Notary Public Rules in Australia: What Differs Between States and Territories

Notaries in Australia are appointed state by state, so people reasonably ask whether it matters which state their notary is in. Can someone in Perth use a notary in Sydney? Does a notary in a smaller jurisdiction carry less weight overseas? Does a Victorian certificate need a Victorian notary?

For the notarial act itself, the answer is usually no. The state rules that actually trip people up are more often the ones attached to the document, not the notary. This page separates the two.

What is the same wherever the notary practises

The core of the office does not change at a state border:

• A notary certifies copies, witnesses signatures and administers oaths. A notary never certifies that a document's contents are true.
• A notary must sight the original document, not a scan or an earlier copy.
• A notary must be satisfied of your identity, that you understand what you are signing, and that you are signing freely — and may decline to act.
• Notaries keep a permanent register of their acts.
• Notaries lodge a specimen of their signature and seal with DFAT. That specimen is what allows DFAT to issue an apostille or authentication, and it is the same mechanism for a notary in Hobart as for one in Brisbane.

That last point answers the "less weight overseas" worry. A foreign authority relies on DFAT's apostille or authentication, and DFAT's check is against its specimen, not against the size of the notary's jurisdiction.

It also means where the underlying document came from rarely matters to the notary. Certifying a copy is a comparison between the original in front of the notary and the copy attached to the certificate; a certificate issued by one state's registry can be copied and certified by a notary in another.

What does differ between jurisdictions

The differences are real, but they are mostly about how the office is regulated rather than what you receive.

Appointment and supervision. In most states and territories the Supreme Court appoints (Queensland's notaries are appointed through the Archbishop of Canterbury's Court of Faculties) its own notaries under its own rules: eligibility, required study, continuing obligations and discipline are set locally, and have changed over time. The practical consequence for you is narrow: if you want to verify that someone is a notary, check with the court of the jurisdiction that appointed them. How Notaries Are Appointed in Australia covers this in detail.

Where a notary may act. An appointment is made for a jurisdiction. Whether, and how, a notary may perform acts while physically in another state is governed by the rules of their appointment. It rarely affects clients who visit a notary's office, but if you are asking a notary to travel interstate to you, ask them directly rather than assuming.

Remote and electronic execution. Several states legislated for remote witnessing during the pandemic, some made those arrangements permanent, and the detail differs and keeps moving. What a notary may do over video depends on the law where they practise — and, decisively for overseas documents, on what the receiving authority accepts. See Online Notarisation in Australia.

Fees. There is no single national fee schedule. How fees are set, and whether any guidance is published, varies. See Notarial Fees and How They Are Set.

The lists around the notary. Statutory declarations, affidavits and domestic certified copies each have their own authorised-witness lists in every jurisdiction. Notaries appear on them, but so do many other people — which is why a notary is so often unnecessary for domestic paperwork. See Statutory Declarations in Australia: Who Can Witness One.

The state rule that matters more: the document's own law

Here is where people get caught. Some documents are creatures of a particular state's law, and that law sets out how they must be signed and witnessed:

• Enduring powers of attorney and enduring guardianship appointments are made under state or territory legislation, each with its own form, its own witness requirements, and sometimes its own rules about who may witness and what they must certify.
• Land dealings are governed by the land titles legislation of the state where the land sits, with that state's own verification-of-identity and witnessing requirements.
• Court documents follow the rules of the court in which they will be filed.

For these, the question is not "which state is my notary in" but "which state's law governs this document, and does my witness satisfy it". Lawyers and notaries often appear among the permitted witnesses for such instruments, but confirm it against the governing state's requirements rather than assume: some instruments need more than one witness, or require the witness to certify particular matters on the form. Where the document affects property, decision-making or someone's legal position, see a solicitor in the governing state before signing.

Whether a power of attorney made in one state will be recognised in another, or overseas, is a further question again. That is legal advice territory, not a notarial one.

Three layers, three questions

Most confusion clears once you ask which layer your question is about:

Layer	Whose rules	The question to ask
The notarial act	The jurisdiction that appointed the notary	Is this person a notary, and can they do this here, in this way?
The document	The law that governs the instrument	What witnessing does this document require?
The destination	The authority receiving it	What will they accept — including apostille, wording and remote execution?

The third layer usually decides the outcome for documents going overseas. An act that is perfectly valid under Australian law can still be refused by a foreign registry that expects a wet-ink signature or particular wording. Ask the receiving authority first.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a notary in a different state from the one I live in? Generally, yes. Your residence is not what determines the notary's authority. Bring your originals and identification, and check any requirement the receiving authority has set.

Do I need a notary in the state that issued my certificate? Not for a certified copy. The notary is comparing the copy to the original in front of them. Separately, check whether the certificate can be authenticated by DFAT directly, with no notary at all — for some registry-issued documents it can.

Is there one national register of notaries? Appointment is a matter of record with the body that made it. Notarial societies may also publish member listings, but the appointing court is the authoritative check.

Is an Australian notary the same as a US notary? No. A US notary is typically a lay commissioned witness. An Australian notary is usually an experienced solicitor appointed under state or territory arrangements, usually by the Supreme Court.