Which Australian Documents Can Be Apostilled at All

An Australian document can be apostilled if it passes three tests: it was issued or signed in Australia, it is for use overseas, and it carries a signature and seal DFAT can verify. Many public documents, such as registry certificates, pass directly. Private documents, such as contracts and declarations, pass only after a notary acts on them.

Key takeaways

• An apostille is a certificate from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirming a signature and seal. It is not something a document gets because it is important.
• Foreign documents cannot be apostilled in Australia, however long you have lived here. They are authenticated where they were issued.
• Registry certificates, court documents, national police checks, citizenship certificates and some government commercial documents can often go to DFAT directly.
• University documents need the university's verification first, whether you lodge the original or a notarised copy.
• Private documents, and anything certified by a JP, need a notary. A JP's certification cannot be apostilled.

The three tests

The question "can this be apostilled?" is really three questions, and a document has to pass all of them.

1. Is it an Australian document? DFAT only apostilles documents issued or executed in Australia. A birth certificate from another country, a foreign degree or a foreign company's records cannot be apostilled here. They are authenticated in the country that issued them.
2. Is it for use outside Australia? An apostille exists so that a foreign authority can rely on an Australian signature. A document for use in Australia does not need one.
3. Does it carry a signature and seal DFAT can verify? This is the test most documents fail. DFAT checks the signature against specimens it holds. If the person who signed is not someone whose specimen DFAT holds, there is nothing to verify, and the document cannot be apostilled as it stands.

The third test is why notaries are involved in so much overseas paperwork. DFAT holds notaries' specimen signatures and seals, so a notarial act on a document gives DFAT something to verify. A notary still cannot issue an apostille; only DFAT does.

Document by document

Document	Usual route to DFAT	Watch for
Birth, death or marriage certificate from an Australian registry	The original, often directly	Laminated or altered certificates are refused
Court documents, including divorce certificates	A sealed or certified court copy, often directly	Ask the court for a copy intended for overseas use
National police check	The original, often directly	Order the format DFAT accepts before applying
Citizenship certificate	The original, often directly	Confirm with DFAT for your certificate
ASIC, ATO or TGA documents	Often directly, depending on format	Electronic versions are accepted only in a limited range
University degree or transcript	Original or notarised copy, after university verification	A plain true-copy certificate is not enough
Contract, power of attorney, declaration, affidavit	Signed before a notary first	Sign only in front of the notary
Copy certified by a JP or solicitor	Not accepted; start again with the original and a notary	The certification cannot be upgraded

Registry certificates. Birth, death and marriage certificates from an Australian registry are public documents signed for a government office. DFAT can generally legalise the original directly, with no notary. DFAT's published list includes commemorative birth certificates but excludes ceremonial and commemorative marriage certificates. Even where DFAT accepts a commemorative birth certificate, the overseas authority may want the standard one, so ask. See apostilling a birth certificate.

Court documents and police checks. DFAT names court documents, including divorce certificates, and national police checks and fingerprint reports among the originals it can legalise. Ask the court or the issuing agency for the version intended for overseas use before you order.

Company and government commercial documents. DFAT lists government commercial documents such as ASIC, ATO and TGA documents. Many ASIC extracts are now generated electronically, and DFAT accepts only a limited range of electronic documents, assessed on lodgement. Where an electronic extract will not do, the usual alternative is a notarial certificate based on the register. See apostilles for company incorporation documents and board resolutions.

University degrees and transcripts. DFAT legalises an original degree, transcript or other official tertiary document once the university has verified it. A notarised copy must also be verified with the university, and the notary's certificate must state that the original record was verified with the issuing institution; a plain true-copy certificate does not satisfy DFAT. TAFE documents can be lodged as originals or notarised copies, but not JP copies. Documents from private colleges and registered training organisations generally need notarising first, or verification by the state education department in some states. Foreign qualifications cannot be legalised in Australia at all, even if notarised here. See apostilling an academic transcript.

Private and commercial documents. Contracts, powers of attorney, declarations, affidavits, invoices, letters and resolutions carry no official signature for DFAT to check. They go to a notary first, always. Our document notarisation page describes that step.

Translations. DFAT's list covers translations by a NAATI-certified or recognised translator, provided every page carries the translator's name and signature, NAATI seal and practitioner ID, and the date. A translation without those details, or one the receiving authority wants attested, usually goes through a notary, and the apostille then attaches to the notary's act. Our NAATI translation with notary page explains both routes.

JP and solicitor certifications. These are valid for many purposes in Australia, but DFAT cannot act on them, so they cannot be apostilled. A copy certified by a JP cannot be fixed by apostilling it; start again with the original and a notary.

Photocopies, scans and printouts. Not on their own. A notary may be able to certify a copy from an original they have sighted, which can then be apostilled. A scan is never treated as an electronic document.

An Australian passport. The passport itself is not apostilled. Where a foreign authority wants evidence of your passport, the usual route is a notarised copy, which can be.

The notary route changes what the apostille says

A notary can make almost any Australian document apostillable, by certifying a copy or attesting a signature. But the apostille then confirms the notary's signature, not the signature of the registry, court or university that issued the original.

Most receiving authorities accept that. Some insist on an apostille over the issuing official's own signature, particularly for civil status documents such as birth and marriage certificates. Where both routes are possible, ask the receiving authority which it wants before choosing. The difference is invisible until a foreign registry refuses the document.

Apostille or authentication

An apostille is only useful in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. Check the destination on the HCCH status table on the day you act, because membership changes; several countries have joined in recent years, and others, such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, were outside it at our last check. For countries outside the Convention, DFAT authenticates the same signature and seal, and the destination's embassy or consulate then legalises the document. The three tests apply to both. DFAT's own list of documents it can legalise is on Smartraveller; read it before you lodge, and see our apostille and authentication page for the process.

Why documents that should pass still get refused

A document can meet all three tests and still come back. The usual reasons are practical rather than legal:

• Lamination or alteration. A laminated birth certificate, or one with handwriting added, is refused even though it is a genuine registry document. Order a fresh certificate from the registry.
• An unverified university record. The degree is genuine, but the university has not confirmed it to DFAT's satisfaction, or the notary's certificate does not say the original was verified.
• A copy of a copy. A notary certified a photocopy that someone else had already certified, rather than the original.
• Loose pages. A multi-page notarised document that has been unbound, so the certificate no longer clearly covers every page.
• Names that do not match. The name on the document differs from the passport the receiving authority will compare it with, and nothing links the two.
• The wrong certificate for the destination. An apostille for a country that needs embassy legalisation, or the reverse.

Each of these costs a second lodgement. Checking them before you send the document to DFAT costs nothing.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A graduate in Brisbane is moving to a Hague Convention country for work and needs her birth certificate, degree and a signed employment declaration apostilled. The birth certificate goes to DFAT directly, because the foreign ministry wants the registrar's signature confirmed. She asks her university to verify her degree, then lodges the original. Only the declaration needs a notary, because nobody's official signature is on it yet. One notarial act instead of three.

In short

A document can be apostilled in Australia only if it is Australian, going overseas, and carries a signature DFAT can verify. Public originals often go directly, university records need the university's verification, and private documents need a notary first. Foreign documents and JP certifications cannot be apostilled here. Ask the receiving authority which route it prefers before you choose.

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