To effectively inform and educate the Australian public and visitors about marriage in Australia - all marriage and/ or wedding ceremonies need to have the same basic legal components. Examples of amended Sections 45, 46 and 113 of the Marriage Act. The sections below are not endorsed by the Coalition of Celebrant Associations (CoCA) Inc., but are provided as examples only of how simple changes could be made to: remove confusion for marrying couples and guests and ensure every marriage ceremony has the same basic legal elements whilst still respecting the rights of couples to have their choice of ceremony -…

Note: The requirement of the couple to give verbal consent to the marriage in front of witnesses, which is a requirement for the 70% of couples who choose a civil weddings, is not applied to religious couples, if the form of ceremony used by a religious celebrant1 does not include such consent. It is known that this component is missing in certain religious ceremonies. However without the ability to review the over 650 religious groups' ceremonies covered by section 45, CoCA is not in the position of being able to identify the extent of this exemption. Given the concern about…

RecommendationsA: The Marriage Act provide for internal review by The Registrar of Celebrants of non-payment of the charge fess due to circumstances beyond the celebrants control.  The Marriage Act provide for at least 60 days noitce for the payment of the celebrant registration charge after the day on which the first notice is sent. This would allow for notices to be sent before the end of the financial year, and grant greater flexibility for celebrant's to pay before the due date. The Regulations be changed such that The Registrar of Marriage Celebrants is required to• send an initial notice at least…

Marriage celebrant—obligations and responsibilities Being a celebrant is a special and important role in the community. It also attracts serious obligations and legal responsibilities. Failure to meet those responsibilities can have serious consequences.This page outlines some important information about the role of a Commonwealth-authorised marriage celebrant.

The Marriage Guidelines are regularly update to provide marriage celebrants with 'best practice' guidance. As such, these guidelines should cover the majority of situations, but may not apply to all. There may be exceptions to the rule, in which case the Marriage Celebrant is always wise to check the Marriage Act for final direction. Meeting the requirements of the Marriage Act is  a 'must' for all marriage celebrants.