Approved Signatories of a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration

Go to Website: www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Pages/Statutorydeclarationsignatorylist.aspx

Approved Signatories of a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration. There are a number of people who may be able to witness your statutory declaration.

A Commonwealth statutory declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 will need to be witnessed by a person who is both:

on the list of authorised witnesses, and
has a connection to Australia, or
be a notary public (with or without a connection to Australia)

If you are not in Australia, you will need to find an approved witness overseas.

Your approved witness can be a:

family member
friend
person related to the content in your statement

But you should check with the person that asked for the declaration if they will accept it.

Approved Signatories, what it means to have a connection to Australia

Having a connection to Australia means the person:

is licensed or registered to practice in Australia, or
holds an Australian membership to a professional organisation, or
is appointed in Australia

For example:

a doctor who is registered to practise medicine in Australia can witness your declaration (a doctor who is not registered in Australia cannot)
an accountant who has an Australian membership to Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

What is a notary public

witness documents
administer oaths
perform other administrative functions

You can use a notary public to witness your statutory declaration even if they are called something different under another country's legislation. For example, they may be called a notary or a public notary.

Before using a notary public overseas, you should check the person has been appointed by a government to witness documents.

False witnesses

If you are concerned about a false witness, you should contact the:

Australian Federal Police
peak body for the organisation or profession the person works in

Approved Signatories of a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration, fees for witnessing a statutory declaration

It's up to your approved witness if they want to charge you a fee for their service.

However, a Justice of the Peace cannot charge a fee to witness a statutory declaration.

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