Coalition of Celebrant Associations

Australia’s Peak Celebrant Body

Appendix 3 - Commonwealth marriage celebrants’ advertising obligations

Appendix 3 - Commonwealth marriage celebrants’ advertising obligations.

The compulsory activity implies that the term “marriage celebrant” must be on celebrant’s business cards and that the Registrar may impose a disciplinary measure on a celebrant, if these two words are not joined as a phrase.

An extract from the Compulsory activity states:

This legislative obligation means that a celebrant identified as religious marriage celebrant must disclose that they are a religious marriage celebrant, and a marriage celebrant who is not identified as a religious marriage celebrant on the register, must identify their status as a marriage celebrant in any document relating to the performance of their services as a marriage celebrant. This includes (but is not limited to) advertisements, web sites and business cards (section 39G(l)(d) of the Marriage Act). A failure to comply with these obligations is one of the grounds on which the Registrar may impose a disciplinary measure on a celebrant.

And the Compulsory exercise that gives this impression in  this:

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CoCA does not consider there is anything wrong with this business card unless the civil celebrant is not authorised.

This confusion in the Compulsory activity with the department “guidance” will lead to celebrants believing they must print new business cards and update other advertising materials, resulting in an increased financial burden on marriage celebrants related to advertising.

In fact, it is a waste of the fees celebrants pay to attend this Compulsory activity, estimated at $300,000 to $400,000 nationally as well as their time and travel costs, the costs to the Registered Training Organisations paying trainers’ fees and travel costs to deliver this activity and the annual fees paid to the department to produce an activity that confuses more than clarifies.


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