Marriage Act 1961

Where an authorised celebrant solemnises a marriage, the authorised celebrant shall:

prepare a certificate of the marriage, in accordance with the prescribed form, for the purpose of issue to the parties to the marriage; and

prepare 2 official certificates of the marriage.

Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(b), the regulations may provide that the person for the time being holding or acting in a specified office of a specified State or Territory shall prepare only 1 official certificate under that paragraph.

Immediately after the solemnisation of the marriage, the authorised celebrant, each of the parties to the marriage and 2 witnesses of the marriage who are, or appear to the authorised celebrant to be, over the age of 18 years shall sign each of the certificates so prepared.

One of the official certificates or the official certificate, as the case may be, shall be on the reverse side of the paper bearing the declarations made by the parties under section 42.

The authorised celebrant shall hand the certificate referred to in paragraph (1)(a) to one of the parties to the marriage on behalf of the parties, and:

where 2 official certificates have been prepared:

within 14 days after the solemnisation of the marriage, forward the official certificate to which subsection (3) applies, together with the notice under section 42, the order (if any) under section 12 and any statutory declarations, consents and dispensations with consents relating to the marriage that are in his or her possession, to the appropriate registering authority of a State or Territory ascertained in accordance with the regulations; and

retain the other official certificate and deal with it in accordance with the regulations; or

where only 1 official certificate has been prepared—retain that certificate and deal with it in accordance with the regulations.

Where the authorised celebrant dies without having prepared and signed the certificates of the marriage, or where by reason of other special circumstances the Minister thinks it necessary to do so, the Minister may, if satisfied that the marriage was duly solemnised, prepare and sign the certificates with such modifications as are appropriate.

A certificate prepared and signed by the Minister under subsection (5) has the same force and effect as if it had been prepared and signed, in accordance with this section, by the authorised celebrant.

The regulations may make provision for and in relation to the furnishing of a substitute certificate in the event of the loss or destruction of a certificate of a marriage previously forwarded in pursuance of this section.