As of June 12 2024 remote witnessing of Notice of Intended Marriage forms is now law and you can visit this page for an update.
Rounding out my 2024 prediction series of blog posts we know for sure that change is on the horizon for the old Marriage Act of 1961.
This article is going to be simple so the point is made clearly. Clear is kind I heard someone say this week, so this article, written on the first day of 2024 will be kind.
Video call witnessing of NOIMs ended on the 31st of December 2023
The COVID-era provisions made by the Attorney General in 2020 to allow celebrants to witness notices of intended marriage to be witnessed over a video call have ended. Today, on the first day of January 2024 you cannot witness a NOIM over a video call. The only options you have are to witness it in person, or for the couple to sign in front of an authorised witness then send the NOIM to you.
Some forms are going to be updated
Some forms will be updated this year, so keep subscribed to our emails, and make sure you read every email from the Marriage Law and Celebrant Section (MLCS) of the AG department so you know when forms are updated.
Guidelines are going to be updated
A Guidelines to the Marriage Act update has been on the cards for some time but impending changes to the act mean the guidelines will be updated in kind and released when ready and perfect.
Remote witnessing will go before parliament this year
New changes to the marriage legislation – including the ability for celebrants to witness NOIMs remotely, over a video call, will go before parliament later this year and the results of that will be made known to you when we know more.
The marriage legislation is being reviewed
We’ve been invited to make submissions on the entirety of the marriage legislation, we’re asking for it to be reviewed, and we’d love your help on that when necessary. Personally I’m asking for the notice period to be reviewed and if it were up to me I’d say three days. But it’s not up to me, and I’m going to assume that most don’t agree with me. Regardless, we’re asking for it to be reviewed in line with a modern society in mind.
All of these items were discussed at our December 2023 meeting with the MLCS and you can read the debrief here.
There will be a new set of ongoing professional development topics
Keep your hungry eyes peeled for the 2024 OPD topics you professional developing legends!
Who knows what else
If 2020 taught me anything it’s that January 1 can look very different from December 31. Here’s to another exciting year in the world of marriage legislation and regulation of the celebrants program.
