Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Where an authorised celebrant solemnises a marriage under this Part, the authorised celebrant shall:
(a) prepare a certificate of the marriage, in accordance with the prescribed form, for the purpose of issue to the parties to the marriage; and
(b) prepare 2 official certificates of the marriage.
(2) Immediately after the solemnisation of the marriage:
(a) the authorised celebrant; and
(b) each of the parties to the marriage; and
(c) 2 witnesses of the marriage who are, or appear to the authorised celebrant to be, over the age of 18 years;
shall sign each of the certificates so prepared.
(3) One of the official certificates shall be on the reverse side of the paper bearing the declarations made by the parties under section 74.
(4) The authorised celebrant shall:
(a) hand the certificate referred to in paragraph (1)(a) to one of the parties to the marriage on behalf of the parties;
(b) forward the official certificate referred to in subsection (3), together with any statutory declarations, consents or dispensations with consents relating to the marriage that are in his or her possession, to the Registrar; and
(c) retain the other copy of the certificate in his or her possession for the prescribed period and, upon the expiration of that period, deal with the copy in accordance with the regulations.
(5) Where the authorised celebrant dies without having prepared and signed the certificates of the marriage, or where by reason of other special circumstances the Minister thinks it necessary to do so, the Minister may, if satisfied that the marriage was duly solemnised, prepare and sign the certificates with such modifications as are appropriate.
(6) A certificate prepared and signed by the Minister under subsection (5) has the same force and effect as if it had been prepared and signed, in accordance with this section, by the authorised celebrant.
(7) Upon the receipt by the Registrar of the official certificate required to be forwarded to the Registrar in respect of a marriage, the Registrar shall register the marriage.
(8) In the month of January in each year, an authorised celebrant by whom a marriage has been, or marriages have been, solemnised in the preceding year shall forward to the Registrar written notice of the marriage, or of each of the marriages, stating the following:
(a) the date and place of the marriage;
(b) the full name of each party to the marriage;
(c) such other particulars as are prescribed.
(9) If the certificate of a marriage is not received by the Registrar, the authorised celebrant by whom it was issued shall, at the request of the Registrar:
(a) prepare a copy of the certificate;
(b) certify, by writing signed by the authorised celebrant, that the copy is a true copy of the certificate; and
(c) forward the copy to the Registrar.
(10) A certified copy of a certificate prepared by an authorised celebrant under subsection (9) has, for all purposes, the same force and effect as the certificate of which it is a copy.