CoCA answer:
Annual registration fees on Commonwealth celebrants remain the same (CPI adjusted) or reduced.This is achievable if:
- the Attorney-General's Department works efficiently in collaboration with professional celebrant associations
- better training and assessment standards are introduced and
- the profession is allowed to manage its affairs as is the case in other professions.
- Changes to the Marriage Act, passed on 27 March 2014, introduced cost recovery and other changes for the Commonwealth Marriage Celebrants Program.
- For the first time in Australian history, annual fees upon marriage celebrants commenced being collected from 1st July this year.
- The intended revenue of $1.8 million will represent 80% of the Attorney-General's Department's budget for marriage law and celebrant regulation work.
- These fees only apply to Commonwealth appointed celebrants who currently average less than $4,000 gross pa.
- Ensuring these independent professional marriage celebrants are not over-serviced and over-charged by government is the aim of the Government's Cost Recovery Guidelines.
A clear measure needs to be set to ensure these private celebrant practitioners are not paying for poor public service planning and management of this subdivision of celebrants who deliver a important service to the Australian public.
September 2014
