Customers sometimes ask if it is possible to sign a document that is in a foreign language in front of the Notary Public. The general advice from a Public Notary is to never sign a document that you do not understand. Who knows if in the content of the document you are confessing your part […]
There are many notaries in Australia who have various levels of understanding of their craft. I see all sorts of notarial work come across my desk. To become a Public Notary an individual must be a practising lawyer for five years and then sit an exam. There have been many lawyers who have become notaries […]
The laws in Australia were changed near the middle of 2018 so that NAATI translators can now have their translations apostilled without the need for a notary. Having worked with a few translations I have found some NAATI translations were done by people who were no longer registered as NAATI translators and the documents could […]
I had an enquiry for a document that needed to have one signature in Melbourne and one signature in Perth. Both signatures needed to be witnessed by a Public Notary. DFAT will only issue an authentication or apostille for one notary. There are two options to move forward: 1. Have two documents which are ‘Counterpart’ […]
I tried to get an Apostille on an Australian Electoral Commission document this week that had a signature on the back page. DFAT informed me the signatory was not on their list and they would not issue an apostille stamp for the document. The notaries from Apostille Stamp notarised a copy of the AEC document […]
The apostille system was introduced to allow parties from other countries to verify a document was a true copy or was signed by a verified individual. The Hague Convention, which is where the Apostilles system started, was signed in 1961. The world has changed a lot since 1961 so how do parties check to see […]
Federal documents such as Birth Certificates and Death Certificates do not need to be notarised before they are apostilled. Other government documents that do not need a notary are: Certificate of Residency issued by the ATO if the documents have a government stamp Divorce Order printed in colour Police Certificate from the AFP or State […]
I tried to lodge a document today for a client who had his document witnessed by a JP. DFAT rejected the request and told me that a document needs to be notarised to be Apostilled. Public Notaries are solicitors who have been practising law for at least 5 years and have passed the Public Notary […]
Often there is confusion around what is an Original document when the request is made from overseas. Once a document has been signed in pen it is deemed to be the Original document even if the document has been printed off an internet page.
Powers of Attorney being sent overseas require a Notary to witness your signature before an Apostille will be granted. Apostille Stamp can provide notaries to witness your signature. Please remember that you must sign in front of Notary, you cannot send a signed Power of Attorney to be notarised. The Power of Attorney can be […]
