Documents You Must Have Notarised for an Australian Employer-Sponsored Visa

An employer-sponsored application has two document streams with two different owners: the sponsoring business assembles one, the nominated worker assembles the other. They are usually handled by different people, often in different countries, and the notarial questions are not the same on each side.

Sorting out which side a document belongs to — and which country it was issued in — answers most of the question.

The employer's side

Most sponsor evidence is Australian and needs no notary. Business registration, financial statements, payroll records, the position description and evidence of lawful operation are generally provided as copies or, where certification is asked for, certified by an authorised person. Confirm the current standard against Department of Home Affairs guidance rather than assuming.

Notarisation enters on the employer side in two situations.

An overseas parent, associated entity or overseas business sponsor. Where the relationship between an Australian entity and an offshore one has to be proved, the offshore corporate records — incorporation certificate, shareholding register, group structure, board resolutions — are commonly notarised and legalised in the country of incorporation. An Australian notary cannot attest that a foreign registry issued a document.

An overseas business with no Australian presence yet. The same chain applies, and it is usually on the critical path, because it cannot start until the offshore registry produces a current extract.

The worker's side

Overseas qualifications and transcripts. Degrees, diplomas and trade certificates issued overseas are frequently required in notarised and authenticated form — but by whom matters. A skills assessing authority or an occupational regulator often sets a stricter standard than Home Affairs does, and sometimes requires documents sent directly by the issuing institution rather than by you. Read that body's own published requirements first; they are the binding ones.

Overseas employment references and payslips. Where a former employer is offshore, a reference confirmed on oath or by declaration before a notary in that country carries far more weight than a letter on letterhead. Some regulators specify this; many do not, and paying for it unasked is waste.

Occupational registration or licensing. Regulated occupations — health, engineering, trades and others — have their own registration bodies with their own document rules. These are the bodies most likely to genuinely require notarisation, and they are not Home Affairs.

Overseas police certificates. These are obtained through each country's own process. Some produce a document that already carries official authentication; some do not. Do not notarise one in Australia without being asked.

Documents going the other way

The direction reverses more often in employer-sponsored work than in any other visa stream, because employment generates outbound paperwork:

• An Australian employment letter or contract needed for a family member's visa in another country
• Australian company documents for an overseas branch, tender or bank account
• A secondment or posting from Australia requiring an Australian work history, qualification copy or police check for a foreign work permit

These are notarised in Australia, then apostilled by DFAT where the destination is a Hague Apostille Convention party, or DFAT-authenticated and then legalised at the destination's embassy or consulate where it is not.

Translation

Documents not in English need an English translation. For Australian immigration purposes, translations done in Australia should be by a NAATI-credentialled translator; translations done overseas should carry the translator's full name, address and credentials.

A notary does not translate. A notary can attest the translator's declaration and bind the translation to the original — which regulators and overseas authorities often want, and which Home Affairs usually does not require.

Sequence

For an overseas qualification or reference:

1. Confirm the receiving body's standard — the assessing authority or regulator, not Home Affairs
2. Obtain the original or an institution-issued certified copy
3. Notarise in the issuing country
4. Authenticate or apostille in that country
5. Translate, checking whether the recipient wants translation before or after

For an Australian document heading overseas:

1. Obtain the original
2. Notarise in Australia
3. DFAT apostille, or DFAT authentication plus embassy legalisation
4. Translate if required

Timing

Employer-sponsored applications usually have a start date attached, which makes the document chain the thing that moves the start date:

• Institution-issued certified copies from overseas: one to several weeks
• Offshore registry extracts: days to weeks
• Notarial appointment: same day to a few days
• DFAT apostille: allow a week or more
• Embassy legalisation: days to over a month, by country
• Assessing authority or regulator processing: often the longest step, and usually cannot begin until the documents are complete

Work back from the intended start date, and start the regulator's step first.

Frequently asked questions

Our head office is overseas. Can an Australian notary certify its company documents? Only as a copy of something produced to them, which is a weaker statement than the authentication chain in the country of incorporation and is usually not what is wanted. Have those documents handled where the company is registered.

The assessing authority wants "certified" copies. Does Home Affairs' list of authorised certifiers apply? Not necessarily. Assessing authorities and occupational regulators publish their own rules, and they are frequently stricter. Follow the stricter one, and check whether they require the institution to send documents directly.

My previous employer has closed. Can a notary confirm my work history? No. A notary attests that you swore or declared something, not that the content is true. A statutory declaration setting out your history, with whatever supporting records survive, is the usual substitute — check whether the receiving body accepts it.

Do payslips need notarising? Rarely for Home Affairs. Sometimes for a regulator assessing overseas experience. Ask the regulator.