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Legal Requirements for marrying in Australia and what you need to know before you get married

Before the law allows you to marry, you are required to complete a Notice of Intended marriage and lodge it with an authorised Marriage Celebrant who is to conduct your marriage.
The Notice of Intended Marriage is to be lodged within 18 months of your proposed marriage and not later than one calendar month and one day prior to your wedding. This form can be downloaded from the Attorney-General's Department - Notice of Intended Marriage or your Celebrant provided this form and completed this in your presence at you visit. Please remember not to sign or date the form before your first meeting with your Celebrant, as all signatures need to be witnessed.
You can submit your Notice of Intended Marriage in person, via fax or mail, but you must bring the original Notice of Intended Marriage with you when you meet with your Celebrant. This form will remain active for 18 calendar months from the date of submission.
It is possible to shorten the minimum notice for a marriage to less than a month if special circumstances set out in the regulations are met. For more information, discuss this with your Marriage Celebrant.
To marry, at least on you must be over 18 - under Section 12 of the Marriage Act, if one of you is over 16 but under 18 you need a special course order before a marriage can proceed.
If you are Australian born you must show your birth certificate in English. If born outside Australia you are required to show you birth certificate or passport from you country of birth.
If either of you have previously been married, under Section 23B of the Marriage Act you will have to produce your Divorce Decree Absolute papers and/or if either of your spouses are deceased, you must product the Death Certificate.
Under Section 44 the ceremony must be attended by two witnesses over the age of 18 years, who are known to the bride and groom.
Under Section 41 of the Marriage Act the marriage must be performed by, or in the presence of, a celebrant or a minister of religion who has been authorised by the Attorney-General's Department.
Section 112 states than an interpreter may be present to translate the ceremony if either of the couple being married does not understand English. This interpreter must be a person other than a party to the marriage and must provide a statutory declaration confirming their ability to converse in the language in respect of which he or she is acting as your interpreter.
For further information on government legislation relating to getting married go to: Attorney-General's Department - Getting Married

Your Certificate of Marriage

Your Certificate of Marriage is given to you after the ceremony as evidence of your marriage. When you get married, your Marriage Celebrant prepares three certificate of marriage.

All three certificates contain the details of marriage and you and your witnesses will be required to sign all three certificates. They are:

The certificate retained by the Marriage Celebrant for their records
The certificate that will be forwarded to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the registration of your marriage; and
The certificate that you will be given as your record of the marriage

What are our first steps?

It is imperative that you book your wedding date and time with the Celebrant of your choice as soon as you can - it is at this appointment you complete your Notice of Intended Marriage
Your Notice of Intended Marriage needs to be completed no less than a calendar month prior to marriage but it is strongly advisable to complete this with your Celebrant as soon as you have decided on the date and time for your wedding.
Most couples book months in advance, so it's advisable to call and book your Celebrant as soon as you can, so you're not disappointed.
Only one person needs to visit the Celebrant to complete the Notice of Intended Marriage. The other person can sign at a later date prior to the wedding.

If either of us are applying for immigration, what will we need to do?

Make an appointment with your Celebrant where you will complete and sign the Notice of Intended Marriage. Your Celebrant will then type you the necessary letter for the Department of Immigration. Only one of you need to complete the form for this to be done.

We have lost our documents, what do we do?

If you were born in Australia, you can obtain a copy of your Birth Certificate (and if applicable, the Death Certificate of former spouse) from Births, Deaths & Marriages, in the state in which you were born.

If you have divorced and need a copy of your Divorce Certificate or Decree Absolute, then is can be obtained from the Family Law Court in the state in which the marriage was dissolved.

The Registry of Births, Death & Marriages
35 Regent Street
Chippendale NSW 2000

Postal Address:
PO Box 30
Sydney NSW 2000
www.bdm.nsw.gov.au

Can we choose spiritual or religious wording in a civil ceremony?

Yes. Couples are most welcome to include a religious prayer or reading or any wording that they feel reflects their beliefs or way of life.

Do we have to attend any pre-marital courses?

No. However, all Celebrants have information that can be made available for you both, should you wish to attend counselling or pre-marital courses in your area.

Relationships Australia 1300 364 277
Interrelate 1300 736 966
Anglicare 9895 8054

Same-sex Commitment Ceremonies

Section 5 (1) of the Marriage Act 1961 defines marriage as "...the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." This definition was added to the Marriage Act in August 2004. Accordingly, it is not possible for same sex couples to marry under Australian law. Marriages between two people of the same sex entered into under the laws of an overseas country are not recognised in Australia.

It is not illegal to conduct commitment ceremonies between same-sex couples provided that they do not purport to be legal marriages.