Who Can Witness a Statutory Declaration in Australia

Who can witness a statutory declaration depends on the scheme used: Commonwealth or a particular state or territory. Each has its own authorised-witness rules and procedure. Identify the form requested, then check its current official instructions before signing. A familiar occupation or Justice of the Peace is not a substitute for checking the applicable list.

Key takeaways

• Australia has a Commonwealth scheme plus separate schemes in the states and territories.
• The requesting body should specify the form or scheme it accepts. Your location alone does not decide it.
• Witness categories overlap, but do not assume that JPs, lawyers, notaries, pharmacists or other occupations are eligible under every scheme.
• Some categories carry conditions, such as a minimum period of service or current registration.
• The witness follows the duties of that scheme. Overseas use does not automatically require a notary or DFAT legalisation; ask the receiving authority.

Why is there no one-line answer?

Each scheme has its own list, form and procedure. You rarely need to compare all of them. First identify the form or scheme the receiving body accepts. Then consult that scheme's current official witness list and completion instructions. The form heading, legislation named in its fine print or the requesting body's written directions usually provide the starting point.

Which statutory declaration scheme should you use?

Use the form or scheme the requesting body accepts. Where you live does not, by itself, answer the question.

• A federal body may request a Commonwealth statutory declaration. Use the form named in its instructions.
• A state or territory body may require its jurisdiction's form, particularly for a process governed by local legislation.
• A private body such as a bank, insurer or employer may specify a form it accepts. If it does not, ask rather than infer the scheme.

The form usually tells you. Look at the heading and the fine print for the name of the Act it is made under. If you have been told to "provide a statutory declaration" with no form attached, ask the requesting body which version it accepts. Using a state form for a federal agency, or the other way round, is one of the most common reasons a declaration comes back.

The applicable instructions follow the chosen form, not merely the declarant's home address. A Queensland resident asked for a Victorian declaration should check the Victorian form's rules and whether its procedure allows execution from interstate. Our pages on witnessing documents in Victoria and Western Australia introduce those schemes.

Where can you find the current witness list?

Once you know the scheme, find its list of authorised witnesses from the government that runs it.

Scheme	Where the list is published	What to watch
Commonwealth	The Attorney-General's Department, which publishes the current categories	Categories are set by regulation and are amended from time to time
Each state or territory	That jurisdiction's justice or attorney-general's department	The list sits in that state's legislation and differs from the others
Printed forms	Often on the reverse of the form	An old printed form may carry an out-of-date list
Commercial websites	Law firms and service providers	May predate the latest change; use a government source

For Commonwealth declarations, use the Attorney-General's Department's current list of approved Commonwealth witnesses. For a state or territory declaration, use that jurisdiction's legislation and government guidance. Lists can change, so a copied commercial list or an old printed form may be outdated. Our overview of rules by state explains the differences.

How do witness lists differ?

Many lists include categories such as Justices of the Peace, legal practitioners, notaries public, health practitioners, police officers, public servants or members of professional bodies. The categories and their conditions are not identical. In Queensland, for example, a Commissioner for Declarations may be available for functions permitted by Queensland law.

Where they differ is in the detail, and the detail is what gets declarations rejected:

1. Which occupations are included. An occupation on the Commonwealth list may not be on a particular state's list, and the reverse. Pharmacists, accountants and teachers are the classic examples people assume are universal.
2. Conditions attached. Some categories apply only after a minimum period of service, registration or membership, or only while the person holds a current role.
3. Length and structure. Some jurisdictions use long, occupation-based lists; others are shorter or framed differently.
4. Identity requirements. Some schemes spell out how the witness must be satisfied of your identity, and at least one expects the witness to see the declarant's face, which matters if you wear a face covering.
5. What the witness writes. Most forms require the witness to state their name, address or place of work, and the capacity in which they are authorised. A blank in that box is enough to have the form returned.

What does the witness actually do?

The witness must perform the steps required by the relevant scheme. For a witnessed Commonwealth declaration, the witness must see the declarant sign and complete their section during the same in-person meeting or video call. Commonwealth law does not generally require the witness to inspect identification, but another scheme or receiving process may. Special duties can apply when the declarant cannot read or sign conventionally. The declarant remains responsible for the truth of the statement, and intentionally making a false declaration can be an offence.

Do not sign before the witnessing session unless the applicable procedure expressly permits a different method. Whether a relative or interested person may act also depends on the scheme and receiving body's requirements. An independent eligible witness is usually the safer practical choice, but eligibility must come from the actual rules.

Which mistakes can cause rejection?

The same handful of problems account for most returned declarations, and none of them is about the witness's seniority:

• A state form used for a Commonwealth agency, or the reverse.
• A witness from an occupation that is on one scheme's list but not the one that applies.
• A witness who meets the occupation but not its condition, such as a required period of service.
• The declaration signed before the appointment, then signed again, or not at all, in front of the witness.
• The witness's capacity line left blank, or described vaguely as "professional".
• Annexures attached but not identified and initialled.

If a declaration comes back, make a fresh one rather than trying to repair the old one. A clean document is quicker for the receiver to accept than one with corrections.

What if you are overseas, interstate or using video?

Overseas. A Commonwealth declaration may be completed overseas with an approved in-person or remote witness, or through the approved digital option. Most prescribed professional categories need an Australian professional connection; an overseas-appointed notary public is an exception. The Attorney-General's Department explains Commonwealth declarations made overseas. Consular services may also be available, subject to the post's service and fees. State declarations follow their own legislation.

Interstate. If the declaration is under another state's Act, whether a witness authorised where you are standing will do is a question for that Act. Some schemes deal with this expressly; do not assume. See also witnessing documents in South Australia.

Remote and electronic execution. A witnessed Commonwealth declaration may be completed by video under the permanent federal procedure, and the approved myGov option uses Digital ID without a witness. The Attorney-General's Department sets out the current in-person and remote witnessing steps. State and territory rules differ. Permission to witness a statutory declaration remotely does not automatically permit every notarial act by video: the notary must confirm the particular act, jurisdiction and professional requirements, and the recipient must accept it. See online statutory declarations.

When does a notary fit?

A notary may be an authorised witness under the applicable statutory declaration scheme, but notarial involvement is not automatically required. For domestic use, another eligible witness may be more convenient and may offer the service without charge. For overseas use, ask the foreign receiving authority whether it wants the Australian statutory declaration, a sworn affidavit, execution before a notary, or DFAT legalisation. DFAT explains that an Australian notary can certify documents for overseas use, while a Justice of the Peace can witness some Australian signatures and declarations; these are different functions. Check the current DFAT notarial services guidance. See also statutory declaration or affidavit and our legal declarations service.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A nurse living in Albury, on the New South Wales side, needs declarations for three bodies: a Commonwealth agency, a Victorian authority across the river, and her bank. The Commonwealth form lists her pharmacist, so he witnesses that one. The Victorian form has its own list, and she checks it rather than assuming her pharmacist is on it. The bank names no form, so she asks, and it wants the Commonwealth version. Three declarations, two schemes, one question asked each time.

What is the practical conclusion?

First confirm the form or scheme the receiving body accepts. Then use that scheme's current government witness list and procedure. Do not treat any profession as universally eligible, and do not assume overseas use automatically means a notary or DFAT step. Complete the declaration by the approved in-person, remote or digital route and check every required field before submitting it.

Related questions

• When does a statutory declaration need a notary?
• How much does a statutory declaration cost?
• Who can witness documents in the ACT?
• How does a notary witness a signature?
• How do I get a statutory declaration notarised?

Send us the declaration requirements, including the form or scheme, receiving authority, destination country, signer location, preferred witnessing method and deadline. We can then explain whether notarial help is relevant.