How to Notarise a Divorce Decree in Australia

Australia no longer issues a "divorce decree". Its courts make a divorce order, which takes effect later. To use it overseas, get the court's document showing the order has taken effect, then either send it to DFAT for an apostille or have a notary certify a copy first. Which one depends on the receiving authority.

Key takeaways

• An Australian court makes a divorce order. In the ordinary case it takes effect one month and one day after it is made, and only then are you divorced.
• A foreign request for a "decree absolute" usually means proof that the order has taken effect, not just that it was made.
• A notary cannot certify that you are divorced. Only the court's records show that. A notary certifies a copy of the court's document.
• DFAT lists divorce certificates and other court documents among the originals it can legalise, so ask it before paying a notary.
• A divorce order ends the marriage only. Property and parenting orders are separate documents, each needing its own certification.

Why the foreign request uses the wrong words

Proof of an Australian divorce is most often needed overseas for a handful of reasons: remarrying in another country, updating a foreign civil registry, changing a name on a foreign passport, or dealing with property or a pension abroad. The request usually says something like "notarised copy of your divorce decree absolute, with apostille".

The terms decree nisi and decree absolute belong to older Australian law and to other countries' systems. A decree nisi was a provisional decree; a decree absolute made it final. Australian courts now make a single divorce order, which takes effect after a set period. A foreign official who asks for a decree absolute is using the only vocabulary they know for "final".

This gap between Australian terminology and the foreign request is where most rejections start. A copy of the divorce order alone, dated the day of the hearing, can be read abroad as an interim step. What the foreign authority needs to see is that the order has taken effect, and the date on which it did.

Start with the court, not the notary

A notary cannot certify that you are divorced. The notary does not search court records and has no way of knowing whether an order was later set aside. What a notary does is certify that a copy matches the court document you produce.

So the first step is to obtain the right court document from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, which deals with divorce applications. Ask what it can provide to show that the divorce order has taken effect, and make sure that is the document you take further. Divorce orders are now commonly issued electronically rather than as a sealed paper document. Obtain the court's own copy, not a screenshot or a forwarded email, because DFAT and notaries both need the genuine document.

You do not need your former spouse's copy or consent to get your own copy of the divorce order. Either party can obtain it from the court.

Does it need a notary at all?

A divorce order is a court document, which makes it an Australian public document. DFAT's page on the documents it can legalise names court documents, including divorce certificates, among the originals it accepts. For those, DFAT confirms the court's seal or signature directly and no notary is involved.

The complication is the electronic form. DFAT says it accepts only a limited range of electronic documents, assesses each one when it is lodged, may ask you to forward the original email or log in to a portal to prove it is genuine, and will say if the document must be notarised first. A scan is never an electronic document for DFAT's purposes. So ask DFAT before booking a notary: if it will take your court document as it is, a notary adds cost and nothing else.

A notary typically comes into it when:

• DFAT says the electronically issued order must be notarised first;
• the receiving authority wants a certified copy rather than the court's document;
• you need several legalised copies for several authorities;
• you also need to sign a declaration, for example about your marital status or a change of name.

The divorce order is not the property or parenting orders

A divorce order ends the marriage. It does not deal with property, spousal maintenance or children. Those are separate orders under family law, often made at different times, sometimes by consent, and sometimes not made at all because the parties settled privately.

If the foreign authority needs to know how property was divided, for example because you are selling or transferring property abroad, or who may make decisions about a child who is travelling or relocating, it needs those orders too, each certified or legalised separately. Work out which orders are relevant before the appointment. Sending only the divorce order where the issue is property abroad wastes a full legalisation chain.

Names on the divorce order

The divorce order records the parties' names as they were in the proceedings. If you have since resumed a former name, or your name is spelled or transliterated differently in the foreign records, the receiving authority may want to see the link: your marriage certificate, a change of name certificate, or a declaration explaining the difference.

A declaration of that kind is a private document. You sign it in front of the notary, who then adds a notarial certificate so DFAT can legalise it. It is simplest to deal with names at the same appointment as any certified copies. Document notarisation sets out what a notary can certify and witness.

Recognition abroad is decided abroad

Whether another country treats your Australian divorce as valid is a question of that country's law. Many recognise it on production of the right documents. Some require a local recognition procedure, often through a court or civil registry, before you can, for example, remarry there or update your civil status. If you are remarrying abroad, ask the registry or a local lawyer what they need before you begin, because it decides what you take to a notary and DFAT.

The reverse situation, an overseas divorce being relied on in Australia, raises its own legal questions and is a matter for a family lawyer. So is any question about whether a divorce, or any property settlement, is legally effective. A notary certifies documents; a solicitor advises on what they mean. International divorce documents covers divorces with a foreign side in more detail.

Step by step

1. Get the requirements in writing from the foreign registry, consulate or court: which documents, original or copy, apostille or embassy legalisation, and whether a translation is needed.
2. Wait until the order has taken effect, then obtain the court's document showing it, plus any property or parenting orders the authority needs.
3. Ask DFAT whether it will accept the court document as issued.
4. See a notary if DFAT or the recipient requires it, or for any declaration about names or marital status. Bring photo identification and the linking certificates.
5. DFAT legalises the court document or the notary's certificate. An apostille is the certificate DFAT issues for Hague Apostille Convention countries, confirming the signature and seal, not the contents. Check the destination on the HCCH status table on the day.
6. Embassy legalisation follows for countries outside the Convention.
7. Translate if the destination requires it, in the order it asks for.

Civil registries in non-English-speaking countries commonly want a translation. Ask whether it should be made before or after the apostille, and whether the destination accepts a translation made in Australia. For DFAT to legalise a translation, it must be by a NAATI certified or recognised translator. NAATI translation with a notary explains how that fits together.

Foreign request says	What it usually means in Australia
Decree absolute or final divorce	The divorce order, after it has taken effect
Decree nisi	No Australian equivalent now; the order before it takes effect
Notarised divorce decree	A notary's certified copy of the court document
Legalised divorce certificate	The court document with a DFAT apostille or authentication
Divorce settlement	Property orders, if any were made

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A man in Brisbane plans to remarry in a European country. The registry there asks for his "decree absolute, apostilled, with a sworn translation". His first thought is to find a notary. Instead he waits until his divorce order has taken effect, downloads the court's document from the court's portal, and asks DFAT whether it will apostille it. DFAT tells him how it wants the electronic document lodged. He also has a notary witness a short declaration that his surname is spelt differently in that country's records, supported by his passport and birth certificate. The registry confirms it will arrange its own sworn translation after the apostille, so he does not translate anything in Australia.

In short

Australia makes divorce orders, not decrees, and the one a foreign authority wants is the order that has taken effect. Get that document from the court, ask DFAT whether it will legalise it directly, and use a notary for certified copies, for a document DFAT asks to be notarised, or for a declaration about names. Recognition of the divorce is decided by the other country. For the DFAT stage, see apostille and authentication.

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Been asked for a "decree absolute" by a registry abroad? Send us their request, and we will explain each step before you book.