Who Appoints Notaries in Australia?

Australian notaries are appointed under state and territory arrangements, not by a single national body. In most states and territories the Supreme Court appoints them. Queensland is different: its notaries are appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury through the Court of Faculties in England. Either way, the notary is an experienced lawyer whose acts DFAT can authenticate or apostille.

Key takeaways

• There is no national register of notaries. Each state and territory has its own appointment arrangements and records.
• In most jurisdictions, notaries are appointed by the Supreme Court of that state or territory.
• In Queensland, notaries are appointed through the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a centuries-old arrangement.
• Appointees are usually senior lawyers who have completed further study in notarial practice. The details differ between jurisdictions.
• How a notary was appointed does not change what their acts mean overseas. DFAT treats every Australian notary's signature the same way.

Why is there no single national system?

The office of notary public came to Australia from England, where notaries have been appointed for centuries by the Archbishop of Canterbury through an ecclesiastical court, the Court of Faculties. As the Australian colonies developed their own legal systems, most of them created local arrangements for appointing notaries, usually through their Supreme Courts. After Federation, notarial appointments stayed with the states and territories rather than moving to the Commonwealth.

The result is a patchwork. Each state and territory decides who may be appointed, how, and how the appointment is recorded. Queensland kept the older English arrangement. None of this is visible to a person who simply needs a document notarised, but it explains why you will not find one national list of Australian notaries, and why guides that describe a single national process are often wrong.

How are notaries appointed in most states and territories?

In most Australian jurisdictions, a person applies to the Supreme Court of that state or territory to be appointed as a notary public. The court considers whether the applicant meets the local requirements and, if satisfied, appoints them and records the appointment. In New South Wales, for example, the Supreme Court of NSW appoints notaries and keeps a roll of them.

The requirements are set locally and change from time to time, so they are not the same everywhere. Typically, an applicant must be an Australian lawyer with a substantial period of practice behind them, must have completed further study in notarial practice, and must be of good standing. Some jurisdictions also require the applicant to show a need for notarial services where they practise. Our guide to how to become a notary public covers the path in more detail.

Why is Queensland different?

Queensland never moved notarial appointments to its own courts. Its notaries are still appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury through the Court of Faculties, the same ecclesiastical office that appoints notaries in England and Wales. The Society of Notaries of Queensland represents notaries practising in the state.

The arrangement is historical, and for the public it changes nothing about what a Queensland notary can do. A Queensland notary witnesses signatures, certifies copies and prepares notarial certificates exactly as a notary elsewhere does, and DFAT authenticates or apostilles their signature in the same way. It is worth knowing mainly because general descriptions of Australian notaries often overlook it.

What does it take to be appointed?

Across Australia, notaries are drawn from the legal profession. An applicant is almost always an experienced solicitor or barrister, and many have practised for well over a decade before seeking appointment. Further study in notarial practice is generally required, covering the law of notarial acts, identity and capacity checks, private international law and the rules of foreign authorities.

Once appointed, a notary must keep a permanent register or protocol of their notarial acts, maintain a seal and signature that DFAT can verify, and act independently of the people they serve. A notary may decline to act where there is a conflict of interest, doubt about identity or capacity, or signs of pressure. Our guide to notarial conflicts of interest explains when that happens.

Does it matter which state appointed your notary?

For most people, no. A document notarised in Perth, Hobart or Brisbane is treated the same overseas, because what foreign authorities rely on is the notary's signature and seal, verified by DFAT through an apostille or authentication. DFAT keeps records that let it verify notaries' signatures, whichever jurisdiction appointed them.

Where it can matter is for the notary's own practice. A notary is generally appointed to practise in their own jurisdiction, and questions about where a notary may act, or whether a remote act is valid, depend on local rules and, for documents going overseas, on what the receiving authority accepts. If you are unsure, ask the notary. Our guide to how notary rules differ between states covers the practical differences.

Question	Short answer
Is there a national register of notaries?	No. Each jurisdiction keeps its own records.
Who appoints notaries in most jurisdictions?	The Supreme Court of that state or territory, under local arrangements.
Who appoints notaries in Queensland?	The Archbishop of Canterbury, through the Court of Faculties.
Are notaries lawyers?	Almost always experienced lawyers, with further notarial study.
Does the appointing body change DFAT's apostille?	No. DFAT authenticates or apostilles any Australian notary's signature.
Is an Australian notary like a US notary?	No. A US notary is usually a lay commissioned witness with narrower duties.

How do you check that someone is a notary?

If you want to confirm that a person is a practising notary, start with the body that records appointments in their state or territory, or the state's notaries society, many of which publish member lists. A genuine notary will also tell you where and when they were appointed and will use a seal on every notarial certificate.

For a document you have received, the simplest check is the apostille or authentication certificate DFAT attached, which confirms the notary's signature and seal; our guide to verifying a notarised document explains how. Be wary of anyone offering "notary" services who is not a lawyer: in Australia, the title means a lawyer appointed to the office, not a clerk with a stamp. Our comparison of an Australian notary, a US notary and a notario explains the difference.

What happens if a notary retires or dies?

Because a notary's register is a permanent record, arrangements exist in each jurisdiction for what happens to it when a notary stops practising. The register may pass to another notary or be held by a designated body, so that a notarial act can still be checked years later. This matters for people who need to prove that an old notarised document is genuine, for example in a long-running overseas estate or property matter.

If you need to confirm an old notarial act and the notary is no longer practising, ask the notaries society or the appointing body in that state or territory who holds the register. For documents that carry a DFAT apostille or authentication, DFAT's own records can also help confirm the signature was verified. Our guide to the notarial register explains what it records.

How do you choose a notary once you know how they are appointed?

1. Read the foreign body's instructions, so you know whether it wants notarisation, an apostille, a translation or all three.
2. Look for experience with your document type and destination country, such as property abroad or company documents.
3. Ask what identification and originals to bring, and whether the document should be signed in front of the notary.
4. Ask whether the notary can arrange or advise on the DFAT step, or whether you will send it yourself.
5. Confirm the appointment details and bring the unsigned document with every page.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Daniel lives in Brisbane and needs a power of attorney notarised for a property sale in Germany. His German lawyer asks whether a Queensland notary's document will be accepted, having read that Australian notaries are appointed by courts.

Daniel explains that Queensland notaries are appointed through the Court of Faculties, and that DFAT will verify the notary's signature and add an apostille either way. The notary witnesses his signature and attaches a notarial certificate, and DFAT adds the apostille. The German lawyer accepts it without difficulty, because the apostille is what German authorities rely on.

In short

Australian notaries are appointed by each state and territory under its own arrangements, usually through the Supreme Court, and in Queensland through the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury. They are experienced lawyers with further notarial training. Whatever the appointing body, DFAT authenticates or apostilles their signatures in the same way, so the documents they notarise are treated alike overseas.

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