1 January 2022
temporary update to the notice of intention to marry (noim)
The Marriage Act 1961 has been temporarily modified due to COVID-19, to enable an authorised witness to remotely witness the signing of the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM). This is a temporary response to assist parties to the marriage meet the notification requirements given the continuing impact of the COVID pandemic.
The Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Modifications—Statutory Declarations and Notices of Intention to Marry) Determination 2021 (the Determination) which modifies the Marriage Act 1961 (the Marriage Act) commenced operation on 21 December 2021, and is the date from when authorised celebrants can begin witnessing signatures remotely. This arrangement will be in place until 31 December 2022, when the relevant legislative instrument will be repealed.
Under the Determination, an authorised witness may sign in the ‘Signature of witness box’ on page 4 of the NOIM, if they have observed the party signing the NOIM, whether or not by means of a facility that enables audio and visual communication between persons in different places. For example, this could include where the authorised witness has observed the signature of the party through videoconferencing facilities such as Skype or Zoom. Such NOIMs signed and witnessed remotely during the specified period should be accepted despite the note on page 2 of the NOIM stating that the ‘Notice must be signed in the physical presence of an authorised witness’. A NOIM must still be given to the authorised celebrant at least one month before the marriage is solemnised.
Please note that the locality requirements of witnesses have not been altered. As such authorised celebrants are only able to remotely witness the signature of parties signing the notice in Australia – see sections 42(2)(c) and (d) of the Marriage Act.
There are no changes to the requirement for the physical presence of all parties to the marriage, including the celebrant and two official witnesses, on the day of the marriage (see sections 41 and 44 of the Marriage Act).
Section 41 - A marriage shall be solemnised by or in the presence of an authorised celebrant who is authorised to solemnise marriages at the place where the marriage takes place.
Section 44 - A marriage shall not be solemnised unless at least 2 persons who are, or appear to the person solemnising the marriage to be, over the age of 18 years are present as witnesses.
There is also no change to the requirement that the declaration of no legal impediment be ‘made and subscribed’ before the authorised celebrant prior to the ceremony (see section 42(1)(c) of the Marriage Act).
The department will provide further information regarding the ending of the temporary facility to witness NOIMs remotely closer to the date of repeal of the relevant legislation.
Please contact us at marriagecelebrantssection@ag.gov.au if you have any questions about the above.
1 September 2021
Three NEW marriage forms will commence on 1 September 2021
The three new marriage forms: the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM), the Official Certificate of Marriage (OCM), and Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage (DNLI) forms, have been made available for download from the department’s website on 31 August 2021 for use from Wednesday, 1 September 2021.
We provide the following guidance material on the changes to marriage forms:
1. Fact sheet on Changes to marriage forms and certificates 2021
2. Mocked-up new Notice of Intended Marriage
From 1 September 2021, all authorised celebrants MUST use the new NOIM, OCM and DNLI forms.
NOIM forms signed and submitted to an authorised celebrant before 1 September 2021 will remain valid for a period of 18 months from their date of receipt by the authorised celebrant. All NOIM forms submitted to an authorised celebrant after 1 September 2021, must be in the new form.
There are no changes to the Form 15 Certificates of Marriage (that is given by the celebrant to the couple immediately following the wedding). Authorised celebrants can continue to use their existing stock of Form 15 certificates. The Form 15 certificates continue to be available for purchase from CanPrint Communications.
We note that the Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for authorised celebrants have been updated on 31 August 2021, to reflect the new forms commencing on 1 September 2021.