Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Becoming a celebrant

This is the official site of the Australian Marriage Celebrants Program. Anything you read elsewhere that is inconsistent with this site is not accurate.

The Marriage Celebrant Program

Background

The Marriage Celebrants Program was established in 1973. It enables the appointment of suitably qualified people to perform marriages and provides couples with a meaningful alternative to Registry Office and mainstream church weddings.

An extensive four year review of the Marriage Celebrants Program was commenced in 1996. The review carefully considered the opinions and experiences of marriage celebrants, celebrant organisations and the marrying couples who use their services and identified a number of deficiencies in the program that required reform.

With the aim of raising the standard of services provided by marriage celebrants appointed under the program, a package of reforms was developed to broaden and enhance the role of celebrants by including the provision of information on pre-marriage and other relationship services. The aim is to ensure celebrants play an important role in developing longer-lasting family relationships and therefore stronger communities.

The reforms, by way of amendments to the Marriage Act 1961,commenced on 1 September 2003.

Information to consider before becoming a marriage celebrant

Before you embark on the training to become a marriage celebrant, please consider the following information: 

  • The marriage rate is generally stable, although there has been a decline over the past twenty years. In 2006, 114,200 marriages were registered in Australia. More information on the current statistics and trends on marriages performed each year can be found at  Australian Social Trends 2007 (Australian Bureau of Statistics website)
  • The number of Commonwealth-appointed marriage celebrants has increased from just under 3,500 in 2003 to just over 5,500 in 2007
  • There are approximately 20,000 ministers of religion, appointed by State and Territory registering authorities, working as marriage celebrants for mainstream religious denominations
  • To find out how many people live in your area, or how many registered marriage celebrants there are, you can search the Register of Marriage Celebrants / List of All Authorised Marriage Celebrants by clicking on the relevant link on the right hand side of this page
  • 45% of the marriages that take place each year are performed by ministers of religion and up to 10% by Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages (this percentage varies widely between States and Territories)
  • Approximately 55% of the marriages that take place each year are performed by marriage celebrants registered under this Program
  • Most marriage celebrants do a very limited number of weddings each year
  • There are ongoing costs involved in meeting the requirements to maintain registration as a marriage celebrant.  These need to be considered.  Such costs include annual professional development obligations, maintaining a suitable wardrobe and storage and office facilities

Remember that it may take some time to recoup the costs outlaid for the initial training, annual professional development training and start-up costs involved in setting up your business as a marriage celebrant.

Training

People wishing to register as a marriage celebrant will need to have completed an approved, competency-based training course, delivered by a registered organisation that is accredited to deliver the training.

Under ‘Training Packages and Community Services’ you can view a detailed list of the units of competency required, and under ‘Training Providers’ you can view the list of registered training organisations accredited to deliver training. Universities may also offer courses in celebrancy.

The Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department does not accredit training providers. Their accreditation is provided by State and Territory educational authorities. Any issues or concerns relating to training bodies should be taken up with the training provider concerned or with the relevant State or Territory accrediting body.
As a service for those seeking information on how to conduct and review a marriage ceremony, the following is a list of training providers for the unit of competency ‘CHCMCEL401A – Plan, conduct and review a marriage ceremony’.

  • List of Training Providers
    • This list is subject to change
    • All enquiries about cost, method of delivery or training content must be directed to the training organisations concerned.

If you believe you have the experience and/or training to fulfil the competency requirements, you may seek a written assessment by a qualified assessor. 

A qualified assessor is someone who:

  • holds a qualification at or above ‘Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment’, and
  • is involved in delivering marriage celebrant training.

If your assessment indicates you do not meet the competencies required, you will need to successfully complete the training unit before you can apply.

People who are fluent in an Australian indigenous language(s) may apply under a special provision. You should contact the Marriage Celebrants Section for more information if you wish to apply under this provision.

Fit and proper person test

Once an aspiring marriage celebrant completes an approved training course or assessment, there will be an additional requirement to demonstrate to the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants that the fit and proper person criteria, set out in the Marriage Act 1961, have been met. 

The requirements of the fit and proper person test are as follows:

  • do you have sufficient knowledge of the law relating to the solemnisation of marriages by marriage celebrants
  • are you committed to advising couples of the availability of relationship support services
  • are you of good standing in the community
  • have you been convicted of an offence, punishable by imprisonment for one year or longer, against a law of the Commonwealth, States or Territories 
  • do you have an actual or potential conflict of interest between your practice, or proposed practice, as a marriage celebrant and your business interests or other interests such as employment or hobbies
  • would your registration as a marriage celebrant be likely to result in you gaining a benefit in respect of another business you own, control or carry out
  • will you fulfil your obligations as a marriage celebrant, and
  • any other matter the Registrar considers relevant to whether you are a fit and proper person to be a marriage celebrant.

You must contact the Marriage Celebrants Section for an application package. You will receive detailed instructions on how to complete the form. You should read all the information carefully before filling in the form—an incomplete application will be returned to the sender.

Applications are processed strictly in order of receipt and take up to three months to process from the date they are received by the Marriage Celebrants Section.

Restrictions on your conduct while you undertake training and your application is assessed

Completing training and applying for registration as a marriage celebrant does not make you a registered marriage celebrant. An applicant is not entitled to engage in any advertising or promotion that suggests they are available to conduct marriage ceremonies. You may only solemnise marriages once you have been formally notified of your registration as a marriage celebrant.

People undertaking training and applicants are also not entitled to accept any bookings, or agree to perform any marriage, until after they have been notified that they have been registered as a marriage celebrant.

Special or one-off ceremonies, or participation in a ceremony

Applications for authorisation to solemnise a single ceremony, or to solemnise marriages for friends and relatives, will not be accepted.

However, persons not authorised as marriage celebrants may participate in aspects of a marriage ceremony as long as an authorised marriage celebrant conducts the ceremony and fulfils all the legal requirements for solemnising a marriage.

An authorised marriage celebrant must:

  • consent to be present as the responsible authorised marriage celebrant
  • take a public role in the ceremony
  • identify themselves to the assembled parties, witnesses and guests as the celebrant authorised to solemnise the marriage
  • be responsible for ensuring the validity of the marriage according to law
  • say the words required by section 46 in the presence of the parties, the formal witnesses and the guests before whom the marriage is solemnised
  • be in close proximity (i.e. nearby) when the vows required by subsection 45(2) are exchanged. It is the exchange of vows that constitutes the marriage and the authorised celebrant should ensure that they see and hear them exchanged
  • be available to intervene (and exercise the responsibility to intervene) if events demonstrate the need for intervention elsewhere in the ceremony
  • be part of the ceremonial group, or in close proximity to it, and
  • sign the papers required by the Act.

Appointment

Appointments are made on a lifetime basis, subject to satisfying ongoing requirements. Marriages may be solemnised anywhere in Australia.  Once authorised a marriage celebrant will need to satisfy a range of obligations. These include:

  • compliance with all the requirements of the Marriage Act 1961 in conducting marriages
  • compliance with a Code of Practice covering such matters as maintaining a high standard of service and professional conduct, complying with the Marriage Act 1961 and other laws, and a range of requirements for the conduct of marriage ceremonies
  • undertaking professional development each year, and
  • undergoing regular performance reviews to ensure continuing compliance with obligations.