Subject: Canadian Engineer as celebrant in Australia
Question: My Fiance is Australian, I am Canadian and we live in Canada. However, we are planning on getting married in Australia. I have a friend who is a professional engineer who we would like to perform the ceremony. Is this a legal possibility in Australia, if so, what are the steps involved for this person to be qualified to perform the wedding ceremony in Australia?
Thank-you for your time,
Nikki
Answer:
Dear Nikki
Congratulations on you upcoming marriage. Australia's independent civil marriage celebrants are unique in the world in that they:
- do all the legal paper work from beginning to submitting the marriage for registration. In other countries such a USA and New Zealand, the government registries does that part of the work.
- are authorised for life, dependent upon meeting their Code of Conduct, professional development requirements, paying annual fees for their regulation as is the case with other professions. In some places, such as certain states in America, the celebrant is authorised for the day, and as such is not trained nor experienced in creating and conducting ceremonies.
- can conduct a marriage at any time, 365 days of the year, at any place in Australia.
In some countries like the England, the place is designated and the couple can only get married by Registry Office staff at those designated places; and there is little choice as to the wording of the ceremony. - create a meaningful personalised unique ceremony by working with the marrying couple to ensure the ceremony not only contains the legal requirements but also is personalised to the couples beliefs, values and wishes for their ceremony - involving family and friends as required by the couple.
No need for your friend to do the training, which would be an incredibly expensive gift to accept from him, when you can engage a independent civil celebrant for only a portion of the cost of training and becoming authorised.
The cost to your friend would be approx. $ 2000 to train, 6 to 12 months time of his time (@ his hourly engineer rate), $600 to apply, plus $240 in annual fees plus the fee he would normally get as the authorised celebrant = $28,000 +
Instead you could suggest he pay the fee for an authorised celebrant to work with him as he may deliver most of the ceremony.
The celebrant is required to:
- identify themselves as the authorised celebrant
- state the definition of marriage according to Australian law - called the Monitum
- ensure the vows contain the legal phrases required are included and heard
- make sure the whole ceremony is dignified in line with the importance of a legal ceremony
- plus prepare the papers to be signed and witnessed etc.
So most of the ceremony may be done by your friend.
It is important to note though, that inexperienced person is less likely to design and deliver the ceremony with the same level of care as would an experienced celebrant.
I’m sure you will find a celebrant to suit your purposes from one of the celebrant associations in our Coalition:
http://www.coalitionofcelebrantassociations.org.au/find-a-celebrant
Also be aware that
- One calendar month official notice to the celebrant you choose. Australia has one of the longest lead times in the world to give notice to be married.
- you will need evidence of date and place of birth from official sources (eg. Birth Certificate, Passport).
- you will need evidence of dissolution from an official source. (e.g. divorce documents), if either of you have been married before.
- give free and informed consent to be married.
For more information, see Getting Married in Australia.
Any further questions please let us know.
All the very best for your wedding day and life together as a married couple
Kind regards
Coalition of Celebrant Associations (CoCA) Inc.
