All Heart Ceremonies
Nancy Murphy - Civil Marriage Celebrant
THE LEGALITIES
To be legally married in Australia, each party to the marriage;
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not be currently married to another person;
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not be marrying a grandparent, parent, son/daughter (adoptive), sibling or step-sibling;
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be at least eighteen years old - if one party to the marriage is under legal age (18); then they will need to obtain parental consent as well as a Magistrates court order to wed.
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have two witnesses, over the age of eighteen, present at the wedding ceremony who can understand English;
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use legal wording in the ceremony in accordance with the Marriage Act 1961;
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complete the Notice of Intended Marriage form and submit to their celebrant no later than one month prior to the ceremony and no earlier than eighteen months; and
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complete the Declaration of No Legal Impediment forms and Official Marriage Certificates within the said timeframes as stipulated by the Act; and
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understand what marriage means and give freely their consent to the marriage.
PREPARATION OF LEGAL FORMS
In order for your marriage to be valid and recognised in Australia, the following legal forms will need to be completed and lodged with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. As part of Nancy's inclusive service, these forms will be prepared electronically and lodged after your ceremony, on your behalf.
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Notice of Intended Marriage
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Declaration of No Legal Impediment
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Official Marriage Certificates
What You Need to Prepare
To complete the forms each party to the marriage will need to provide the following documents:
- a birth certificate or birth extract; or
- an Australian/foreign passport; and
- a divorce/death certificate - if either party to the marriage has previously been married or widowed; and
- evidence of your change of name - if any person has legally changed their name since birth; and
- a driver's licence (or other acceptable photo id)
* Each document must be original.
Photocopies witnessed by a JP are not classified as original under the Act and as such can not be accepted. If you are unable to locate your original birth or death certificate, you should contact Births, Deaths and Marriages in the State where the event took place. If you are unable to locate your original divorce certificate, you can obtain another copy by contacting the Family Law Court.
* Each document must be in English.
If your document is in a foreign language, you will need to obtain a translated version completed by an accredited translator. Both the original document and the translation will need to be provided. For further information on translation services or to locate your nearest translator, please contact the NAATI (National Accreditation Authoirty for Translators and Interpreters Ltd).
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