You must have your identity documents certified by an authorised person. The following people can certify copies of your original identity documents as true and correct:

• Barrister
• Solicitor
• Medical practitioner with general or specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia (this does not include pharmacists)
• Judge
• Justice of the Peace
• Minister of religion authorised to celebrate marriages
• Police officer
• Bank, building society or credit union officer with at least five years of continuous service
• Sheriff’s officer
• Commissioner for Declarations (Queensland only)

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When an authorised certifier must not certify

An authorised certifier must not certify your documents if:

• doing so could create a real or perceived conflict of interest, or
• the documents relate to a matter in which they have a real or perceived personal or financial interest.

If a conflict exists, you should ask a different authorised certifier to certify your documents.

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How documents must be certified

An authorised certifier must:

1. Physically sight the original document and all copies at the same time
   • They must see both the front and back of the original and the copy.
2. Stamp (if available) and annotate each copy with wording similar to:
   “I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true and correct copy of the original document sighted by me.”‍
3. Sign each copy near the annotation
4. Include their details on the certified copy, including:
   
   • full name
   • telephone number
   • qualification (for example, Justice of the Peace, Solicitor)
   • registration or membership number (if applicable)
   • date of certification

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Multi‑page documents

If the original document has more than one page, the certifier must:

• initial or sign the bottom of each page of the copy (front and back, if copied double‑sided), and
• number each page if the pages are not already numbered (for example, “Page 1 of 3”).

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Avoiding delays

We may not be able to accept your documents if they do not meet these certification requirements. This can delay the processing of your application.

To avoid delays, check that your documents are correctly certified before you submit them.