Apostille or Legalisation for Indonesia From Australia

Australian documents for Indonesia now need a DFAT apostille, not DFAT authentication plus Indonesian embassy legalisation: as of our last check, the Convention has been in force for Indonesia since 4 June 2022. Check the HCCH status table on the day. Much advice online still describes the old chain, and the Indonesian translation is usually the larger job.

Key takeaways

• Since June 2022, a single DFAT apostille replaces the old two-step chain for documents within the Convention's scope.
• If someone tells you to take the document to the Indonesian embassy after DFAT, ask whether that advice predates the change.
• Indonesian government bodies generally want a translation into Bahasa Indonesia by a sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah), usually made in Indonesia after the apostille.
• Indonesian law requires the Indonesian language in many agreements with Indonesian parties. A notary and an apostille do not deal with that.
• Company deeds are made by an Indonesian notaris, whose role is far wider than an Australian notary's.

Indonesia and the Apostille Convention

The HCCH status table records Indonesia's accession on 5 October 2021, with the Convention in force from 4 June 2022. Indonesia made one declaration: documents issued by its prosecutor's office are not treated as public documents under the Convention. That affects certain Indonesian documents going abroad, not Australian documents going to Indonesia. Membership is a live fact, so confirm it on the table the day you start.

An apostille is a certificate from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirming the signature and seal on an Australian public document. It says nothing about the contents. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; a notary cannot.

The chain now

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is private (a power of attorney, an affidavit, a board resolution) or you are sending a notarised copy, such as of a degree.
2. DFAT apostille on the original public document or the notary's certificate.
3. Send to Indonesia, to the employer, agent, notaris or office that asked for it.
4. Sworn translation into Bahasa Indonesia, usually made in Indonesia after the apostille.

Australian registry certificates and court documents usually skip step 1. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents including divorce certificates, and national police checks. DFAT refuses laminated certificates and ceremonial marriage certificates. University documents need the university's verification first, and a notarised copy must state that the original was verified with the institution.

If an agent, an employer's HR team or an older article tells you to take your document to the Indonesian embassy after DFAT, ask whether that advice predates June 2022. Some Indonesian offices took time to adjust, and occasionally one may still ask for the old chain. If that happens, ask it to confirm in writing that it will not accept an apostille, and then ask DFAT and the embassy how to proceed. See what to do if you have the wrong certificate.

Sworn translation: penerjemah tersumpah

Indonesian government agencies commonly require translations by a penerjemah tersumpah, a sworn translator who has passed a national certification and taken an oath before the Indonesian Ministry of Law or its regional office. An English document, even with an apostille, will usually still need translating.

An Australian NAATI translation is a professional translation, and DFAT will apostille one, but it is not an Indonesian sworn translation. If the receiving body wants the latter, the translation happens after the apostille, in Indonesia. If the translator can work from a scan, the original can stay with you until it is needed. Document translation covers the Australian side.

Contracts and the language rule

This is the Indonesian point that most often catches Australian businesses. Indonesian law requires the Indonesian language to be used in agreements involving Indonesian parties, including Indonesian companies. A contract drafted only in English has been challenged in Indonesian courts on that basis. Bilingual agreements are common, with the parties addressing which version prevails.

An Australian notary can witness the signing of a contract and a DFAT apostille can authenticate the notary's signature, but neither addresses the language requirement. If you are signing a commercial agreement, loan document or company document with an Indonesian party, have an Indonesian lawyer confirm the language arrangements before you sign. If you do not read the Indonesian text, tell the Australian notary in advance; the notary must be satisfied you understand what you are signing.

Company matters and the Indonesian notaris

Australian shareholders setting up or changing an Indonesian foreign-investment company are often asked for incorporation documents, board resolutions and powers of attorney. Deeds for Indonesian companies are made by an Indonesian notaris, a legally trained public official.

Ask the notaris for the text of any power of attorney before you sign, and expect it to be bilingual. For the Australian company documents, DFAT lists ASIC documents among the government commercial documents it can legalise, but will not apostille a printout of a downloaded PDF, so a notarial certificate based on a fresh ASIC search is often used. See company incorporation documents and document notarisation.

Documents commonly needed

Document	Typical use in Indonesia	Australian route
Degree, references, police check	Work and stay permits (KITAS)	As the employer specifies: apostilled original, apostilled notarised copy, or a plain copy
Board resolution, company POA	Setting up or changing a foreign-investment company	Notary, then DFAT apostille; text from the notaris
Power of attorney for property	Property and inheritance	Take Indonesian legal advice first; foreign ownership of land is restricted
Birth, marriage, divorce documents	Family matters and residence	Original registry or court document to DFAT

For work and stay permits, the Indonesian employer or its agent usually sets the list. Ask whether it wants apostilled originals, apostilled notarised copies or plain copies before you pay for anything; the answer is not always an apostille. If a document relates to Indonesian land, take advice from an Indonesian lawyer before authenticating it.

Police checks and timing

Work and stay permit lists often include a national police check, and Indonesian employers or agents may want one issued recently. A national police check is an Australian government document that DFAT lists among the originals it can legalise, so it can usually go to DFAT directly without a notary. Order it close to when it will be lodged, ask the agent how recent it must be, and allow for the apostille, courier and sworn translation in Indonesia before the deadline. If the agent can accept a scan for the translator, the original can travel later.

Marriage in Indonesia

Marriage in Indonesia involves Indonesian religious and civil registration rules that are outside the scope of this page. The Australian embassy and consulates in Indonesia publish information for Australians marrying there, including what they can and cannot issue. Read that first, then work out which Australian documents, if any, need an apostille. Australian divorce orders and death certificates, used to show that an earlier marriage has ended, are public documents that go to DFAT directly. An Australian notary cannot confirm that you are free to marry; that comes from the documents themselves and whatever the Australian Government issues for the purpose.

Coming the other way

An Indonesian document for use in Australia is apostilled in Indonesia, not by DFAT. For an Australian visa, Home Affairs usually wants a certified copy rather than an apostille, and a translation of any document not in English: made in Australia by a NAATI-credentialled translator, or made overseas with the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications. An Australian notary can certify a copy of an Indonesian document you hold, but cannot vouch for what an Indonesian registry issued. See documents from overseas for use in Australia.

What does not work for Indonesia

• A Justice of the Peace copy. A JP certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled.
• Following pre-2022 advice to add Indonesian embassy legalisation after DFAT, without checking.
• An English-only contract with an Indonesian party, relying on the apostille to make it effective.
• A laminated certificate. DFAT refuses it; order a standard registry copy.
• A power of attorney for Indonesian land signed before anyone has checked whether a foreigner can hold or deal with that land. Get Indonesian legal advice first.
• Translating in Australia by default. A NAATI translation may be wasted if the office wants an Indonesian sworn translator.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Perth engineer has accepted a job in Jakarta. The employer's agent sends a list for the work permit, including an apostilled copy of her degree and a police check. She asks her university to verify the degree, has a notary certify a copy stating that verification, and orders a fresh national police check. DFAT apostilles both. She couriers them to the agent, who has a sworn translator in Jakarta translate the documents and the apostilles into Bahasa Indonesia. Nobody went to the Indonesian embassy.

In short

Indonesia takes an apostille, on our last check, since June 2022, so the old DFAT-then-embassy chain is no longer needed for documents within the Convention's scope. Plan for a sworn Indonesian translation after the apostille, and have an Indonesian lawyer check the language of any contract. More on the Australian steps is at apostille and authentication.

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