Legal
Obligations and Requirements
As previously defined, “Marriage” can only
take place between and man and a woman. Any union that purports to
be a marriage between two men or two women is not legal and is not
recognised under Australian Law. Other unions, like gay “commitment
ceremonies” and the like are not illegal but have no legal
standing currently.
Documentation
A form, known as “Notice of Intended Marriage” must
be completed by each couple no more than eighteen months and no less
than one month and a day before the wedding date. In order to do
this, couples must produce evidence of identity and age etc. This
form ( often called the NIM) is usually completed during our first
official meeting.
Both the prospective Groom and prospective Bride must produce documents
as proof of identity and birth details. For all Australian-born people,
birth certificates must be produced for your Celebrant to see and
take note of. For people born overseas, a birth certificate in a
foreign language must be accompanied by an official translation.
Where a birth certificate is not available, then a current passport
from the country of origin is acceptable in lieu of birth certificate.
Some people, like refugees, are sometimes unable to produce the kind
of document required, due to obvious reasons, despite their best
efforts. Exceptions are made in such circumstances and we are happy
to attend to the necessary paperwork, as required by law.
Where a Groom or Bride has been married before, proof of termination
of marriage, like a Divorce Decree or Death Certificate, must be
produced otherwise a marriage ceremony cannot be legally held.
During our second meeting, a few days before the wedding, each couple
is required to sign another form: “The Declarations” in
confirmation that there is no possible legal impediment to the proposed
marriage. An impediment would usually show that one or the other
of the couple is already married to someone else, or that one or
the other (or both) may be under-age, without special permission
to marry; or that the couple are related to one another in some way
that would prohibit a legal marriage.
These Declarations are printed on the reverse side of the official “Certificate
of Marriage” which will be lodged by us with the Registrar’s
Office in Adelaide after the wedding has been performed.
The official “Certificate of Marriage” as well as the
Celebrant’s copy of The Register and the couple’s own
Certificate, (Form 15) are all signed, at the end of a Ceremony,
by the Bride and Groom, their witnesses and the Celebrant. Witnesses
are usually two of the bridal party (Groomsmen and Bridesmaids) but
can be anyone chosen by the couple, provided they are over eighteen
years of age. Some couples like the look of Calligraphy on their
certificate, rather than a plain, hand-written version. We have access
to several Calligraphists and order the certificates in plenty of
time for the ceremony.
Other documents that are occasionally used in the preparation of
a wedding service, in unusual circumstances, include a “Statutory
Declaration”; a “Legitimation Form” and letters
to various government departments in support of visa applications
etc…
We have stocks of all the correct, necessary forms, so it is not
necessary for couples to obtain them from other sources.
