Getting married in Australia

Marriage, according to the law in Australia,
is the union of a man and a woman
to the exclusion of all others,
voluntarily entered into for life.
The Marriage Act, 1961

Before the wedding

The Australian government takes marriage very seriously indeed and strongly encourages people wanting to marry to take pre-marriage courses before the big day. There are a number of such courses available and I am very happy to provide details.

Generally speaking, you must both be at least 18 years of age. One of you (only one) can be younger, but not younger than 16 – in these cases permission must be sought and granted before a wedding can take place. You will also need two witnesses and they must both be at least 18.

Yes, there’s paperwork.
The first thing you must do is obtain an original or certified copy of your birth certificates.
Next, if you have been married before, obtain evidence that your earlier marriage has been dissolved (Decree Absolute or Death Certificate) or nullified.
Then complete the 4-page Notice of Intended Marriage (I can provide one or download it here noticeofintendedmarriageformc.pdf) and lodge it with me one calendar month plus one day before the wedding date (for example, I’ll need to receive the NIM on 13 May or earlier for a wedding to take place on 14 June). Usually, we’ll do this at our first face-to-face meeting, as I have to witness your signatures.
I will also ask you to sign a Statutory Declaration in front of me to the effect that you are both free to marry.

At our first meeting, we can also discuss the structure of the ceremony itself and explore options about readings, music etc.

On the day itself

There are specific and important requirements for the ceremony itself, to ensure that the marriage is valid. I explain these at our first meeting. Apart from these, you can organize the ceremony to your tastes, always remembering the solemn and binding nature of the relationship you are committing to.

The law puts no limits on where you can be married as long as it is on Australian soil.