You can marry in Australia at any time. There is no requirement to reside here and you can marry while you are on holidays. There is a Notice of Intended Marriage that you will need to lodge with your marriage celebrant at least one month and one day before your wedding day.

You can download a copy here (PDF file 63KB). The Notice can be witnessed by a Notary Public or particular staff at Australian missions and consulates around the world. You can scan it and send it by email to your celebrant and then post the original or bring it with you.

To support the Notice of Intended Marriage, you will need to show your celebrant some original documents:

• your overseas passports or birth certificates (original certificates and official translation if not in English)
• if you have been married before, evidence of that marriage ending (original certificates and official translation if not in English)
• any Change of Name Certificates if your name is not the same as on your birth certificate.

It is a good idea to email a copy of the documents to your celebrant with the Notice of Intended Marriage so that your celebrant can check that you have all the documents you need. Then you will need to bring the originals with you when you come to Australia. This is very important as your wedding cannot go ahead unless the original documents are seen by your celebrant.

You should check with authorities in your own country about what they require so that your marriage is officially recognised by them. Some may accept a certificate of marriage issued by the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages in Queensland (or from the State where you will marry). Others may require you to have that Certificate authenticated or an apostille attached, before they will accept it as an official document, for changing your name after marriage and for other official purposes.

The Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages currently charges $25.50 for a Certificate of Marriage or $43 for a Commemorative Certificate and Standard Certificate. As the certificate may take some time to issue, you can also ask for a priority issue of the certificate, which costs an additional $19.50. See their website for more details.

The Smart Traveller website has more information on apostilles and authentication.

If your country is a member of The Hague Convention (check the Smart Traveller site), you will need:

• a cover note with your contact details and the country you require the apostille for
• a registered envelope for return of the marriage certificate once the apostille is affixed (recommended)
• the fee for the apostille (currently $60 for the one document - extra if binding is required for several documents).

Before you send off your request, you should check with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their requirements and current fees. The Queensland Branch of DFAT has more information if you need a Queensland document verified. They accept credit card payments and have information on postage rates for return of your document.