Legal Requirements to be Married in Australia
Notice Of Intended Marriage Form
International Couples
All your personal particulars are required in order to complete the form. Your signatures are required to be witnessed in the presence of one of the following:
- An Australian Diplomatic Officer
- An Australian Consular Officer
- Also see the list of authorised people in the Australian Couples section below.
***Australian citizens living, or in transit overseas with these qualifications,
are the only acceptable authorized persons.***
When the Notice of Intended Marriage form has been filled in, and witnessed as above, you can fax to me, this is classified as “lodgment”. You will then need to bring the original with you, along with all other original legal documentation required, i.e. birth certificates, decree absolute, passport, death certificate, etc. whichever is relevant in your situation. As mentioned above, lodgment must take place within one month and one day of the wedding date and no more than 18 months prior to the wedding date. You do not need to be in Australia to lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage Form.
You have until your wedding day to produce your original birth certificates, passports, divorce papers and death certificates, however no marriage ceremony can take place without the celebrant first sighting these documents.
The Notice must be signed in the presence of Australian Diplomatic Officer, an Australian Consular Officer or any persons listed on the Notice of Intended Marriage form who are Australian Citizens.
Australian Couples
The Notice of Intended Marriage form must be signed in front of one of the following:
- An Authorised Marriage Celebrant
- A Justice of the Peace
- A legally qualified Medical Practitioner
- A commissioner for Declarations under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959
- An Australian Diplomatic Officer
- An Australian Consular Officer
- A registered Optometrist
- A Barrister or Solicitor
- A member of the Australian Federal Police force or a Police force of an Australian State or Territory
On the date that the Notice of Intended Marriage form is duly completed, signed and returned to me it is considered the date of lodgment. This Notice must be lodged with me at least one month and one day and no more than eighteen months prior to your wedding day.
Shortening Notice
In circumstances where the Notice of Intended Marriage is to be shortened
In instances where a couple wishes to be married earlier than one month and one day you must apply to your Clerk of the Court as your Local Court House. An application form can be downloaded from these Local Court House websites or may be collected in person. Once permission has been granted, this is shown to the celebrant and you can then be married.
The circumstances for shortening notice are set out in the regulations, as listed below:
- Medical reasons
- Employment related or other travel commitments
- Error in giving Notice
- Wedding celebration arrangements, or religious considerations
- Legal proceedings
Fiancé Visa
When arranging a fiancé visa the following information will be requested by The Australian Embassy world wide.
A letter is required by the Australian Embassy confirming the marriage details from the celebrant who has been booked to perform the ceremony. In this letter it will be required to detail the person who will be officiating at your wedding ceremony; name of celebrant, his/her registered number, the lodgment date of the Notice of Intended Marriage form, and the date/time/venue of your wedding ceremony. Without this information in it’s entirety, the Australian Embassy will not accept this letter.
Once the Notice of Intended Marriage form is completed and lodged with me, I can prepare the letter - it is then to be forwarded to your fiancé to assist with her visa application.
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