Notary and Translation Services in New South Wales

To get a document translated in New South Wales, start by asking who will receive it, because they do not all accept the same translation. Most Australian bodies want a NAATI-certified translator. Transport for NSW, for a licence transfer, accepts only a short list of providers. A notary comes into it mainly when the document is going overseas.

Key takeaways

• The receiving body decides which translation it accepts. Ask it before you pay anyone.
• Home Affairs and the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages expect a NAATI translator, but a NAATI translation is not accepted for every NSW purpose.
• For a licence transfer, Transport for NSW has listed only Multicultural NSW, Home Affairs and two consular offices as accepted translation providers.
• A statutory declaration or a Home Affairs copy does not usually need a notary. A document going overseas usually does.
• NSW Justices of the Peace are not authorised to witness documents for use overseas.

Who will receive your translation?

People searching for a document translation service in NSW often assume one certified translation works everywhere. It does not. Each receiving body sets its own rule, and the rules differ in ways that cost money if you guess. The table sets out what the main bodies asked for when we last checked. Rules change, so confirm with the body itself.

Receiving body	What it asked for, when last checked	Notary needed?
Department of Home Affairs (visas and citizenship)	Translations made in Australia by a NAATI-credentialled translator. Translations made overseas must show the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications.	Usually not
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages	Foreign identity documents not in English translated in full and stamped by a NAATI translator, with copies of both the original and the translation.	Usually not
Transport for NSW (transferring an overseas licence)	Translations only from Multicultural NSW, the Department of Home Affairs, the Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea for Korean licences, or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office for Taiwanese licences. The original translation, not a photocopy.	No
A NSW court or tribunal	Set by the court's own rules and practice. Ask the registry or your lawyer.	Depends on the court
An overseas authority	Its own rule. Some accept an Australian NAATI translation, some want it notarised or apostilled, some want it done in their country.	Often

The Transport for NSW rule is the one that catches people out. Service NSW's page on transferring an overseas licence, last published 16 September 2026, says Transport for NSW accepts translations only from the providers listed above. A NAATI translation from an independent translator, however good, does not meet that rule for that purpose. The same translation may be exactly right for Home Affairs.

How do you get a legal document translated in NSW?

Whether the document is a birth certificate, a court order, a contract or an academic transcript, the process is the same, and doing it in this order avoids paying twice.

1. Ask the receiving body what it accepts, in writing if possible. Ask whether it wants a NAATI translator, a specific provider, a translation of the whole document or only part, and whether it needs the original translation or a copy.
2. Check whether a notary or DFAT is involved. For documents staying in Australia, usually not. For documents going overseas, ask whether the translation must be notarised, apostilled or legalised, and in what order.
3. Choose the translator or provider the receiving body accepts. For NAATI translators, the directory on the NAATI website can be searched by language.
4. Send a clear, complete copy of every page, including the back of certificates, stamps and handwritten notes.
5. Give the translator the spelling of every name as it appears on your passport.
6. Check the translation when it arrives, especially names, dates and document numbers, before you lodge it.

Our guide to NAATI-certified translation explains what a certified translation should show and why they get queried.

How do you get the names right?

Names cause more queried translations than anything else. A name written in Devanagari, Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic or Thai script can be spelled several ways in English, and a translator working only from the certificate has to choose one. If that choice differs from your passport, visa or other records, the receiving body may ask you to explain, or ask for the translation to be redone.

• Give the translator the spelling of every name exactly as it appears on your passport, including the order of given names and family names.
• If a parent, spouse or child is named, give their passport spelling too, where you have it.
• If a name has changed, for example on marriage, tell the translator and keep the evidence linking the names.
• Where a document gives only a year or an age rather than a full date, the translation should show what the original shows, not a guess.

A translator translates what is on the page. They will not correct an error in the original, and they do not certify that the original is genuine. If the original itself is wrong, that is a matter for the authority that issued it.

Can a translation be done urgently?

We do not give turnaround times, because they depend on the translator, the language and the document. Some things reliably make a translation quicker to complete, though:

• a clear, complete copy of every page, sent at once rather than in pieces
• the passport spelling of every name, supplied up front
• the purpose of the translation, so the translator knows what the receiving body expects
• checking the draft promptly if the translator sends one for review

What cannot be rushed is the rule of the receiving body. If Transport for NSW needs a translation from a listed provider, a faster independent translation does not help. Getting the right translation once is quicker than getting the wrong one twice. If a translation has already been refused, our guide on what to do when a translation is rejected covers the next steps.

When do you need a notary as well?

Advice on many sites says statutory declarations, affidavits and certified copies all need a notary. For documents used in Australia, they usually do not. A statutory declaration can be witnessed by any authorised witness on the relevant list, and for documents going to Home Affairs, a copy certified by an authorised person is usually enough.

A notary becomes necessary mainly when a document is going overseas: a notarised signature on a power of attorney, a notarised copy of a degree, or a sworn affidavit for a foreign court. In NSW, this matters for one more reason. NSW Communities and Justice says that NSW JPs are not authorised to witness documents for use overseas, including proof of life forms (updated 31 August 2023). For those documents, a JP is not the free alternative it is for domestic paperwork. See JP or notary in NSW for the full comparison.

What if the translation is going overseas?

When a translated document is leaving Australia, the receiving authority decides three things: whether it accepts an Australian translation at all, whether that translation must be notarised, and what DFAT must do to it. Some want the original legalised in Australia and translated on arrival. Others want a NAATI translation that has been notarised and apostilled here. Ask before you pay for either, so you only pay for one translation.

Only DFAT issues apostilles and authentication certificates in Australia. An apostille confirms the signature and seal on a document, never its contents, and is used for countries in the Hague Apostille Convention. Other countries need DFAT authentication and then legalisation by their embassy or consulate. Membership changes, so check the HCCH status table on the day. For DFAT to legalise a translation, every page must show the translator's name, signature, NAATI seal and practitioner ID, and the date. The combined process is explained in NAATI translation with a notary, and our NAATI translation with notary page covers how the two services fit together.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A family who has just moved to Parramatta needs three things translated from Nepali: a birth certificate for a Home Affairs application, a marriage certificate for a NSW Registry application, and a driver licence to transfer to a NSW licence. They ask each body first. A NAATI translator does the two certificates, working from the passport spellings the family supplies. The licence goes through Multicultural NSW, because that is one of the providers Transport for NSW accepts for a licence transfer. None of the three needs a notary. A year later, a power of attorney for land in Nepal does need one, and a NSW JP cannot witness it for use overseas.

In short

In NSW, the receiving body decides which translation it accepts. Home Affairs and the NSW Registry expect a NAATI translator, but Transport for NSW accepts only listed providers for a licence transfer. Give the translator your passport spelling of every name, and check the translation before you lodge it. A notary is needed mainly for documents going overseas, and a NSW JP cannot witness those.

People also search for

• Do I need a JP or a notary in NSW?
• How do I get a document notarised in Sydney?
• Do I need a NAATI-certified translation?
• Can a certified translation be done online?
• What should I do if my translation is rejected?

Send us the document and where it is going, and we will explain each step before you book. Our document translation page covers the service itself.