Legal Stuff – The NEW Marriage Forms
Besides planning an awesome celebration, there’s a few legalities that come with marriage including some paperwork pushing, sorry to say. Since Sept 2021, new legal forms have come into play.
It’s not exactly the most exciting part of wedding planning but hey that’s why we have celebrants. A big part of our role as celebrants in Australia is to coordinate the legal stuff for you, check the details and have it sent to the right people on your behalf.
I have to admit I was a tad excited when the Attorney General Department released three new legal forms on 1st September 2021. These forms were YEARS in the making. It all came about when the marriage equality legislation was passed on 9th December 2017. In the interim, we used a slightly updated form with terminology changes to reflect that marriage in Australia is no longer determined by sex or gender . The most obvious change was from Bride and Groom to Party 1 and Party 2. In the new forms, it has been changed again to Person 1 and Person 2.
The first and most important legal doc that you should be aware of is the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM). Note this form must be completed, signed and witnessed at least one month and no earlier than 18 months prior to your wedding day. Your celebrant will provide you with a copy, a weblink or you can download it yourself from the Attorney General’s Department Website.
It's best to type your details using BLOCK LETTERS into the PDF document. We all know handwriting these days for many of us is close to unreadable. It’s important that the details are correct as this is what will appear on your Official Marriage Certificate. Once done, either print it out for your signatures to be witnessed, or your celebrant might have a digital version on a tablet. If you’re meeting up with them, it can signed and witnessed electronically.
The first two pages of the NOIM provides instructions for completing the form so go ahead and take a read. It’s fairly simple to follow but if you have a unique dynamic such as name changes or unknown details just reach out to me and I’ll help with completing it.
key parts of the NOIM for you to complete are:
1. Details of the parties
This part requires your personal ID details such as full name as shown on your birth certificate or change of name certificate, occupation, address, conjural status, birthplace (that appears on your birth certificate or passport), place of birth, date of birth and whether you are related to each other. I’ve never had any couple tick yes, I dare say it’s a rarity.
2. Details of the parties’ parents
This section has seen the most change from the old form to the new. It now requires the details of both set of parents. Both their full current names and their full birth names (this is relevant if they have changed their names since birth). It also asks for each parent’s country of birth.
We celebrants are responsible for checking every little detail. We need to make sure that everything corresponds with your ID docs and making sure it’s written correctly on the form which means it’ll be correct on your official Marriage Certificate, most importantly.
Before I witness your signature, I’ll need to sight your ID docs. We usually arrange this in our first catch up together.
This is what I’ll need from you:
Your original birth certificate and drivers licence
OR your original current or expired (but not cancelled) passport
And if you’ve been married before, I’ll need to sight:
Your original divorce paper from the court
OR a death certificate if you are a widow or widower
If we don’t get around to completing every mandatory field on the NOIM, no problem we can add the missing details anytime before your wedding. If we can't get together to sign the NOIM, another authorised witness can do it - a JP, lawyer, medical practitioner or police officer. Just remember, I must receive the NOIM via email at least one month before your wedding day.
There are a few more legal docs to sign along the way. Another new legal form is the Declaration of No Legal Impediment which I will complete and have you sign before the ceremony, either at our final catch up or on the day before we start. I also bring along two Legal Certificates of Marriage with me on the day. We’ll do the signing of these Certificates at the end of the ceremony, with your two nominated witnesses. Your witnesses can be anyone that is 18 years and over.
Once the ceremony is all done and the legal paperwork is signed, I’ll register your marriage through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM). They’ll receive the legal documents electronically from me. That’s when it really is official - you’re 100% MARRIED!
Lastly, if you are thinking of changing your name, or if you need proof of marriage for visa, immigration and financial purposes – you’ll need to apply for your Offical Marriage Certificate marriage. Apply for it online, via post or in person through the Registry of BDM. In NSW, it costs from $60 for a standard version. What’s much easier is if I apply and pay for this on your behalf when I register your marriage. I just add the $60 to my final invoice. Sorted!
That’s it folks. If you have any doubts about anything on the admin / legal front, just let me know. I’m here to help or I can, at least, lead you in the right direction.
Cheerio!