The Coalition of Celebrant Associations (CoCA) fully supports

• the introduction of a Diploma level for Celebrancy to enhance the entry qualifications required to be an independent celebrant, including registration as a Marriage Celebrant, and enable further educational opportunities for existing celebrants to meet the needs of a rapidly changing profession
  
  
• our professions’ needs and rights to have the same opportunities as other professions, that have a range of qualifications for entry level and higher training to ensure their workforce can operate viable independent professional practices.
  
  
• improving the depth and breadth of initial and continued training to equip independent celebrants for all occasions to provide quality services in a professional manner to their communities
  
  
• qualification needs to be able train 18 year olds to take the full responsibilities of a marriage, funeral and other celebrancy work and competently deliver quality ceremonies and services.

CoCA firmly believes our professional duties would be enhanced with better trained, highly qualified celebrants, as the result of a Diploma level qualification for the following reasons:-

• As sole trader practitioners, servicing a broad range of clients in one-off occasions, independent celebrants need to function at a level of responsibility, autonomy, creativity and problem solving much higher than a para-professional level Certificate IV in Celebrancy
  
  
• This qualification is intended a viable work role for independent celebrants offering all ceremonies, not just marriage. Celebrants need strategies and skills to expand their ceremony and related service work to adapt to current and future changing work environments
  
  
• The current Certificate IV in Celebrancy does not provide the depth and breadth of training required to  meet the acceptance by the Australian Community of the diversity of services provided by independent celebrants eg: funerals, memorials, scattering of ashes, baby blessings, namings, re-affirmations, wedding anniversaries and so on
  
  
• Thirteen Units delivered at a Diploma level will enable trainers to deliver training in more breadth and depth, provide a greater variety and more challenging assignments and assessments.
  
  In particular, the following skills embraced in these 13 units require greater depth:
  • • Ceremony and Ceremonial Elements Creation and Assessment
    • Presentation and Performance Skills
    • Stagecraft Skills
    • Writing Skills for the Celebrancy Role
    • IT and web skills to operate a celebrancy practice in the rapidly changing information technology age
    • Ceremonies and services to meet the needs of an aging population.
    • Ceremonies and services related to loss and grief, especially from the perspective of independent funeral celebrants who are not employees of the Funeral Industry.
      CoCA representatives consider the existing Funeral Units do not meet the existing or emerging needs of independent celebrants
      • NOTE: The Skills Council did not take the CoCA/ FCAA (funeral association) recommendation for a new unit to address the specific needs of independent celebrants, who are not employed by the funeral industry, in providing a range of family and community based loss and grief related ceremonies and services. Nor did the Skills Council select the CHCCCS017 - Provide loss and grief support instead of the Diploma level 5 unit CHCCS426B Provide support and care relating to loss and grief.
      • The importance of funeral for independent celebrants seems to have been lost from the Skills Councils focus – no mention in the Consultation Paper nor were the Funeral units included in the Cross Sector Units.
      • CoCA recommend this unit CHCCS426B Provide support and care relating to loss and grief, addressing the needs of independent celebrant in relation to their specific work opportunities with loss and grief related work, and the CHCLEG003 Manage legal and ethical compliance especially for celebrants to address these issues in all their ceremony work,  

• A Diploma in Celebrancy would recognise the importance of Marriage Celebrants, in the unique situation of sighting and witnessing legal papers, and performing the responsibility of legal duties under the law, as independently authorised persons under Subdivision C of the Australian Marriage Act 1961
  
  
• A Diploma in Celebrancy would also ensure new marriage celebrants entering the profession will have experienced greater breadth and depth in marriage units training and assessments, and thus be better prepared to offer their services to the broad range of couples that use independent marriage celebrants services for personalised wedding ceremonies

• Aspiring existing celebrants, who want further training need to have access to nationally accredited courses for viable work roles in all ceremonies

• Higher level training should increase the general public’s confidence in and respect for independent celebrants, thus increasing access to additional non-marriage work.
  
  
• There is clear justification that the qualification should be upgraded, as evidenced by:
  
  
  • A review of the latest population and other trends such as demographic statistics, life events related information and rapid change in web, IT and social media technologies, supports celebrants needs to adapt to current and future changing environments, provides evidence of a changing profession for which celebrants' training needs more depth and a breadth for range of ceremonies and celebrancy related services, especially in services related to an aging population and loss and grief.
    
    
  • The AGD stated purposes of the annual cost recovery fees legislated in 2014  based upon the need to increase the professionalism of celebrants
    
    
  • The AGD Helpline and Associations Forums continue to provide evidence that initial training has not been conducted in sufficient depth as to prepare new celebrants sufficiently for their ceremony work.

Note:

During the preparation for this Second Public Consultation, the Attorney-General's Department considered "Any increase to regulatory requirements through imposition of a higher level qualification will impose a higher regulatory burden on individuals and potentially be inconsistent with the Government's deregulation agenda".

CoCA response:

• • The Attorney-General’s Department has legislative responsibility for marriage only and can change the regulations to “Competency Units as required by the Attorney General” and therefore designate part of a diploma course equal to, or less than the current Regulatory Burden.
    
    
  • The AGD can choose part of this qualification for authorisation if confirmed as a Diploma (6 or 7 units would be approximately half of the Diploma and equivalent in cost and time to a Certificate IV)
    
    
  • This can be done at minimal cost from Cost Recovery Revenue.

The Attorney-General's Department has never required existing celebrants to upgrade to the latest appointment qualification.