period when the act was
performed.
1.4 Authorised providers
Within Australia, delegated positions (APS employees only) in DFAT state, territory and
passport offices are authorised to provide services such as;
 Issuing of Certificates of no Impediment to Marriage (CNI) (including witnessing the
signature on the application form)
 legalisations of documents (Apostilles and Authentications)
The Instrument permitting officers to perform the functions is signed by the Secretary of the
Department and is located on the Delegations page of the Intranet.
Within Australia, services such as certifying true copies, statutory declarations and other
witnessing services are conducted by Australian Notaries Public, Justices of the Peace or other
authorised officials. If a document that has been certified or witnessed is then to be used
7
overseas, it is normally only the signature of Australian Notaries Public that can be legalised
(through Apostille or Authentication) by DFAT. See Section 2 on Legalisations for further
information.
Overseas, the authorisation is delegated to Australia-based (A-based) DFAT diplomatic and
consular officers, including AUSTRADE A-based officers employed in an AUSTRADE-run
consulate (only), not within a DFAT run mission. These officers are authorised to perform the
following tasks






Witnessing and taking of affidavits, oaths or affirmations.
Witnessing Commonwealth statutory declarations
Witnessing applications forms for, and issuing of, Certificates of No Impediment (CNI)
Witnessing notices of intended marriage
Perform legalisation of signatures and/or seals through either an authentication or an
apostille
Certifying true copies of documents or photographs
Reminder – Staff employed at Australian mission overseas by another government organisation
such as the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, or the Department of Education
may be permitted to certify documents intended for use by their agency but they are not
permitted to perform these functions at the mission more generally without appropriate
accreditation. This is normally reserved to staff that perform consular functions and are
accredited to positions such as: Consul‑General; Consul or Vice‑Consul;
With the permission of the host government, specifically designated Locally Engaged Staff
(LES) positions are also authorised to provide limited and specific acts, including:
 Witnessing Commonwealth, NSW and Queensland statutory declarations
 Witnessing the signing of applications forms for, and issuing of, Certificates of No
Impediment (CNI)
 Witnessing the signing of other Australian forms (where permitted by Australian laws – see
below)
 Witnessing notices of intended marriage
 Perform legalisation of signatures and/or seals through either an authentication or an
apostille
 Certifying true copies of documents or photographs (in some cases).
In addition to the above, the following Australian laws may allow LES to perform witnessing of
signatures and certification of documents;
 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cwth) – usually for the
opening of an Australian bank account, where the client must be identified and their forms
witnessed, the list of authorised officers is normally displayed on the documents presented
for witnessing;
8


Australian Consular Officers’ Notarial Powers and Evidence Act 1946 (Qld) for the making
of Qld Statutory Declarations or other forms produced by the Queensland government – eg,
Drivers Licence renewals;
Oaths Act 1900 (NSW) for the making of NSW Statutory Declarations or other forms
produced by the NSW Government including drivers licence renewals forms.
Reminder - Only A-based officers are permitted to provide services such as swearing of
affidavits, oaths or affirmations. Australian Honorary Consuls, consular wardens or Canadian
Consular Officers operating under the Canada-Australia agreement are not permitted to
perform notarial acts as they are not permanent employees of the Australian government.
1.5 Notarial tools
Special equipment is needed to perform notarial acts in accordance with Departmental policy
(which is to ensure they are tamper evident). Image at (Chapter 2.9 refers). These include:
 stamps (ie. wet seals), including the office common seal (usually obtained through a
provider in Australia – contact consular policy for the current provider).
 red wafer stickers and an embossing tool with the common seal, for placing dry seals on
documents (red wafer stickers are obtained either locally or through the Department
stationary provider, embossing tool is obtained from the stamp provider).
 a Bible and other religious texts as required, for administering oaths – however other
religious texts can be relied on, depending on the clients’ faith. Clients must provide these.
 green ribbon, metal eyelets and eyelet tool to bind documents (often obtained locally, or
through the Department’s stationary provider).
SECTION 2: Legalisation of signatures and seals on documents through
Authentications and Apostilles
Legalisation of signatures and seals on documents happens in two ways, through the affixing of
an apostille – attesting to the validity of a signature/seal – used when documents are destined
for use in Hague (Apostille) Convention countries or through a chain of authentications of
signature sand/or seals (used when documents are destined for use in non-Apostille
Convention countries.
Signatures affixed by rubber stamp, computer or automatically generated signatures can be
authenticated providing the authenticating officer is satisfied, following a comparison with a
copy of the seal in the CIS database, that it is the properly sanctioned 'mark' of the relevant
authority or person.
Certificates for authentications and apostilles are computer generated from CIS. The first
preference is to print directly onto the original document. Second preference is to print onto
standard Avery labels (or similar) and third preference is to print onto plain paper and bind. As
9
a last resort, wet ink stamps with the text may be used, these stamps should be a last resort
and not all posts will have them available. As a policy, these stamps are no longer purchased..
There are a limited range of electronic documents issued by government agencies that can be
authenticated as a “document issued by” instead of relating to a signature or seal. An example
is ASIC or ATO documents issued from a central online registry or emailed directly to the client
that sometimes include electronic keys preventing changes to the text. In addition to this,
several Australian authorities are producing, or intending to produce, public documents which
bear no signature or seal. These documents instead may employ sophisticated security features
built into the paper, such as the National Police Clearance Certificates issued by the Australian
Federal Police.
The relevant sample documents will be entered into the CIS database with instructions for
authentication as the Department becomes aware of them. Ordinarily, the “document issued
by” certificate can be used for these documents. They cannot be apostilled.
Usually search for the organisation name in CIS for example, “Australian Securities and
Investments Commission” and then look for “seal” the entry should be processed as
“Authentication – Electronic Document” to generate the correct certificate to print on the
document.
Authentications and Apostilles are legal processes and must only be issued once you are
satisfied the document is genuine and will not be used for fraudulent purposes. There have
been cases of attempted fraud in the past. All staff are reminded that we need to be cautious
about issuing an Authentication or Apostille.
Fraud
Should you have any misgivings regarding the veracity of a document (or there are serious
grounds to believe that a document has been illegally notarised or may be put to fraudulent
use), before providing authentication or affixing an apostille, you should immediately inform
your supervisor, who should in turn advise Consular Policy Branch consular.policy@dfat.gov.au
and the Conduct and Ethics Unit of the Department in Canberra.
In accordance with the DFAT guidance and procedures for dealing with fraud, all attempted,
alleged, suspected and detected frauds must be reported immediately by contacting the
Consular Policy and Training Section (CTS) and the Fraud Control Section (FCS)
fraud@dfat.gov.au
In the case of documents issued by Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages, a verification can
usually be obtained through a passports officer with PICS access to establish if the document is
genuine. This check should be conducted before referring to DFAT fraud.
10
2.1 Signature and Seals Database
In order to assist with the authentication process, a comprehensive list of sample signatures
and seals pertaining to Australian government departments and officials, institutions,
organisations etc is maintained on the department’s CIS database. The sample signatures and
seals cover a period of many years, making it possible to authenticate the signature or seal on
documents of various ages.
Should you be presented with a document with a signature or seal that does not appear on the
database (and the document was recently issued), you should contact the relevant passport
office in the state of the issuing authority and request that a sample signature be obtained and
placed on the database. In this way the authentication may be provided.
If the document is quite old and there is no sample signature or seal on the database for
comparison purposes, it may not be possible to obtain a sample signature of the official who
signed the document. In this case, the client should be asked to approach the issuing authority
for a new document so that a signature is available for comparison and authentication.
Occasionally officers at post may be requested to authenticate the signatures of Departmental
officers in various branches of the Department. All signatures should be placed in CIS by having
the staff member complete a specimen signature request form. To approach officers in the
Department, first establish where they are currently located, and where they were at the time
of signing the document. Queries should be directed to consular policy.
Signatures and seals that are on the database that can be verified for apostille are limited to:
•
•
•
Notaries Public
Clerk/Registrar of the Court (when using the seal of the court)
Government departments or agencies (including police, registrars of births, deaths and
marriages) when the document was issued in Australia.
Western Australian Justices of the Peace (only) who perform the function in relation to their
role within a local court.
•
Relevant staff from Australian universities and authorised educational institutions
In addition to the above, the following signatures may be verified for authentication (but not
apostille):
•
Certain medical/health practitioners
•
Certain chambers of commerce and industry
•
Foreign consular officers with diplomatic appointment in Australia (Australian missions
can also authenticate the signature/seal of foreign competent authorities – for example, the
Ministry of External/Foreign Affairs in their country of accreditation(s) when the document is to
be relied on in Australia by an Australian authority or organisation.
•
Australian diplomatic or consular staff overseas
11
2.1 (a) Locating Signatures and Seals on the database
2.2 Authentication of signatures and/or seals.
An important service provided both domestically and overseas is the authentication of a
signature or seal on an Australian official public document for use overseas or by a foreign
embassy or consulate accredited to Australia. This service is provided by DFAT both in Australia
and overseas. Public information is available at http://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalisingdocuments.html
Overseas governments sometimes require certification of the authenticity of an official
signature, seal or stamp on an Australian document before it can be accepted for local use.
DFAT will certify that a signature, stamp or seal on an Australian public document is genuine by
checking it against a specimen held on the departmental signature and seals database, and
stamping the document with an authentication (or apostille see next section).
It is important to note that this authentication only relates to the signature and/or seal on the
document and in no way attests to the truth or validity of the content of the document. The
department’s disclaimer applied to the document clearly explains this. This disclaimer is
international practice as it is not in the capacity of any notarial provider to check on the validity
or truth of the content of documents presented by clients.
Nevertheless, as a government department we must protect the integrity of our service and of
the Australian institutions and organisations whose documents are being used overseas.
Therefore, should you have any concerns as to the authenticity of a document or believe that
it may be used for fraudulent purposes, you are not obliged to provide authentication.
Depending on the requirements of the issuing and/or receiving country, the authentication of a
signature and/or seal can sometimes be quite onerous for the client as it may require the
document to undergo several authentication procedures by several separate providers – eg
issuing institution, public notary, government department, embassy/consulate etc. DFAT does
not have any influence on the requirements of other countries. Some countries will not accept
public notary certificates on documents that originated outside of Australia.
2.3 Affixing of an Apostille
The Apostille Convention does not apply to documents executed by Diplomatic of Consular
Officers. The authentication of a document issued in, and for use in, a country which is a
signatory to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation of Foreign
Public Documents (the Apostille Convention) is similar to that of other countries except that the
process is less onerous and time consuming for the client. After verifying the signature or seal
against DFAT’s database, a stamp known as an Apostille is affixed to that document. An
12
Apostille is similar in intent to an authentication but it does not require the same chain of
legalisations. The authentication by the issuing country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or, for
some countries, their diplomatic representative overseas) is sufficient.
The list of countries which are signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention can be found at
the following website: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41
An Apostille for an Australian public document can now be issued at Australian missions
overseas or from Passports offices in Australia. Overseas clients with original Australian
documents are no longer required to return the document to Australia for the provision of the
service. Copies made by Australian Consular or Diplomatic officers cannot be issued with an
apostille. Overseas clients who require a copy of a document to be issued with an apostille
should be directed to the DFAT Smartraveller website for information regarding our mail
service or obtain a copy made by a local notary public and then arrange for the local competent
authority to issue an apostille against that notary’s signature.
All Apostilles have a unique identification number. To generate the number, the certificate
must be processed in CIS. The number usually consists of alphabetical character(s) followed by
the next sequential number. The alphabetical characters denote which office has issued the
apostille.
2.4 Determining which stamp is required
The onus is on the client to know which stamp is required on their document. In Australia, they
should check with the Embassy/Consulate of the country where the document is to be used.
An overseas client should check with the local authorities as to which stamp is acceptable to
meet local requirements (or the Embassy/Consulate of the receiving country). In some cases,
the client may have received advice from the legal adviser in Australia or from the institution
requiring the document.
You can issue an authentication verifying two signatures on a document (this is manually
recorded in the certificate issued against one of the signatures, with a comment recorded in the
comments field), but not an apostille. More information is provided in Section 2.8.
As a courtesy you should ask the client in which country the document will be used and, based
on the list of signatories to the Hague Convention, you might indicate to the client which
service they should be seeking if it appears that their information is incorrect. You should not,
however, insist if the client is reluctant to take your advice - the decision as to which stamp is
required should be left to the client and comments added into the CIS comments field to note
why the service was provided. It is reiterated that DFAT does not provide legal advice and
insisting that one service over another is required might be construed as such advice.
13
As a general guide, documents going to countries that are party to the 1961 Hague Convention
Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents require an apostille
According to the Hague Apostille Convention, we should not issue an apostille for a document
being used in a country that is not a party to the Convention. First, suggest to the client that
they refer back to the appropriate authorities before submitting the documents, if they insist
on obtaining an apostille, in line with the notarial disclaimer, we can provide it but record the
details in CIS comments fields. In the event that an apostile is issued on a document destined
for a non-Convention country, it can be relied on by that country as an authentication and the
certificate will be subject to further legalisations.
Documents going to countries which are not party to the Hague Convention require an
authentication. We can occasionally issue an authentication for countries that are party to the
Hague Apostille Convention if the client insists, however you should always advise the client to
refer back to the foreign authorities requiring the document before submitting their
documents. Some countries will allow an authentication to be issued by the Australian
consulate within the country, in lieu of an apostille.
Sometimes a client may request an apostille on a document which already bears an
authentication stamp from a DFAT office/post (such a situation may occur where the document
has already been presented in a country which is not a signatory to the apostille convention,
but is now required for use in a country which is a signatory.) There is no impediment to issuing
an apostille on a document which has already been authenticated, but you cannot issue
another apostille on a document which already bears an apostille. The affixing of an apostille on
a document is considered to be the final step of the legalisation process. If an apostille is
applied, the signature on the document rather than the signature of the DFAT officer who has
previously provided the authentication is legalised. This service permits the document to be
used in both convention and non-convention countries.
Countries that have only recently become party to the Hague Apostille Convention may still be
in transition, so clients need to find out which stamp is required in their case.
Clients may be referred to the following websites for information:
The apostille section of the Hague Conference website:
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=37; or for the list of signatories to the
convention: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41
and Smartraveller http://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents.html
2.5 Authentication and Apostille fees
All fees are prescribed under the Consular Fees Act 1955 (regulations). Fees and the
appropriate disclaimers need to be on display where ever the services are provided.
Apostille:
14


$60 for a single page document (including double sided original government documents
where binding still needs to be applied because of lack of space on the document – ie
marriage certificates with multiple entries in the record on the reverse or police
certificates with explanatory notes on the reverse side)
$80 for a document which requires binding (multiple page document)
Authentication:
 $20 for a single page document (including double sided original government documents
where binding still needs to be applied because of lack of space on the document – ie
marriage certificates with multiple entries in the record on the reverse or police
certificates with explanatory notes on the reverse side)
 $40 for a document which requires binding (multiple page document)
2.6. Acceptable documents
 2.6(a) Australian Government Documents
An authentication or apostille can be applied to an original Australian Government issued
document that bears the signature or seal of an Australian Government official and has been
issued from Australia. This includes documents from any Australian Registry of Births, Deaths
and Marriages, Australian courts and most Government departments.
The most common Australian Government documents that require legalisation are:








Birth Certificates
Marriage Certificates (from the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages – not the
certificate issued by the celebrant at the church or time of ceremony)
Death Certificates
Single Status Certificates or ‘records of no result’ (issued by Registry of Births Deaths
and Marriages)
Divorce Certificates/Decree Nisi, or orders stamped by an Australian Court
Citizenship Certificates (either issued from Australia, or signed by an Authorised officer
at an Australian mission)
Immigration Movement Records (issued from Australia)
National Police Criminal Records Checks issued by the Australian Federal Police (not
ones issued by private companies)
In general, these documents can be presented in their original form to DFAT for legalisation and
the authentication or apostille is applied to the original document. The documents listed above
usually contain computer generated signatures and or seals. If you are satisfied that the
document you are presented with is the original, and the seal/signature matches the database,
you can issue the authentication or apostille.
15
Occasionally there are no names on the documents and it is difficult to establish the name from
the signature. In that case, the document should be scanned in and referred to the Australian
officer in the state of origination. They will confirm the signatory’s name or obtain a specimen if
not on file.
Photocopies of original Australian Government documents cannot be authenticated or
apostilled in Australia or overseas unless they have been notarised as a ‘true copy’ by an
Australian Public Notary within Australia. A document copied by an Australian Consular Officer
overseas can be authenticated, but cannot be issued with an apostille (as the convention does
not apply to documents issued by consular or diplomatic officers). Foreign Government
documents must be referred to the embassy, high commission or consulate of that country or
the competent authority within the country.
A client who is overseas and wants to use a copy of their Australian Government document to a
Hague Convention country must first confirm the country will accept a copy of the document.
Many countries require originals to be issued with an Apostille. In most cases, a replacement
original can be obtained from the issuing authority in Australia for a minimal fee. The document
does not need to be returned to Australia for an Apostille any longer.
Laminated documents or those that are damaged cannot be accepted for authentication or
apostille. Clients should be directed to obtain a replacement from the issuing authority.
 2.6(b) Documents issued by Embassies or Consulates
An authentication can be affixed to a document which has been signed by an Australian
diplomatic or consular officer at an overseas mission (eg. a Consular Officer at the Australian
Embassy in Tokyo).
Authentications may also be issued to documents that have been certified and signed or sealed
by a relevant foreign diplomatic or consular officer who have been accredited to Australia.
HOWEVER, Apostilles cannot be issued on documents containing the signature and seal of
diplomatic or consular officers. In the case of foreign diplomatic or consular officers in
Australia, these officers are akin to foreign notaries and therefore the document is not an
Australian public document. The Apostille convention does not apply to documents executed by
Consular or Diplomatic officers.
 2.6(c) Private Documents
Private documents which have not been issued by the Australian Government generally must
be notarised by an Australian Notary Public (within Australia) before an authentication or
apostille can be applied. Documents copied by an Australian Consular Officer (if presented
overseas) can be authenticated. Within Australia notaries are senior legal practitioners who
16
prepare, attest, witness and certify original and copied legal documents for use overseas.
Clients can find their nearest Notary Public by using the website of the Society of Notaries in
their state or by checking local directories using their post code and the search term “Notary
public”.
With the exception of Western Australia, this service cannot be provided by a general solicitor
or Justice of the Peace (JP). In Western Australia Justices of the Peace are regulated differently
to those in the other states and territories. Some JPs within Western Australia who are
operating in connection with and working in a local court are authorised to certify documents
within for the purposes of legalisation.
A client located in an Apostille Convention country (eg Italy, Portugal, South Korea, India) can
present a document to a local Notary Public who can witness the signatures on documents or
make certified copies. The document can then be presented to the host government’s
competent authority to have an apostille affixed to the notarial certificate for use in a third
country. For example, an Australian document can be copied by a Portuguese Notary Public,
Portugal would then issue an apostille confirming the signature of the notary public and then
the document can be sent to India for use as India is a signatory to the Convention.
The most common private documents that require authentication or apostille are:






Powers of Attorney
Affidavits
Wills
Bank statements
Company documents
Photocopies of documents
The above categories of documents, if presented in Australia, must be notarised by an
Australian Notary Public before being presented to DFAT for legalisation. If the documents
were presented to DFAT missions overseas, authorised DFAT staff may notarise the documents
if permitted by the intended recipient. Some exceptions are listed below:
 Commercial documents
 Education documents
 Fingerprints
 Foreign documents
 Marriage certificates
 Medical documents
 Passports/Drivers Licenses/identification
 Photographs
 Police checks
 Translations
17
Commercial Documents
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Documents issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) can be
legalised by DFAT (through an Authentication or Apostille) if they bear an electronic signature
from the Chairman (similar to the electronic signatures issued on birth certificates). These
documents are usually issued to the client when a request is made online through ASIC-Connect
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/asic+formsdisplayW?readform&code=960.
Previously, paper certificates had to have an original signature from an authorised ASIC
delegate. If presented with one of these and the signature is in the DFAT Signature and Seals
database then the signature can be legalised.
Recently, ASIC began to issue extracts electronically without a signature or seal. These can be
authenticated as a “document issued by ASIC” if staff are satisfied the document was sent by
ASIC (by siting the original email and attachment or printing for the client) but cannot be
apostilled. If an Apostille is required, the client should be referred to the website above to
request a full copy of the registration bearing an electronic signature from the Chairman or
have the document signed by an Australian Notary Public.
Australian Taxation Office
Documents issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can be generally be legalised by DFAT
against a computer generated signature or seal or the live signature of an authorised ATO
delegate. Where the document has been printed as a public document from the ATO website
or an email from the ATO, DFAT officers may authenticate it as “a document issued by the
Australian Taxation office”. Apostilles cannot be issued on ATO documents that do not bear a
signature or seal (whether live or computer generated). In some circumstances, the client can
arrange to have their certificate issued with a live signature by contacting the ATO on 132 869
in Australia or +61 2 6216 1111 from overseas.
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Documents that have been signed by a relevant Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
can be accepted for authentication where the Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been
registered in their respective State or Territory or recognised by foreign missions in Australia
(eg Arab Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industry). These documents cannot be accepted
for apostille. If an apostille is required, the documents need to be certified by an Australian
Notary Public. Under the Apostille Convention, commercial documents of an administrative
nature dealing directly with commercial or customs operations eg. Export certificates,
certificate of origin are exempt from requiring an Apostille.
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Documents bearing the red stamp of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) or the live
signature of a TGA employee can be accepted for legalisation. There is no need to have these
documents notarised by an Australian Public Notary.
18
Trade Marks Office
Documents that have been signed and/or bound by the Australian Government Trade Marks
Office can be accepted for legalisation.
Company documents, all other commercial documents
All other commercial documents must be notarised by an Australian Public Notary.
Education Documents
As of 1 July 2014, all education documents presented for legalisation must have been issued by
an institution accredited by an Australian accredited education authority. For this purpose, the
institution must be accredited through an organisation listed on the Australian Qualifications
Framework (AQF) website http://www.aqf.edu.au/register/aqf-register/
Foreign education documents must be referred to the Embassy/Consulate of the issuing
country (even if they bear the ‘true copy’ certification of an Australian Notary Public. Clients
may be required to send the document back to the country of origin to have it authenticated or
issued with an apostille.
High School
School Certificates, Higher School Certificates and other high school qualifications should be
signed by an authorised officer at the relevant governing body and it is that officer’s signature
which may then be authenticated:
ACT - ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies
New South Wales - Office of the Board of Studies NSW
Northern Territory - Department of Employment Education and Training
Queensland - Queensland Studies Authority
South Australia - SACE Board of South Australia
Tasmania - Tasmanian Qualifications Authority
Victoria - Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority
Western Australia - Curriculum Council of Western Australia
Public School/TAFE/CIT
School reports, certificates and general education documents from Australian public schools,
CIT and TAFE must be signed by an authorised officer from the relevant state’s Department of
Education or other accrediting authority, or an Australian Notary Public. It is the signature of
the notary which converts these documents to public documents, and allows authentication or
apostille.
Private School/Religious School/Private College
School reports, certificates and general education documents from Australian private
institutions must be certified by an Australian Public Notary. It is the signature of the notary
19
which converts these private documents to public documents, and allows authentication or
apostille. In some Australian states and territories, the Department of Education will stamp
these documents for clients.
University
Due to the increased risk of fraud, all Australian university education documents must be
verified by the central Student Administration office or the nominated representative of the
issuing institution as a 'true and accurate record' before the document can be legalised by
DFAT. This is to satisfy the public policy that all university documents must be verified prior to
being legalised by DFAT. In the event that the University has an online verification available,
either through a public roll or searchable database, and the content of the award issued
appears in the register (name, date of conferral and award) – this is enough to satisfy the
verification
step
prior
to
legalisation.
See
Smartravleller
http://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents.html.
Notarised true copies of Australian university documents must be verified by the issuing
institution, either on the original or on the copy, a statement by a Notary that the document is
a ‘true copy’ does not satisfy the verification requirement. Any notarial certificate that states
the record has been verified online and is presented for a fraudulent award must be reported
to consular.policy@dfat.gov.au
When presented with a degree that has not been verified by the institution and does not
contain appropriate text in the notarial certificate (for copies) follow these steps.
1. Ask the student if the record has been verified by the University and if so, request a
copy of the verification
a. If they indicate the award is included in an online record which they have
verified, obtain consent form to check the record.
b. If they advise they have no verification – ask them to take the document to the
university to obtain the verification
2. If there are compelling reasons to obtain the verification for the client, have the student
complete and sign our consent form for forwarding to the university.
3. Forward the consent form to the university with a copy of the degree/diploma and/or
transcript to the university for verification that it is a ‘true and accurate record’.
4. Advise the client that the university may charge a fee to confirm this which is payable by
the client and that there is often a delay to obtain the verification there fore we cannot
give any indication of how long the legalisation will take.
5. Once the university has verified that the documents are a true and accurate record, you
can issue the authentication or apostille based on the live or computer-generated
signature of the university official or university seal on the front of the degree/diploma
or transcript.
Certified true copies of university education documents
A certificate from an Australian Notary Public is ordinarily a public document for the purposes
of legalisation. On occasion, Notaries Public provide certificates to state that a university
20
education document (both Australian and foreign) is a true copy. These certificates no longer
satisfy DFAT requirements for the purposes of legalisation (either Authentication or Apostille)
where a verification step cannot be satisfied. In the case of foreign documents, the client
should be referred to the Embassy/High Commission or consulate in the first instance to
request legalisation.
If a foreign education document is presented with a certificate from an Australian Competent
Authority stating the degree has been verified (for example, the Australian Medical Practitioner
Authority for a medical degree or Engineers Australia, for engineering degrees), this certificate
may be legalised by DFAT if attested to by a Notary Public. This usually occurs when clients have
migrated to Australia for the purposes of skilled employment or further education. In these
cases, the documents can be referred to Consular Policy for review before a decision to legalise
is taken. Examples are when a client has studied in a particular field and is now employed in
that field in Australia. For example, a medical degree obtained in a foreign country, that has
been verified and used by Australian authorities for the purpose of skilled migration as a doctor
or other medical professional. The letter from the competent authority (in this case the
Australian Medical Practitioner Authority) can be attested to by an Australian Notary Public,
and the documents bound together for the purposes of legalisation. This may not satisfy
requirements of the receiving state, so clients should be advised to check if this is allowed.
The following website might assist STOs and posts to verify the Australian status of the issuing
educational institution: http://www.aqf.edu.au/register/aqf-register/
Fingerprints
If applying for an overseas police clearance the client may be asked to have a fingerprint check
authenticated by DFAT. We can authenticate this document based on the live signature of the
police officer who took the client’s fingerprints or the seal of the Australian police force. This
service is not available overseas. Police checks performed by private companies are not public
documents and cannot be legalised by DFAT.
Foreign Documents
Generally, foreign documents should be referred to the Embassy/Consulate of the issuing
country, however, where a foreign document has been notarised by an Australian notary
public, and the notary public has attested on his/her notarial certificate that he/she has verified
the signature on the underlying document it is acceptable for authentication or apostille. Often,
Australian notary certificates are prepared in foreign languages- these are not foreign
documents and can be authenticated or apostilled by DFAT officers.
For example, an affidavit provided by an Australian on a foreign court document, witnessed by
an Australian notary public, is acceptable for authentication or apostille (this could happen if
the receiving country does not have diplomatic representation in Australia). Or where an
Australian has signed a foreign contract in front of an Australian public notary and you are
21
being asked to verify the signature of the Notary on the document (despite the fact that it is a
foreign contract or document). Notarial certificates attesting to a ‘true copy’ of a foreign
document can be legalised, except where it relates to a tertiary education document.
If a client presents a foreign government document to you for authentication which has not
been certified by an Australian notary public, you should advise them to attend the embassy or
consulate of the issuing country to have it authenticated there. If an apostille is required, the
document may need to be sent back to the designated competent authority in the document’s
country of origin. A full list of designated competent authorities is available on the website:
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41
Should you be presented with a foreign document which has been translated into English by
the government translating service, National Accreditation Authority for Translators and
Interpreters (NAATI), the original translation with the translator’s signature affixed may be
authenticated or an Apostille applied as it is the translator’s signature which is being
authenticated (see Translations below).
An authentication (but not apostille) may be provided for documents which have been signed
by a relevant foreign official or consular officer with diplomatic accreditation in Australia (eg.
the Consul General of the Iraqi Consulate in Sydney) as it is the signature of the
diplomatic/consular official which is being authenticated.
Marriage Certificates
Only the official marriage certificate issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages may
be authenticated. The commemorative certificate which bears the signatures of the bride,
groom, witnesses and celebrant, is not acceptable for authentication as this is not an official
public document.
Medical Certificate/Prescriptions
Authentication: Australian medical doctors’ signatures may be authenticated. Clients should be
advised that there may be a delay in processing whilst sample signatures are obtained and
verified. Depending on workloads and staffing resources, offices may instead require medical
certificates to be certified by the relevant medical board or an Australian Notary Public.
Apostille: Australian medical documents must first be certified by an appropriate certifying
officer at the Department of Health or government health authority /regulatory body or
Australian Notary Public.
Passports/Drivers Licenses/Identity documents
In Australia: If the client requires an authentication or apostille on their passport, driver’s
license or document of identity, they must have a copy of the document notarised by a Notary
22
Public and present DFAT with the notarised copy. A passport copy that has been certified by an
approved Australian Passport Officer can also be issued with an authentication or apostille. An
authentication or apostille stamp cannot be affixed to the original document.
Some governments require copies of passports to be certified by the issuing authority. These
should be presented at the Australian Passport Office where a certified copy will be issued by
an approved Australian Passport Officer.
Overseas: If the client requires an authentication on their passport, drivers licence or document
of identity, you must first issue a ‘certified true copy’ of the document. The certified copy may
then be authenticated. However, the authentication must be done by someone other than the
person who certified the copy as you cannot authenticate your own signature. Only copies of
Australian Passports can be issued with an apostille (as the authority we use to issue the copy
of the passport is as the issuing authority, not as a consular or diplomatic officer). For all other
copies, requests for apostille must be forwarded to the Australian Passport Office in Australia.
Photographs
Certification of photographs by DFAT staff can only be completed overseas. The individual does
not have to be an Australian citizen. Rather, the photograph must be required for use in
Australia or for Australian purposes. Some organisations and authorities in Australia have
registration forms or applications that require a photograph be attached. In many cases, this
photograph needs to be certified. The wording on the back of the photograph, or on the form,
must state that the signatory “certifies the photograph to be a true likeness of (name of the
individual)” Staff cannot attest or certify that the photograph is “a true photo of” (name of
individual) unless the staff member actually took the photograph and printed it. An example is
for photographs to be attached to an Australian Drivers Licence application form, or for an
overseas citizen to be registered as an approved practitioner by an Australian organisation –
like the Dental Association. Normally the form’s terms and conditions will state that the witness
is performing the certification in accordance with the Consular Fees Act or the Statutory
Declarations Act or will list specific positions that are authorised to perform the certification.
This definition is different for most organisations. The individual in the photograph must be
physically present for a photograph to be certified by an Australian Consular of Diplomatic
officer.
Police Checks
Original police check documents issued by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) - not by a private
company – are eligible for authentication or an apostille, either by legalising the signature of
the police officer or the seal of the Australian Police force.
Translations
23
Translated documents must bear the signature of a government translating service (recognised
by a foreign government, with the signature of the Foreign Affairs department of that country)
or the accreditation service recognised by the Australian government (the National
Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)). The translation and a copy of
the original document, both bearing the translator’s signature and seal may be bound and
authenticated or an Apostille applied as it is the translator’s signature which is being
authenticated and not the underlying document. If the documents cannot be bound, ie
because the birth certificate has been apostilled, then the translator should complete a
Statutory Declaration giving the particulars of the document that was translated and state that
the translation is true and correct. This statutory declaration can be witnessed by DFAT officers
and bound to the translated copy for legalisation. The translation provided by the translator
should include a declaration or statement that the translation is a true and accurate translation
of the original.
 2.6 (d) Electronic documents
Electronic documents can pose problems for officers, as they contain electronic signatures and
seals and the original is not physically issued to the client by the issuing authority. In general, if
the organisation does not issue public documents with live signatures and seals and has advised
DFAT, we can accept electronic signatures and seals for authentication and apostille. You can
also accept multiple print outs of the same document (for example, divorce documents from
Australian courts with computer generated seals).
If an organisation begins issuing electronic public documents, they should be requested to
provide written advice of this to DFAT. The database entry for the organisation can then be
updated with a comment detailing the transfer to electronic signatures and seals. If you have
concerns about the authenticity of a document bearing an electronic signature or seal, contact
the issuing authority for verification through the relevant Australian Passport Office in Australia
or refer to consular policy.
If the office facilities exist, you may request that the client log on to a computer terminal and
download their document from the official site or portal. This will help you to ensure its
authenticity.
2.7. Issuing Apostilles
Select the “Signatures/Seals” tab in the left hand navigation menu and perform a search for the
record you wish to view. Double click in the white space of the record to open. Select “Notarial
Services” from the left hand navigation menu of the record and then select “Add New Notarial
Service” from the top toolbar.
24
Select the type of apostille service to be performed from the “Notarial Type” drop down view
menu.
Complete the notarial service details, using the look-up menus where provided. If you are
preparing the apostille for the signature of a second person, you can change the field of
“Signing Officer” using the look-up menu. This is usually the case if an administrative assistant
or contractor is preparing the work, but an authorised officer must sign it.
25
Once all the details have been completed, select “Save”. The apostille number will
automatically generate based on your office mnemonic and a sequential number. The duration
field will automatically default to the amount of time it has taken to record the information in
CIS only – you will need to change this once you have completed issuing the apostille, based on
the amount of time it has taken you to issue the apostille.
26
Select Print to open the apostille template.
Select “Download” and “Open”. The template will automatically default to the correct template
based on the Notarial Type you have selected.
27
Select “Enable Editing” to begin editing and printing the word document.
Check that the name of the signatory, his/her capacity and the seal or stamp listed match the
document. If the document has not been signed and bears a seal only (eg some court documents),
write ‘n/a’ in the ‘has been signed by’ and ‘acting in the capacity of’ fields
For a single sided document, print the apostille on to the reverse side of the document, ensuring that it
will not print over the top of any text (hint: for documents issued by an Australian Registry of Births
Deaths and Marriages bearing the client’s address and a barcode on the reverse side, the apostille must
be 10 spaces from the top of the page to print correctly)
28
Sign the apostille, cover your signature with the ‘Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’ wet stamp
and apply a red wafer seal to the bottom left corner. Impress the ‘Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade’ legal seal over the top of your wafer seal
Close the word document and return to the CIS screen. Update the duration field, complete the receipt
number and select “Save” and “Finalise”.
29
2.8. Issuing Authentications
Select the “Signatures/Seals” tab in the left hand navigation menu and perform a search for the
record you wish to view. Double click in the white space of the record to open. Select “Notarial
Services” from the left hand navigation menu of the record and then select “Add New Notarial
Service” from the top toolbar.
Select the type of Authentication service to be performed from the “Notarial Type” drop down
view menu.
Complete the notarial service details, using the look-up menus where provided. If you are
preparing the authentication to be signed by another officer, you can change the field of
“Signing Officer” using the look-up menu.
30
Once all the details have been completed, select “Save”. The duration field will automatically
default to the amount of time it has taken to record the information in CIS only – you will need
to change this once you have completed issuing the authentication, based on the amount of
time it has taken you to issue the authentication.
31
Select Print to open the authentication template.
Select “Download” and “Open”. The template will automatically default to the correct template
based on the Notarial Type you have selected.
32
33
Select Open and then elect “Enable Editing” to begin editing and printing the word document.
The word document that opens is the authentication certificate. Check that the name of the signatory
or organisation on the authentication matches the document
You can delete or strike through the ‘signature/seal/stamp’ options as needed:
•
on BDM documents, most commercial documents and translations we authenticate the
signature only
•
on notarised documents, we authenticate the signature and seal
•
on court documents with no signature, we usually authenticate the stamp only
For a single sided document, print the authentication on to the reverse side of the document, ensuring
that it will not print over the top of any text (hint: for documents issued by an Australian Registry of
Births Deaths and Marriages bearing the client’s address and a barcode on the reverse side, the
authentication must be 10 spaces from the top of the page to print correctly)
34
Sign the authentication, cover your signature with the ‘Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’ wet
stamp and apply a red wafer seal to the bottom left corner. Impress the ‘Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade’ legal seal over the top of your wafer seal
Close the word document and return to the CIS screen. Update the duration field, complete the receipt
number and select “Save” and “Finalise”.
35
If a document bears two signatures that we would be able to authenticate (eg. an original
National Police Check that has also been notarised), you will need to check with the client
which signature they would like us to legalise.
Sometimes the signatures and seals of two Australian Public Notaries appear on a document. If
the client would like us to authenticate both signatures, you need to verify both signatures in
the database, issue the authentication from one database entry then manually add in the name
of the second signatory. You will need to adjust the authentication so that it is grammatically
correct. We cannot issue an apostille for two signatories, only an authentication. An example
is shown below:
I, Officer’s name, an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sydney, New South
Wales, Australia, having been duly authorised by the Secretary of the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the signatures/seals “Jim Jones” and “Sarah
Smith” appearing on the documents attached hereto are the true signatures/seals of Jim Jones and
Sarah Smith. In so certifying, neither I nor the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
endorse, verify or make any statement as to the accuracy, truth, legality or otherwise of the
contents of the document or the purposes for which the document may be used. Neither I nor the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade accept liability for any loss, damage or injury arising
out of the use of, or reliance on, the document or its contents. I provide no undertaking that I
have read the contents of the document.
GIVEN under my Hand and the seal of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade this
Twenty-seventh day of July, Two thousand and Twelve.
For the Secretary
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
This is most common in documents that we receive from the Department of Community
Services relating to inter-country adoption. It should only be applied for documents signed by
Public Notaries.
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2.9. Bindings
To bind a document correctly you need:





a one hole-punch (if the eylet punch tool does not punch the hole)
a brass or metal eyelet and eyelet punch tool
a length of green ribbon, about 5 mm wide and 20 cm long
a red wafer seal
an embossing tool with the official seal.
The tool pictured will punch the holes in the
paper as the eyelet is pushed through the pages.
The eyelet rests in the side that doesn’t have the
‘dome’.
Some locations that perform a large number of
bindings may prefer to have one whole roll of
wafer seals pre-embossed for application over the
ribbon. The embosser will still need to be applied
to the page to ensure the document is secured
onto the document. See the next example to
verify how to secure the seal to the page.
When a document has multiple pages the authentication or apostille can applied as an extra
page that is affixed as a binding (although preference is to print the authentication or apostille
onto a sticky label and place it on the document – normally the notarial certificate). Binding
should only be used where there is no room on the notarial certificate (if there is one) to attach
a label and seal the certificate with the dry and wet stamp.
To reduce the risk of fraud, for an authentication or apostille to be attached as a binding, the
document should be signed, stamped or sealed on every page. You cannot include in your
binding, pages that are not signed, stamped or sealed. The logic behind this policy is that you
are authenticating/apostilling the official signature, stamp or seal and not the document itself.
You may be presented (particularly in Australia) with a document that has already been bound
by a public notary. In this case, the public notary has taken responsibility for all pages contained
within his/her binding. There is no need to bind these documents where you can apply the
certificate (authentication or apostille) on the reverse or below the Notary Public signature. If
the client insists that a DFAT binding is also required, you must ensure that the document has
been correctly legally bound by the notary first. DFAT preference is that the documents be
‘tamper evident’ and all pages referenced in the notarial certificate with pages marked or
sealed with the signature or seal of the notary. It is best practice for the signature/seal/stamp
37
to be on each page by the Notary, however not all Australian Notaries Public do this. We are
only verifying the signature of the notary, and not the underlying bound document. We do not
accept staples (unless they have also been sealed over and stamped) as legal binding due to the
risk of additional unauthorised pages being added. If the document has not been correctly
legally bound, you can only authenticate/apostille those pages that the notary has signed and is
perfectly acceptable to refer the documents back to the Notary for adequate binding to be
performed (or a full notarial certificate provided).
A binding is issued from the Signatures and Seals database as a regular authentication or
apostille as described above, except when selecting the Notarial Type you must choose the
“with binding” option.
38
Print the authentication or
apostille on to a blank A4
page and sign it as normal.
Place this page as close as
possible to the signature
that
you
are
authenticating.
Avoid
placing at the end of the
document as a final page
where ever possible (this
gives the impression that
you are authenticating the
last document rather than
the signature on the
government document or
notarial certificate).
Punch a single hole through
the
document
and
authentication/apostille
certificate in the top left
hand corner (or where
practical).
Seal the hole with a brass
or metal eyelet (you will
need an eyelet punch tool).
In some cases the number
of pages will prevent you
from using eyelets, they
should be used in all cases
where possible.
Fold the ribbon in half and
push the folded end
through the hole (from the
back to the front so the
loop is on the side that the
apostille or authentication
certificate appears).
Turn the trailing ends over
the top of the document
and pass them through the
39
loop in the folded end.
Pull the knot to the back of
the document, extend the
trailing ends of the ribbon
and place them so they
form a v-shape about 2 cm
apart on the page. The
ribbon should be near the
certificate printout and
trimmed so it does not end
below the page.
Place a pre embossed red
wafer seal so that it covers
both the trailing ends of
ribbon and the corner of
the certificate. Press it
down firmly and then using
the embossing tool, insert
the page with the seal
again and emboss over part
of the seal and onto the
page to secure the seal to
the page. This is best
practice and make the
document tamper evident.
2.10. Labels for legalisations
When a document is smaller or larger than A4 size, is too fragile to run through a printer, or is
part of a bound set of documents that we want to authenticate (ie a notarial certificate
attached to multiple pages) we issue the authentication or apostille on a separate label, then
affix that label to the document. This is called ‘wet stamp labelling’.
2.10 (a) Label procedure
1. Issue the authentication or apostille from the database and export to template. Confirm the
details as normal.
2. Open your Word template for either the authentication-sized label or apostille-sized label
40
3. Copy the apostille or authentication and paste it onto the label template
4. Place the appropriate label in the printer and print the label
5. Affix the label to the document and sign it. Cover both your signature and part of the
document with both the ‘Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’ wet stamp and red wafer
seal
In State and Territory offices this is best practice and is the required method if issuing
authentications and apostilles domestically. At post, if you do not have labelling facilities the
existing wet rubber stamp is acceptable.
2.11. Wet Stamp Lablling
Wet stamp labelling is to be avoided at all times. For periods of extended system outages, wet
stamps may be used for authentications, however apostilles require a unique number to be
generated from CIS.
2.12. Record keeping for authentications and apostilles
All offices must keep accurate records of the number of authentications and apostilles issued
which is why they must be recorded in CIS.. These records are used by Canberra for the
purpose of publishing in the Annual Report.
A high level of statistics can be generated from CIS when used by staff, including tracking the
type of documents that require the most time to service, the countries documents are intended
to be used and which staff are preforming the most work. Staff at post are encouraged to use
these reports for management of staff and in seeking additional resources.
41
Obtaining statistics from CIS
Instructions will be provided to posts after the June roll out of Stage 2. For now requests for
statistics should be emailed to consular IT.
From 15 June 2015 there is no requirement to report notarial statistics as the system captures
the data at the time of entry in CIS.
Some data is still manually collected in CIS for the purpose of quarterly reports for example
Non-case consular enquiries (eg laywer list requests) of less than and greater than 15 minutes
and also non Consular enquiries(eg visa or other non-consular enquiries)
2.13. Obtaining and setting up new signatures on the CIS database
Sometimes a document that is eligible for legalisation should be accepted when the signature
does not appear on the CIS database. It is our responsibility to independently obtain a sample
of the signature and scan it into the database. This function is generally only performed in
Australia. Where thea signature is required to be added to the database for post, Consular
Officers can contact the relevant State Passport Office in Australia who will obtain and upload
the sample signature.
Posts should only load seals/signature for MFA or other officials who issue authentications in
country from the host government. These signatures are only used by Australian staff in the
post(s) of accreditation to that country.
 2.13 (a) Obtaining a new signature (within Australia only)
1. Locate contact details of the signatory either through internet or directory searches or (as a
last resort) by contacting the client directly.
2. Contact the signatory and briefly explain the authentication/apostille process, particularly
why a sample of their signature is needed.
3. Ask if you can fax or email them the relevant form and obtain their fax number or email
address. Explain that they can fax or email the form back as soon as possible to allow
processing of the document, then mail the original to our office for our records.
4. Open the file ‘Request for Specimen Signature form’ (attachment 1) and print, or use a hard
copy.
5. Fax or email a cover letter, a copy of the document and the form to the signatory, if emailing,
attach a brief description.
42
Remember, we must independently obtain the signature from the signatory. We cannot accept
a copy of the form from the client. If you have doubts about the legitimacy of the signatory,
contact the relevant governing authority – the Society of Notaries for Public Notaries or NAATI
for translators.
Independent confirmation should be obtained by RBDM or Australian courts when adding new
signatures or seals for these entitites.
 2.13 (b) Scanning in a new signature
Once the signature/stamp/seal is obtained, it needs to be added to the CIS database. Use your
branch photocopier to scan and send the signature to your computer. Crop the
signature/stamp/seal and save the file. Multiple files can be added to each entry in the CIS
database.
Navigate to the Signatures and Seals tab in the CIS database and select “New” in the top left of
the action toolbar.
Enter the Signatory/Seal Details to be entered from the Specimen Signature Request Form
Click on the look-up menu in the Position/Title and Organisation fields to reveal the Selection
Pop up Screen to check if the Position/Title or Organisation already exist in CIS.
Perform a *wildcard* search for the Position/Title or Organisation, select the check-box and
click OK.
43
To create a new Position/Title or Organisation if they do not already exist in CIS, select the
“New” button, type in the new details and select “Save & Close”.
Your newly created Position/Title or Organisation will automatically be selected – click on OK to
close.
44
You must now save the record before you can add any file(s).
45
Click on the link in the “Specimen Signature/Seal” grid to add the files.
46
Select “Browse” to search your computer.
47
Select the file you wish to add and then select the check box to confirm that the correct
procedures have been followed to obtain this signature/seal/stamp and select OK.
Your new signature/seal/stamp will now appear in the Specimen Signature/Seal grid. You can
repeat this procedure multiple times for the same record if necessary.
48
Check the details you have added are all true and correct, then Save the record and select
“Finalise”.
49
Some hints for entering information:
 Do not use abbreviations in the main organisation field. For example, the Therapeutic
Goods Administration should be entered thus, not as TGA (this should be put in the
abbreviation field.
 Check the spelling of all information entered. If you spell the organisation incorrectly it
will be registered as a separate entity.
 Use the entry of another signatory in the same organisation as a guide.
 For Police, enter the officer’s full name as it appears on the fingerprint check. The
‘Section’ field should be entered as the police station (eg. ‘Kings Cross Police’) and the
‘Organisation’ field should be entered as the state police (eg. ‘NSW Police Force’)
 For Notaries Public, the ‘Organisation’ field should be entered as the exact wording on
their legal seal, as this field transfers on to the apostille. It should not be the name of
the law firm they work for
 For translators, the ‘Organisation’ field should be entered as the exact wording on their
NAATI stamp
50
 2.13 (b) Editing an existing signature in the database
Once a record has been finalised, it can only be edited by someone with Notarial Administrator
rights.
Select “Signatures/Seals” in the left hand navigation menu and search for and open the record
you wish to amend.
If a user has Notarial Administrator rights, the record will be immediately editable upon
opening. Update the details that require editing (following the instructions for ‘Creating a
signature/seal’ as above) and select “Save” in the action toolbar.
51
After checking all details are correct, select “Finalise” in the action toolbar to finalise the
amended record.
52
SECTION 3: Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage
3.1 General information and requirements
All STOs and posts are reminded that CNIs must be processed electronically and recorded in CIS
with supporting documentation and a copy of the final certificate saved on file.
The laws of some countries require that before a foreigner may marry within their jurisdiction
they must produce a certificate issued by the authorities of the country to which they belong
stating that those authorities do not know of any impediment to the marriage. Such a
certificate is known as a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) or in some countries as a Nulla Osta
Certificate. CNIs are issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to Australian
citizens or permanent residents through Australian Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates
and/or Consulates-General offices and Australian State and Territory offices.
CNIs are not a requirement of Australian law; they are issued at the request of overseas
countries. The authorities in the country where the marriage is to take place or the relevant
Embassy, High Commission or Consulate in Australia are the primary contact for information
about marriage requirements for clients.
The text is approved by the Attorney-General’s Department. The word ‘citizen’ may be replaced
manually with ‘resident’ in certain circumstances. Any request to change the text, or provide
additional statements should be referred to Consular.policy@dfat.gov.au. When required by a
foreign state, posts may issue certificates in a foreign language, provided they are confident
that the translation accurately reflects the English version.
The client will need to confirm with the foreign government:
 whether a CNI is required,
 whether it needs to be authenticated or apostilled, and
 whether it must be issued by the Australian mission accredited to that country or if they
will accept a CNI issued by DFAT in Australia.
Often foreign governments will only accept a CNI if it is issued by the Australian Embassy in that
country (for example, CNIs for the Philippines and Egypt, which must be issued by the
Australian Embassies in Manila and Cairo respectively). We cannot guarantee that a CNI issued
within Australia will be accepted overseas, which is why it is best that the client confirm this
with the foreign government.
Some foreign governments require applicants to provide a copy of the application form in
addition to the CNI (Japan for example). Clients should be advised to check local requirements
with the foreign government.
53
If the client is an Australian citizen and is marrying an Australian citizen, they will need to find
out if each party is required to provide a CNI. If so, they will need to fill out an application form
for each person (two fees apply). The application form is available on the Smartraveller
website. Both the ‘Applicant’ and ‘Partner’ columns must be completed.
The applicant will need to provide birth certificates or passports of the Australian citizen/s, or
proof of permanent residency in Australia. If the applicant has been married before he/she will
also need to provide divorce papers or the death certificate of their former spouse and
complete the details of the divorce/death on the CNI application. Similar identification and
other supporting documentation should also be provided for their intended spouse.
In Turkey, Poland and Portugal it is mandatory to sight applicants' IDs, birth certificates,
citizenship certificates, or divorce orders, etc. when accepting the application.
It is at the discretion of each office as to whether they request CNI applicants to apply at the
office in person if applications can be accepted through the mail. This is particularly important
in those countries where forced and underage marriage is more prevalent. If the application is
received by mail, all copies of supporting documents (for both applicant and spouse) must be
certified.
Clients can download application forms from the DFAT Smartraveller website. In Australia, they
can complete the form and have it witnessed by a qualified witness listed on the application
form. They can then present it at any DFAT office. Clients overseas can complete the form and
present it at an Australian mission for witnessing.
The consular officer should sign the certificate and add their details where indicated on the
form, then complete the process by adding the official stamp. A hard copy of the final
certificate complete with signatures and seals should be retained on file, along with all
supporting documentation for both the applicant and spouse.
Eligibility for a Certificate of No Impediment
The Certificate of No Impediment is a general statement of the law in Australia concerning the
recognition of foreign marriages. The certificate makes no warranty for the capacity of a
particular couple to marry.
The Attorney-General has announced that, though same sex marriages are not recognised in
Australia, from 1 February 2012, Certificates of No Impediment may be issued to Australians
wishing to be married to their same-sex partner overseas. The issue of a CNI will allow same-sex
couples to take part in a marriage ceremony overseas and to be recognised as being married
according to the laws of that overseas country. While a same-sex marriage will not be
recognised as a marriage in Australia it will be prima facie evidence of a de facto relationship
for the purposes of a civil union under some state and territory laws.
54
Some countries may require evidence from the Australian Government regarding de facto
relationships. De facto relationships are a matter determined by a range of circumstances
which cannot be confirmed through an Australian statutory declaration. If a client wishes to
make a declaration regarding their de facto relationship, they should complete a local statutory
declaration in front of a Notary or other authorised individual as well as downloading and
providing a copy of the generic ‘De Facto Information Letter’ (available to download on the
Smartraveller website: http://smartraveller.gov.au/
From 1 February 2012 a Certificate of No Impediment can be issued if, on the basis of
information supplied by the applicant, the couple meet the criteria which would render a
marriage legal in Australia:
•
the parties are not closely related
•
they are both of marriageable age (18 years)
•
neither is already married.
Information about marriage under Australian law is on the Attorney-General's Department's
website:
http://www.ag.gov.au/familiesandmarriage/marriage/pages/gettingmarriedinaustralia.aspx
With the exception of the marriage of same-sex couples, if there is any doubt about whether
the marriage will be recognised in Australia, the certificate should not be issued, and the matter
should be referred to Consular Policy and Training Section of DFAT which will consult the
Attorney-General's Department as necessary.
Parties to a marriage should be advised to consult a solicitor if unsure that their marriage will
be recognised in Australia, including a doubt that an overseas divorce is recognised by
Australian authorities.
Under Australian marriage law, a couple cannot be married more than once and cannot be
married in Australia if they have already been married under the law of another country.
However, under the Marriage Act there is nothing prohibiting a couple from having another
religious ceremony after they have been married, but it cannot purport to be a ceremony of
marriage and no documents can be prepared or filed in relation to the religious ceremony.
Applicants under 18
From time to time, posts in countries where the marriageable age is less than 18 receive
requests for the issue of Certificate of No Impediment for persons who are under the age of 18.
The marriageable age on the application form is the Australian marriageable age, ie. 18 for both
parties, not the local age. If either party to the marriage is domiciled in Australia, Australian law
on marriageable age applies as far as recognition of the marriage in Australia is concerned, no
matter where the marriage takes place. Under Australian law, exceptions to the requirement
that both parties be 18 or older can be authorised only by a judge or magistrate, and then only
55
in respect of a marriage between a people aged 16 or 17 and a particular person aged 18 or
over. Parental consent to the marriage of a minor is not sufficient. Therefore, unless the
Australian applicant produces authorisation for that particular marriage by an Australian court,
a Certificate of No Impediment should not be issued if either party is under 18.
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3.2 Issuing CNIs from CIS
Select Certificates of no Impediment in the left hand navigation menu and select “New” in the
action toolbar.
Enter data from the CNI application request form into the appropriate fields. Select from the
Drop Down options
Note: If Born in Australia, select “Australian Citizen and Permanent Resident” from the list of
selections.
Also take note of entry format requirements for address details – enter address as a sentence
e.g. 15 Hall St, Hall, ACT.
57
When information has been added to all fields select “Save” in the action toolbar and then
select “Print” to open the CNI template.
To print and/or edit the CNI, select the “Enable Editing” button. Check all entry details shown in
the CNI Template Certificate and over type fields requiring corrections, then print 2 copies:
One is to be signed, sealed and issued to the Client
The other is to be filed with the original application form and supporting documents
The CNI should be signed, the wet seal be placed over the corner of the signature and signature
block, and a red wafer seal should be embossed on the CNI.
58
Return to the CNI form in CIS, update the Duration to record the total time taken to complete
the CNI, enter the receipt number (if applicable), select “Save” and then “Finalise” to finalise
the record.
3.3 Record keeping for CNIs
Accurate records must be kept for CNIs in hard or electronic copy format (copy of the issued
certificate, the original application form and certified copies of the supporting documents).
Copies of supporting documentation can be stored on the CIS database. Offices with high
volumes may also find it worthwhile to keep a numbered register of CNIs issued the purpose of
59
reporting quarterly statistics where CIS is not available. For posts using CIS, there is no
requirement to record the number of CNIs issued as this information can be obtained by
Canberra from CIS directly.
3.4 Issuing an authentication or apostille on a CNI
Some countries insist that the CNI be issued with an authentication or apostille.
If you have issued the CNI and it requires an authentication or apostille, you must ask a fellow
approved officer to issue it, as you cannot verify your own signature. The authentication or
apostille is issued as normal, by searching the surname of the colleague who issued the CNI.
Please refer to the schedule of fees. The fee for a CNI should be charged per certificate issued.
If a legalisation is also requested (authentication or apostille), that fee should be charged in
addition to the CNI fee. If you witness the client’s signature on the application form, you do not
charge the ‘Witnessing signature’ fee.
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ADDITIONAL NOTARIAL SERVICES PROVIDED AT OVERSEAS POSTS
SECTION 4: Witnessing Signatures
The law often requires that a client sign a document in front of a notary or other authorised
person before using that document for legal purposes. The type of document that clients might
bring for witnessing of signature vary greatly.
Commonwealth, state and territory legislation, regulations and court rules provide varying
procedures for witnessing documents, affidavits and statutory declarations. Consular officers
should be guided by the form provided by the client or the advice received from their legal
representative. The information notes attached to forms will usually include references to the
legislation that is authorising the individual to witness signatures and clarify what category of
witnesses is permitted to sign. Some of the more common legislation that is relied on to permit
officers to witness signatures includes;
4.1 Authority to witness signatures
Precise requirements for the effective witnessing of a document, including whether the
document may be witnessed by an A-based officer or an authorised locally engaged staff, is
dictated by the jurisdiction in which the document is to be relied (eg. Commonwealth, state,
territory, or foreign). Requirements may vary further, depending on subject matter. All A-based
diplomatic and consular officers can witness signatures on documents within their country of
accreditation, though clients need to check whether these officers are eligible witnesses for the
purpose required (eg. some legislation does not list consular officers as eligible).
Documents emanating from State and Territory governments can often limit authorised officers
to career diplomats or consular officers (ie not LES). Authorised locally-engaged staff can
generally witness signatures on all documents used in Commonwealth jurisdictions. Refer
queries to consular.policy@dfat.gov.au
In addition to A-based officers, the following Australian laws may allow LES to perform
witnessing;
 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cwth) – for the
opening of an Australian bank account, where the client must be identified and their forms
witnessed;
 Australian Consular Officers’ Notarial Powers and Evidence Act 1946 (Qld) for the making
of Qld affidavits or other forms produced by the Queensland government – eg, Drivers
Licence renewals;
 Oaths Act 1900 (NSW) for the making of NSW affidavits or other forms produced by the
NSW Government including drivers licence renewals forms.
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Witnessing land or property transaction documents overseas
A standard DFAT Identity Certificate (Annex 22B of the Consular Operations Handbook) should
be completed by the officer that performs the witnessing/certifying at the time of making the
certified copies and witnessing the signing of the document(s). There is no charge for the DFAT
Identity Certificate, however normal charges for the certified copies and the witnessing of the
property documents still apply.
The DFAT Identity Certificate (and witnessing/certifying services) can only be provided in
response to the written instructions provided by the person being identified’s Australian Legal
Practitioner, Law Practice Licensed Conveyancer or mortgagee.
Where no written instructions from the Australian Legal Practitioner are provided by the client,
the services should be declined.
The witnessing and certifying of identity documents is to be conducted in accordance with the
Consular Operations Handbook – including the use of Post stamps.
Where it is considered necessary, practitioners can conduct a cross-check of witnesses by email.
This is conducted by Queensland Land Titles Authority (DERM) through a generic email to the
witness at their official DFAT (or Austrade) email address. Where the name can’t be read, the
Australian representative contacts Consular Policy to verify the status of the witness’
appointment. To allow Australian representatives to send the generic email to witnesses, the
name of the witness and the post must be clearly legible and not obscured by the post’s stamp.
The name of the post should also be clearly legible.
Refer to the following Annexes to the Consular Operations Handbook:


Annex 22B – DFAT Identity Certificate
Annex 22C – Procedures for Verification of Identity by DFAT
The document should contain the full name, address and occupation of the deponent.
Clients should be informed that it is their responsibility to present the document to be
witnessed in the correct form and to provide the correct instructions for witnessing. Consular
officials must not draw up legal documents or guarantee the legal effectiveness of documents
they witness.
The rank or appointment of the officer witnessing a document should be stated on the
document under the signature of that officer. The official seal should then be fixed to the
document.
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4.2 Steps to witness a signature
The document usually contains specific instructions for witnessing: where to place signatures
and other required information.
The client's photo ID should be checked to confirm they are the person named on the
document. Some forms require the witness to also provide certified copies of the identification
used to witness. See next part on “Certifying copies”.
The consular officer should point to the place indicated on the document for the client to sign,
and ask them to sign. The consular officer should then sign in the place indicated for the
witness, and complete the other details indicated on the document, then place the official
stamp where indicated. They may need to use their personal name and title stamp if the
document does not provide for these details.
The standard form of words for witnessing a signature on a document are shown in Chapter 22
of the Consular Handbook as an example, but may differ slightly from document to document.
If an applicant is unaware or unsure of the legislative requirements for witnessing a particular
document, upon the client's specific instructions an A-based officer may perform the witnessing
act using the standard form of certificate. However, the A-based officer must ensure the client
is informed that the post cannot guarantee the legal effectiveness of the document.
Witnessing a signature is a single act.
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SECTION 5: Certifying Copies
Clients often require copies of documents to present to authorities for various reasons. The
authorities require that the copy be certified by a notary or other authorised person as a true
copy of the original.
Commonly requested are certified copies of university degree certificates, diplomas, academic
transcripts, financial statements, birth and citizenship certificates, and drivers' licences.
When consular officers are asked to certify that a document is a true copy, they must satisfy
themselves that the copy is in fact a true copy of the document. The certification should take
the following form: 'This is a true copy of the document presented to me'. Certification of a
document should not be provided if the document presented is, or appears to be, something
other than an original document (a photocopy or facsimile).
When consular officers are asked to certify a document containing a photograph, such as a
driver's licence, they are certifying that the copy is a true copy of the original document
presented. They are not making any claims about the identity of the person.
If a client requires a different form of words, they should be advised to have the document
certified by a Public notary or the body from which the document originated.
5.1 Authority to certify copies
All Australian diplomatic and consular officers and authorised locally-engaged staff can certify
copies of Australian documents or documents intended for Australian Commonwealth use.
Locally-engaged staff may not be authorised if the documents are required for a state
government purpose. Care must be taken to check the forms or attached notes if the client is
unsure or seems confused.
Certification of copies is different to legalising documents. The documents must be Australian
documents, and or required for use in Australia. In many cases, a document intended for use in
Australia can be certified by other authorised witnesses – for example, documents in support of
an Australian visa can be witnessed by foreign officials who are employed in the same
occupations listed on the www.immi.gov.au website under ‘certified copies’.
5.2 Steps to certify a copy of a document
1. Take the original document and make the required number of copies on the office
photocopier. This ensures a true copy of the original document. If the document's size or shape
make it necessary to accept a copy from the client, the consular officer must take the time to
ensure the copy is the same as the original in every detail.
64
2. Stamp each copy with 'This is a true copy of the document presented to me' and sign with
details of the officer's name, title and date added where indicated by the stamp.
3. Place the official stamp over part of the consular officer's signature, but do not obscure it.
This renders the signature difficult to photocopy for fraudulent purposes.
When certifying a copy of a single document, irrespective of the number of pages and how
many must be certified, the client is charged for a single act. However, if the client requests
multiple copies and certification for each, then they are charged for each copy.
SECTION 6: Statutory Declarations
A statutory declaration is a solemn declaration of fact or belief, and may generally be made in
relation to any matter. An affidavit is used to give evidence in court proceedings, while a
statutory declaration is used to give evidence in most other circumstances.
The declaration must contain an acknowledgement that it is true and correct and that it was
made in the belief that a person making a false declaration is liable to the relevant penalties for
perjury (eg. in the case of a Commonwealth statutory declaration, imprisonment of up to four
years). Commonwealth, state and territory jurisdictions in Australia all provide for making of
Statutory Declarations, although the form varies slightly in each jurisdiction:
Commonwealth and the ACT
A person wishing to use a statutory declaration in connection with a law of the Commonwealth,
the Australian Capital Territory or certain other territories must make the declaration in
accordance with the Statutory Declaration Act 1959. The form for making a statutory
declaration and the persons who can witness a statutory declaration are prescribed under the
Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993. The form is on the Attorney General's Department
website: www.ag.gov.au/statdec
State or territory
Persons wishing to make a statutory declaration in relation to a matter concerning state law
needs to check the procedures for making and using declarations with the relevant state. A
consular officer, but not an authorised locally employed staff, may be able to witness a
statutory declaration for use in a state or territory (with the exception of NSW and Qld if relying
on the Oaths Act 1900 (NSW) or Australian Consular Officers’ Notarial Powers and Evidence
Act 1946 (Qld)). The form and procedure are generally similar to those of a Commonwealth
Statutory Declaration, although legislation on the declaration and the penalties for perjury are
different.
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Authority to witness a statutory declaration
Subject to the requirements of the legislation, Australian diplomatic and consular officers can
witness statutory declarations. Authorised locally-engaged staff can witness Commonwealth
declarations, or those under state or territory law where they are permitted .
Steps to witness a Statutory Declaration
The client usually brings the form already filled in with the statement they wish to declare,
which can be handwritten or typed, or they may request a blank form to complete. (See DFAT
Corporate database - Templates/ Forms.)
The client (declarant) must provide all the information requested on the form, including name,
address and occupation.
The consular officer should check the client’s identity by asking if they are the person whose
name appears on the declaration, and also check, to the extent possible, that the person is
competent to make the statutory declaration.
The consular officer should then:






take the form from the client. If there is space at the end of the statement, rule a line (Z)
with a black pen from the last word of the statement to the bottom of the area
allocated for the statement, to ensure nothing can be added later
lay the declaration before the client and draw the their attention to the statement on
the bottom of the form about the penalties for making false declarations. Remind the
client of the contents of this statement and ensure that they understand
ask the client to sign the declaration
point to the client’s written statement and say to the client “Is this your name and
signature, and do you declare that the contents of this declaration are true”?•
on receiving an affirmative response (yes or nodding the head, etc), the consular officer
should witness the declarant’s signature by signing in the place indicated on the form,
and completing the name/title/office etc details as indicated
Complete the process by placing the official stamp over the top right hand corner of
their signature, or where indicated on the form.
Witnessing a statutory declaration is a single notarial act. If the declaration has more than one
page, and the declarant requests that the document be bound, there is an additional fee.
SECTION 7: Oaths and Affirmations (via Affidavits)
An affidavit is a written statement that allows the person making it (the 'deponent') to present
evidence in court or other legal proceedings. The person making the affidavit must take an
oath, or make an affirmation, that the contents of the affidavit are true and correct. Generally,
it is an offence to swear or affirm to false information.
The consular officer's role is to witness the affidavit and administer the oath or affirmation.
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The precise form of an affidavit is dictated by the commonwealth, state or territory legislation
under which the affidavit is made or the proceedings in which the evidence contained in it is to
be relied on. An affidavit that has not been drawn up correctly may not be effective. It is the
deponent's responsibility to provide the document in the correct form and any additional
witnessing/administering instructions. The deponent should be informed that the post takes no
responsibility for the correctness of the form of an affidavit. When a deponent is unclear about
the form that the document should take, they should be advised to seek professional legal
advice.
7.1 Authority to witness affidavit and administer oath or affirmation
DFAT policy is that only an Australian diplomatic or consular officer can witness an affidavit and
administer the oath or affirmation. The rank of a consular officer at an overseas post
empowered to do so may vary, depending on the jurisdiction and relevant legislation. Again, it
is the deponent's responsibility to provide the correct instructions on this.
If a deponent is unaware or unsure of the legislative requirements for a particular document,
an A-based officer should use the following standard affidavit procedure and inform the
deponent that the post cannot guarantee the legal effectiveness of the document.
Consular officers do not assume responsibility for the correctness of the statements in any
document sworn or declared before them.
7.2 Attachments
If there are any attachments to the affidavit, the consular officer should endeavour to confirm
that they are in fact those referred to in the document. Each exhibit should be marked as
follows:
'This is the Attachment marked <Attachment A etc> referred to in the affidavit of <deponent's
name> sworn <or> affirmed at <place> before me on <day><month><year>. <Consular officer's
signature>'
The person making the affidavit should then sign the document below the text to the right of
the position in which the jurat will be placed (see below).
Only after all the text has been inserted and the document is signed by the person making the
affidavit is the oath taken. The deponent swears or declares not only to the truth of the
contents of the document but the authenticity of her/his signature and to her/his identity.
Steps to witness an affidavit:
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1. check the client’s photo ID to confirm they are the person named on the document.
Read any instructions on the document
2. ask the client (deponent) to sign the affidavit at the end of the written statement, in the
place indicated on the document
3. advise the client they must now swear an oath or make an affirmation to the truth of
the statement and the authenticity of their signature, and their identity. Explain the
meanings of oath and affirmation and ask the client which they prefer. Affidavits have
traditionally been sworn on oath. However, when the deponent objects to swearing on
the grounds that they have no religious belief, or that the taking of an oath is contrary
to their religious belief, they may affirm the affidavit (see below)
4. to administer the oath, a consular officer should place the affidavit before the
deponent, open at the page containing their signature, and ask the deponent to take a
Bible in their right hand. The consular officer should then point to the signature and
request the deponent to repeat the following words:
‘I swear by Almighty God that this is my name and handwriting and that the contents of
this my affidavit are true and correct in every particular <and these are the exhibits
referred to therein>, so Help me God.’
5. after the oath is sworn, the consular officer should affix the jurat, his or her signature,
and the official seal immediately below the last line of the document. The jurat
certifying that the document has been duly sworn should take the following form:
Sworn at <city> in <country>
this day of <day><month><year>
<deponent signs before the oath>
before me, <name and position>
<Signature of Consular Officer>
Official seal
If necessary, the jurat may be written on either side of the page or in the margin, but it should
only run half-way across the page so the deponent has room to sign to the right of it. The jurat
should never be on a separate page by itself.
7.3 Other forms of oath
The person making the affidavit may request that they be sworn by some other form of oath
(an oath may be administered in any form or manner which the deponent declares to be
binding upon their conscience). An example of oaths administered to deponents of non JudaeoChristian belief are as follows:
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The following forms of oaths are effective if the consular officer receives an affirmative answer
to the question: 'Are you bound by that oath (or by that ceremony you have performed) to
speak the truth'.
Buddhist
'I declare, as in the presence of Buddha, that I am unprejudiced, and if what I shall speak shall
prove false, or if by colourful truth others shall be led astray, then may the three Holy
Existences, Buddha, Dharma and Pro Sangha, in whose sight I now stand, together with the
Devotees of the twenty-two Firmaments, punish me and also my migrating soul; and I
accordingly swear that this is my name and handwriting (or mark) and that the contents of this
your affidavit are true.'
Muslim
A copy of the Koran is handed to the deponent. The deponent places his/her right hand flat
upon the book and left hand upon his/her forehead and brings his head down to the book and
into contact with it. The deponent then regards the book for some moments.
The deponent is asked: 'What is the effect of the ceremony you have performed?'
Deponent should reply: 'I am bound by it to speak the truth and I swear (or declare)
Arabic
Some people will only take the oath on the Koran in the original Arabic language.
The deponent places his/her right hand upon his forehead and left hand upon the book. The
Deponent then bends down to the Koran and kisses it. The consular officer says: 'By the
ceremony that you have just performed are you bound by your conscience to speak the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?'
The deponent answers: 'I am'.
Consular officer: 'Do you swear that this is your name and handwriting (or mark) and that the
contents of this your affidavit are true?'
Deponent: 'I do.'
When an affidavit is sworn by a person who appears blind or illiterate, the consular officer must
certify in the jurat that the affidavit was read to the deponent in their presence, that the
deponent appeared to understand the matter contained in the affidavit, and the deponent
signed it with a mark or otherwise in the presence of that person.
7.4 Administering an affirmation
If the deponent indicates they have no religious belief, or that taking an oath is contrary to their
religious belief or conscience, the person may be permitted to make an affirmation in lieu of
swearing an affidavit. An affirmation has the same legal effect as an affidavit, but it is not taken
on the Bible and does not refer to religious belief.
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The officer should open the document at the page containing the deponent's signature and,
pointing to that signature, request that the deponent repeat the following words:
'I, <full name of deponent> do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that this is my
name and handwriting, and that the contents of this my affirmation are true.'
The attestation (corresponding to a jurat in the case of an affidavit) should follow at the end of
the document and take the following form:
Affirmed at <city> in <country>
This day of <day><month><year>
<deponent signs before oath>
before me, <name and position>
<Signature of Consular Officer>
Official seal
Affidavits often comprise more than one page, and may need to be bound with a ribbon and
dry seal.
Servicing an affidavit usually comprises two notarial acts: administering the oath with witness
of signature, and uniting documents and affixing a seal to the fastening (ie. binding).
7.5 Amending an affidavit
Affidavits must not be amended once they have been sworn or affirmed. If an affidavit needs to
be corrected, either a second affidavit clarifying the matter in question to the first affidavit
must be made, or the first affidavit must be re-sworn.
SECTION 8: Preventing fraud
It is important that legal documents are not tampered with or have anything added to them
after statements have been sworn and the document serviced. Binding documents, lining
through blank spaces, initialling pages and alterations, and placing stamps over signatures help
prevent this.
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Documents (and exhibits) covering more than one sheet of paper can be bound to assist in
preventing extra pages being fraudulently added after witnessing. However, it is not necessary
for the consular officer to bind those pages unless a client specifically requests it or if, due to
reasons of space, the authentication stamp needs to be attached to the document on a
separate sheet. In these cases, the entire document must be bound with ribbon, with the ends
of the tape covered by a notarial wafer affixed to the sheet containing the
certificate/jurat/attestation. The official seal should then be impressed through the wafer and
that part of the document upon which it is affixed, but not through the whole document.
Before binding a document, the consular officer must ensure it is signed on every page by the
deponent. This precludes the possibility of adding or deleting sheets after the document has
been bound. However, note that the requirement to sign every page is only for documents that
DFAT is binding. Documents of more than one page that do not need a DFAT bind do not need
to be signed on every page.
Interlineations and alterations must be authenticated by the initials of the deponent and the
consular officer. In the case of an erasure, any words or figures written over the erasures are to
be written in the margin and the erasure and the words written in the margin initialled by the
deponent and the consular officer.
When there are large spaces at the end of statements or between them, the client should be
prompted to draw a Z-shaped line through these to ensure nothing can be inserted later.
Statutory Declarations in particular often require this.
The official stamp (wet seal) should, if possible, be placed over part of the consular officer's
signature (usually over the top right hand corner) to make it difficult to photocopy that
signature for fraudulent purposes.
8.1 Binding a document
Binding a document makes it impossible for anyone to add another page without it being
obvious ‘tamper evident’. It involves tying the pages of the document together with ribbon
rather than stapling them, and placing a dry seal over the trailing ends of the ribbon. See
chapter 2.9. Bindings for images and more detailed descrption.
Despite some longstanding local practices, it is Australian best practice to never bind with a
staple or glue/tape.
To bind a document correctly you need:




a one hole-punch (if the eylet punch tool does not punch the hole)
a brass or metal eyelet and eyelet punch tool
a length of green ribbon, about 5 mm wide and 20 cm long
a red wafer seal
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
an embossing tool with the official seal.
Steps to binding a document
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Put a hole through the top left hand corner of the document and all its pages
with the hole punch, about 2 cm from each edge (only required if the eyelet
punch tool does not make the hole).
Seal the hole with a brass or metal eyelet (you will need an eyelet punch tool),
ensuring the smooth side of the eyelet is facing the document. Discretion can
only be exercised where documents are too thick to use an eyelet.
Fold the ribbon in half and push the folded end through the hole.
Turn the trailing ends over the top of the document and pass them through the
loop in the folded end. Tie a small knot.
Pull the knot around to the front of the document, extend the trailing ends of
the ribbon and place them so they form a v-shape about 2 cm apart on the page.
Place a pre embossed red wafer seal so that it covers both the trailing ends of
ribbon. Press it down firmly.
Using the embossing tool, insert only the front page under the seal and push the
handle down firmly over a part of the seal and on clear part of the page to
impress the official seal onto the page and the wafer (partially).
If there is not enough room to place the trailing ends of the ribbon and the seal
on the front page without covering up text, pull the knot to the back of the page
and seal the trailing ends on the back instead.
SECTION 9: Online references
Smartraveller pages on legalisation of documents:
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents.html
The Consular Gateway on the intranet
http://dfatintranet.titan.satin.lo/external-engagement/consular/Pages/consular-policiesproceduresandguidelines.aspx
Consular Handbooks : http://dfatintranet.titan.satin.lo/externalengagement/consular/Pages/manuals.aspx
Consular Handbook –Chapter 22 – Legal processes and notarial services:
http://dfatintranet.titan.satin.lo/external-engagement/consular/consular-operationshandbook/Pages/Consular-operations-Chapter22.aspx
The Apostille section of the Hague Conference website:
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=37
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Table listing current signatories for the Hague Apostille Convention:
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41 (be sure to also read the
guide to understanding this table)
Contact details for foreign authorities for issuing apostilles:
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41
Australian Qualifications Framework (for verifying educational documents):
http://www.aqf.edu.au/register/aqf-register/
To find Notaries Public in all Australian States and Territories:
ACT – www.courts.act.gov.au/supreme/services/notary_public
NSW – notarynsw.org. au/Home
NT – www.supremecourt.nt.gov.au/about/
QLD – www.societyofnotaries-qld.org/
SA – notaries-sa.org.au/
TAS – www.supremecourt.tas.gov.au/practice_and_procedure/public_notaries
VIC – www.notaries.org.au/index.php
WA – www.lawalmanac.dotag.wa.gov.au/P/public_notaries.aspx?uid=5644-4570-2650-7400
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SECTION 10: Forms
Attachment 1
Request for Specimen Signature/Seal/Stamp
(To be completed by person providing specimen signature)
I, ……………………………………………..
(Given names in full)
………………………………………………..
(Family name)
do hereby certify that the following specimen signature and details are
mine and are true and correct.
Title/Position: ……………………………………………………………………………………..
Company/Organisation: ………………………………………………………………………
Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Phone number: ……………………………………………………………………………………
Professional registration number (if applicable): …………………………………
Valid from …………………………… Until (if relevant)…………………………………
My Specimen signature:
Seal or Stamp (if applicable):
Personal information provided to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is protected by law, including the
Privacy Act 1988. Information about how we collect, use, disclose or store this information is available online or by
requesting a copy from the Department. The information provided on this form is retained on file for future
reference at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and is used solely for the purposes of
authenticating documents for use outside Australia. This information enables DFAT to compare and verify
documents bearing your signature, reducing the possibility of fraudulent use or forged documents being tendered
internationally. This is a service provided to bearers of Australian documents being used internationally,
and is a requirement of respective foreign governments and not the Australian Government.
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Attachment 2
Consent to verify academic record
(To be completed by student)
I, ……………………………………………..
(Given names in full)
………………………………………………..
(Family name)
do hereby authorise
……………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………
(institution name)
to verify to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that the attached academic
documents are a ‘true and accurate record’
Date of Birth: ……………………………………………………………………………………..
Student Number: ……………………………………………………………………………….
Award: ………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Date of conferral:………………………………………………………………………………….
Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Contact number: ……………………………………………………………………………………
Email: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
Signed:
The information is used solely for the purposes of authenticating documents for use outside Australia. This information enables
DFAT to compare and verify documents, reducing the possibility of fraudulent use or forged documents being tendered
internationally. Personal information provided to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is protected by law, including the
Privacy Act 1988. Information about how we collect, use, disclose or store this information is available online or by requesting a
copy from the Department."
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