Notary Public in Brisbane: How to Get Documents Notarised

To get a document notarised in Brisbane, find a notary through the Society of Notaries of Queensland, take the unsigned original and photo ID, and sign in front of them. Queensland is the exception in Australia: its notaries are appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury through the Court of Faculties in England, not by the Supreme Court.

Key takeaways

• Queensland notaries are appointed through the Court of Faculties. Checking a Brisbane notary against a Supreme Court roll will not find them.
• The Society of Notaries of Queensland keeps a directory of members grouped by region, including several Brisbane areas.
• For documents used in Australia, a free Commissioner for Declarations or JP (Qualified) is often all you need.
• The Society publishes a recommended scale of fees, but notaries set their own. Fees are counted by notarial act, not by page.
• Only DFAT issues apostilles. Many original Queensland public documents can go to DFAT without a notary.

How Queensland notaries are appointed

In most states and territories, notaries are appointed by the Supreme Court. Queensland is different. The Society of Notaries of Queensland, formed in 1922, explains that Queensland notaries are appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury through the Court of Faculties in England. It describes its members as experienced lawyers appointed to validate documents for international use.

That history has one practical consequence. An old rule of thumb says to check that your notary is registered with the Supreme Court of Queensland. It does not describe how Queensland appointments work. The useful checks are the Society's directory and asking the notary about their appointment.

How a notary is appointed does not change what they do. A Brisbane notary certifies copies, witnesses signatures and administers oaths, like any Australian notary, and never certifies that a document's contents are true. They are also very different from a notary in the United States, who is usually a lay commissioned witness rather than a lawyer. For the full list of what a notary can and cannot do, see what a notary public does in Australia.

Finding a notary in Brisbane

The Society's "Find your nearest Notary" page groups members by region. Brisbane is split into Brisbane City, Brisbane North, Brisbane South, Brisbane East, Brisbane West, and Bayside and Redlands, alongside the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and regional areas. If you searched for a Brisbane notary public, a local notary or a notary near me, that directory is the most direct starting point. Pick your part of the city and contact a member.

The Society also lists members who work in languages other than English, and notes that all members can use external translation services when needed. If the document or the signer's first language is not English, raise it when you first get in touch.

Do you need a notary? JPs and Commissioners for Declarations

Queensland has two volunteer witness roles, both appointed by the Queensland Government and neither paid.

• A Commissioner for Declarations (Cdec) can witness signatures, statutory declarations and affidavits, administer oaths and certify true copies.
• A JP (Qualified) can do all of that and also has judicial powers, such as issuing warrants.

The Queensland Government's "Find a JP or Cdec" search lists volunteers at shopping centres, libraries, courts and other community locations, and has a separate search for JPs who sit outside business hours. For documents going to the Department of Home Affairs, a copy certified by an authorised person is usually enough, and a notary is often not needed.

Role	Charges a fee?	Good for	Accepted overseas?
Commissioner for Declarations	No	Declarations, affidavits and certified copies for Australian use	No
JP (Qualified)	No	The same, plus judicial duties	No
Notary Public	Yes	Signatures, copies and oaths for foreign authorities	Yes, usually with DFAT's certificate added

Neither a JP nor a Cdec can certify a document for use overseas, and their certifications cannot be apostilled. That is the line: Australian use, a volunteer; overseas use, a notary.

What to bring to the appointment

The Society's own advice for meeting a notary is practical, and worth following closely:

• Book first. Do not expect to see a notary without an appointment.
• Send the overseas instructions ahead, and bring them, so the requirements can be met at the first visit.
• Bring originals. For a certified copy, the notary makes the copy from the original.
• Complete, but do not sign. Fill in names and addresses beforehand, then sign in front of the notary.
• Understand what you are signing. If you do not, get legal advice before the appointment.

Bring current photo ID as well, and evidence linking any change of name. The notary must be satisfied about who you are and that you are signing freely, and may decline if they are not. If you sign for a company, bring evidence of your authority, because the notary will check it.

Step by step from Brisbane

1. Get the receiving authority's instructions in writing: notarised copy, notarised signature, apostille, embassy legalisation, translation or prescribed wording.
2. Decide whether a Cdec or JP would do. If the document stays in Australia, it probably will.
3. Find a notary through the Society's directory and send them the instructions.
4. Ask for a written quote that separates the notary's fee from DFAT's charge.
5. Attend with the unsigned original and ID. The notary witnesses, certifies or administers the oath and attaches their certificate and seal.
6. Lodge with DFAT for an apostille or authentication.
7. Finish any embassy or consulate step and translation the destination requires.

How notary fees are set in Brisbane

People ask how much a notary charges more than anything else, and the honest answer has two parts. The Society publishes a recommended scale of fees, but says notaries are free to set their own, because it does not control them. Because notaries are practising lawyers, their fees must be fair and reasonable in the circumstances. We do not quote figures: any list of Brisbane notary charges reflects one practice at one moment. Ask the notary for a current figure in writing.

What changes the fee is more useful to know than any number:

• the number of notarial acts, not pages, so one signature on a long contract is one act
• additional certified copies, usually cheaper at the same appointment
• a certificate in prescribed or bilingual wording for a foreign registry
• company documents, where the notary checks the company and the signer's authority
• attendance away from the office, where a notary offers it
• handling the DFAT or embassy step for you, on top of the government charge

DFAT's charge is separate and set by DFAT, per certificate. For more on how notary pricing works across Australia, see notary public fees in Australia.

"Cheap" and "free" notaries

There is no free notary. A Justice of the Peace is not entitled to charge a fee, which is why the free option is a JP or Cdec, and only for Australian use. Australian bank branches are not a source of notarial services either. Searches for banks with notary services come from American practice. Some bank staff may witness Australian statutory declarations as authorised witnesses, but that is not a notarial act and is not accepted overseas. The cheapest outcome is a document accepted the first time, because a rejection means paying again for every step.

From Brisbane to DFAT

Only DFAT issues apostilles and authentication certificates. An apostille confirms the signature and seal on the document, never its contents, and is used for countries in the Hague Apostille Convention. For other countries, DFAT authenticates the document and the destination's embassy or consulate then legalises it. Membership changes, so check the HCCH status table on the day.

DFAT's lodgement options change from time to time, so check Smartraveller before you send anything. They have included in-person lodgement by appointment at the Australian Passport Office in Brisbane, where someone can attend on your behalf, and lodgement by registered post with the request form and a registered return envelope.

Original Queensland public documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents and national police checks, can be legalised by DFAT directly, with no notary. Confirm with DFAT first, and never laminate them. University degrees and transcripts need verification by the university before DFAT will legalise them, whether you lodge the original or a notarised copy. Our apostille and authentication page explains the order.

Foreign forms that say "notary public in and for"

That phrase comes from American certificates, which read along the lines of "Notary Public in and for the County of" a named place. If a foreign form uses it, do not try to fill it in yourself. Give the form to your Brisbane notary. They will complete their own notarial certificate describing their Queensland appointment, and they can tell you whether the receiving authority is likely to accept it. If the form has to be signed in a prescribed way, the notary may attach their certificate rather than write on the form.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A couple in Brisbane South are selling a property overseas. The foreign buyer's lawyer sends a power of attorney and asks for it to be notarised and apostilled. They search the Society's directory under Brisbane South, email the instructions to a notary, and complete the names and addresses without signing. At the appointment, both show photo ID and sign in front of the notary, whose quote was based on the notarial acts involved rather than the number of pages. They then lodge the document with DFAT for the apostille. Whether the power of attorney is valid under the other country's law is a question for the lawyer there, which the notary points out.

In short

A Brisbane notary is appointed through the Court of Faculties, found through the Society of Notaries of Queensland, and needed only when a document is going overseas. For Australian use, a free Cdec or JP (Qualified) is usually enough. Many Queensland public documents go straight to DFAT. Ask the receiving authority first, and get a written quote that separates each step.

People also search for

• How do I get a document notarised on the Gold Coast?
• Is a notary the same as a Justice of the Peace?
• How is an Australian notary different from a US notary?
• Which documents can be apostilled in Australia?
• How do you become a notary public in Australia?

Send us the document and the country it is going to, and we will explain each step before you book.