Ross Bridge

UNDER 18

If you are a minor (under 18 years of age), you may be able to marry under exceptional and unusual circumstances.

If one of you is aged under 18 years of age, you must apply to a Judge or a Magistrate for a court order authorising you to marry a specific person of marriageable age.

In addition to the court order, it is also necessary to obtain parental/guardian consent.

I advise anyone under 18 years of age wanting to get married to obtain legal advice, the court order and the necessary consents before I can agree to marry you.

Please note: under no circumstances can two persons under the age of 18 marry each other, and you cannot marry under any circumstances if you are less than 16 years old.

BEING MENTALLY COMPETENT

If one of the parties to a marriage is not mentally capable of understanding the nature and effect of marriage, the marriage can not be solemnised. A marriage where one of the parties is mentally incapable in this regard is void.

FORMS

The first step of the process is to complete the necessary ‘Notice of Intended Marriage’ Form (hereinafter referred to as ‘NOIM’).

This can be scanned and emailed to me or posted.

Click on the following link to download the Notice of Intended Marriage form click here.

A NOIM may be lodged with me no earlier than 18 months and no later than one month before the date you wish to get married (unless exceptional circumstances apply). For example, if you lodge the notice on 5 August, the earliest date you could get married would be 6 September.

One signature is sufficient if your partner is not available, however I must have both signatures prior to the ceremony. The other person can add his/her signature in my presence before the ceremony as long as I am satisfied that that person is fully aware of the marriage and had a genuine reason for not being able to sign earlier.

DOCUMENTATION

At the time of lodgement of the NOIM, I also need to see documentary evidence of:

• your identity,
• your date and place of birth; and
• if you have been previously married, that you are divorced or that your spouse has died.

If any of these documents are not in English, you will also need to provide me an English translation of them by an accredited translator.

Proof of identity:

The following are acceptable forms of photo ID:

• current drivers licence OR
• your passport OR
• proof of age card OR
• Keypass identity card (available from Australia Post) OR
• other identity cards that include your name and photo.

Proof of date and place of birth:

IF YOU WERE BORN IN AUSTRALIA, you should provide one (1) of the following:

• your official birth certificate OR
• an official extract of your birth certificate OR
• your Australian passport.

IF YOU WERE NOT BORN IN AUSTRALIA, you should provide one (1) of the following:

• your birth certificate, OR
• your passport issued by a government of an overseas country, showing the date and place of your birth, OR
• a statutory declaration made by you or your parent (stating that it is impracticable to obtain a birth certificate or official extract — you will need to state those reasons in your statutory declaration — and state when and where you were born, as accurately as you or your parent making the declaration can know).

Evidence of divorce (if applicable):

• certificate of divorce; OR
• decree absolute; OR
• overseas issued equivalent

Evidence of death of former spouse (if applicable):

• the original death certificate

The documentation listed above is necessary so that the NOIM can be filled out and signed.

Both persons will need to send me a scanned copy of these documents.