Advice on the use of your marriage forms:
We’ve had lots of celebrants wondering about what to do with their current stock of forms….
NOIMs received from couples prior to 31 December 2014 are okay and will
be accepted by BDMs from 1 January 2015, BUT any couple who lodge a NOIM with a
celebrant from 1 January 2015 must be on the new NOIM. These are easy to
download from the AGD’s website.
Form 15 certificate of marriage given to couples immediately after the
ceremony – has not been changed.
ALL OTHER MARRIAGE FORMS AND CERTIFICATES were superseded from 1
January 2015. The old forms are to be discarded and new forms used.
The ONE exception is the celebrant’s red Marriage Register containing
the duplicate Official Certificate of Marriage (previously called Form 16).
Because of the cost of the Marriage Registers, celebrants can continue to use
their existing Marriage Register until all certificates have been used, then
you are to purchase a new Marriage Register (which will contain the new type
certificates). However, the Official Certificate of Marriage which is sent to
BDM to register the marriage (loose form, on reverse side of the Declarations
of no legal impediment (formerly called Form 14 Declarations) is to be the
revised certificate.
Stronger Relationships trial ended 9/2/15
Sadly, the government retired this trial that offered subsidies for
relationship education on 9 February 2015 although it was meant to continue to
30 June 2015. The government has agreed to honour the $200 subsidy until this
time for couples who registered prior to 9th February 2015 and said "...only
around 10,000 couples had registered...and only one third of these had gone on
to attend a relationship education or counselling service....". They have
decided to reinvest the $17 million in savings into essential frontline
services under the DSS grants scheme, according to Minister Scott Morrison. AssentTECS
Autumn newsletter April 2015
Queensland BDM has a new web address:
https://www.qld.gov.au/law/births-deaths-marriages-and-divorces/
From Karen McLeod Queensland BDM:
I would advise, with regard to the usage of surname post
marriage ceremony, if the bride wishes to assume another surname other than her
husband’s surname, e.g. she chooses to assume a combination of her husband’s
surname and her registered birth surname, then she would need to adhere to the
requirements of the agency that she is dealing with to change her identity
documents.
It is my current understanding that those agencies who issue photo ID,
such as the Australian Passport Office and the Department of Transport, require
to sight the official Certificate of Marriage issued by a Births Deaths and
Marriages (BDM) Office as proof that the bride has changed her surname. If she
has assumed her husband’s surname, then the official Certificate of Marriage is
sufficient.
However, if she assumes a combination surname, then those agencies will
require her to take an additional step, by presenting to them a BDM issued
document that states the surname she has assumed, that is, either a Birth
Certificate showing a change of surname notation, or a Change of Name
Certificate.
To achieve this, the bride would need to make application to the
appropriate BDM Office in the State/Territory where she is born in Australia.
If the bride is born outside of Australia, then she would need to
consult with the BDM Office in the State/Territory where she is resident to
make enquiries if she is eligible to make application to change her name. A
list of BDM Offices and contact details can be found in the Guidelines on
the Marriage Act 1961 for Marriage Celebrants on pages 122 to 125, which
includes our website addresses.
I would also advise that Celebrants be aware of the following list
of most common errors made on the Official Certificate of Marriage submitted
to BDM Brisbane:
*Witnesses names are illegible – need to be preferably typed, or if
handwritten, then printed neatly and clearly showing both witnesses names in
full i.e their first name, middle name(if applicable),and their surname
*Place of marriage is incomplete – need to state place of event in
full, not just the suburb, or town/city
*Place of birth of Groom and Bride is incomplete – need to state in
full as per sighted on the birth certificate or passport i.e. town/city,
state/province (if applicable), and country {N.B. United Kingdom (UK) is NOT a
country so should be entered as either England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland}
*Celebrants name is incomplete – need to be preferably typed, or
handwritten, in full i.e. first name, middle name (if applicable), and surname AssentTECS
Autumn newsletter April 2015
I would also remind Celebrants to lodge your marriage registration
paperwork with this Office (if conducted in Qld) within 14 days after the
ceremony, that is, both the Notice of Intent to Marry (NOIM) + Official
Certificate of Marriage (COM). If Celebrants would like this Office to
acknowledge receipt of their paperwork, they can also include a self-addressed
stamped envelope, referencing the names of the groom and bride, so that we can
date stamp and return to them. This Office will not acknowledge via email due
to limited resources.
If Celebrants conduct a marriage interstate, I would also remind them
to forward the NOIM + COM to the BDM Office in the State/Territory where the
event occurred.
The current processing times for BDM Brisbane is approx. 10- 20 working
days, however if a request for urgent processing is made, provided the NOIM +
COM and the completed Marriage Certificate Application form + proof of urgency
is lodged together, then this Office will endeavour to finalise the marriage
registration within 3- 5 working days. Please be aware that the Marriage
Certificate Application form should be completed and signed by either the bride
or groom (not the Celebrant).
It would be appreciated if the above instruction/information could be
included in your next Newsletter, and I would be agreeable, on behalf of this
Office, for you to acknowledge the source.
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