On the visa · weddingGuide record · 3 October 2026

How to get married in Australia: the legal requirements, the steps from notice to certificate, and what changes on a Prospective Marriage visa

Getting married in Australia requires a Notice of Intended Marriage given to an authorised celebrant at least 1 month ahead, parties who are free to marry, and a ceremony before the celebrant and 2 witnesses over 18 (Marriage Act 1961).

An Australian migration lawyer can check that your wedding plans fit the visa conditions. The page on subclass 300 legal help explains how that help works.

On a Prospective Marriage visa the wedding must also fall within the visa period, and not before the holder first enters Australia on the 300 (conditions 8519 and 8515).

Choose an authorised celebrant and make sure they receive your signed notice between 18 months and 1 month before the date (Marriage Act 1961 s 42(1)(a)). Each of you shows evidence of date and place of birth, identity, and the end of any earlier marriage (Marriage Act ss 42(1)(b) and 42(10)). The celebrant meets each of you separately and in person before the wedding (Marriage Act s 42B, in force from 12 June 2024).

The celebrant is physically present, you each say the vows, and you, the celebrant and 2 witnesses sign 3 certificates (Marriage Act ss 41, 44, 45 and 50(2); Attorney-General’s Department, “Get married”). Within 14 days the celebrant sends the paperwork to the registry of the state or territory where you married, and you apply to that registry for the official certificate (Marriage Act s 50(4); Attorney-General’s Department, “Get married”).

At a glance

From notice to certificate — the seven steps

1. Give notice: the Notice of Intended Marriage reaches your celebrant 1 to 18 months before the date (Marriage Act s 42(1)(a)).
2. Meet the celebrant separately: each partner, in person (Marriage Act s 42B).
3. Show your documents: birth, identity, end of any earlier marriage (Marriage Act ss 42(1)(b) and 42(10)).
4. Sign the declaration of no legal impediment: before the ceremony, in the celebrant’s physical presence (Marriage Act s 42(1)(c)).
5. Marry: celebrant physically present, at least 2 witnesses over 18, the vows (Marriage Act ss 41, 44 and 45).
6. Sign 3 certificates: you both, the celebrant and 2 witnesses (Marriage Act s 50(2)).
7. Registration: the celebrant lodges with the registry within 14 days; you apply for the official certificate (Marriage Act s 50(4); Attorney-General’s Department, “Get married”).

The Marriage Act conditions

Notice deadline: Your celebrant must receive the Notice of Intended Marriage at least 1 month before the wedding date (Marriage Act 1961 s 42(1)(a)).

How do you get married in Australia?

1. Give notice. Choose an authorised celebrant and arrange for them to receive your Notice of Intended Marriage between 18 months and 1 month before the wedding (Marriage Act 1961 s 42(1)(a)). A marriage may be held on any day, at any time and at any place (Marriage Act s 43).

   The notice is signed before an authorised witness; the rules on who can witness a NOIM in Australia, and overseas, are on the notice page.

2. Meet the celebrant separately. Each of you must meet the celebrant separately and in person before the wedding, under Marriage Act s 42B; this requirement has applied since 12 June 2024.

3. Show your documents. Provide evidence of date and place of birth and identity, plus evidence that any earlier marriage has ended (Marriage Act ss 42(1)(b) and 42(10); Attorney-General’s Department, “Get married”). If a divorce is pending, it must take effect before the new marriage is solemnised.

4. Sign the declaration of no legal impediment. Before the ceremony, each of you makes and signs the declaration about your marital status and belief that there is no legal impediment, in the celebrant’s physical presence (Marriage Act s 42(1)(c)).

5. Marry. The celebrant must be physically present, with at least 2 witnesses over 18 (Marriage Act ss 41 and 44). For a civil ceremony, each partner says the words in s 45(2), “or words to that effect”, and the celebrant gives the reminder of the nature of marriage under s 46; a minister of religion uses the ceremony form their religious body recognises under s 45(1).

6. Sign 3 certificates. Both of you, the celebrant and 2 witnesses sign the 3 marriage certificates under Marriage Act s 50(2), as explained on the Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page.

7. Registration and the official certificate. The celebrant sends the paperwork to the registry where you married within 14 days (Marriage Act s 50(4)). The Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page explains that the certificate handed to you on the day is ceremonial; you apply to the registry for the official certificate.

   The certificate guide explains how to get marriage certificate copies from your registry, and which one counts as proof.

Legal requirements for marriage in Australia: the Marriage Act conditions

Under the Marriage Act 1961, marriage is the union of 2 people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life (s 5). Its definition of “2 people” includes both same-sex and different-sex couples.

The prohibited list is ancestors, descendants and siblings, including through adoption; cousins are not on that list in Marriage Act s 23B(2)–(3).

An arranged marriage with both partners’ real consent is legal; the Attorney-General’s Department’s “Forced marriage” page, updated 6 November 2025, distinguishes it from forced marriage, which is a crime carrying up to 7 years’ imprisonment, 9 if aggravated, and 25 where a child under 18 is taken overseas for it.

The legislation used here is the Marriage Act 1961, Compilation No. 34, dated 28 March 2026, and the Marriage Regulations 2017, Compilation No. 3, dated 14 October 2024, checked as at 3 October 2026.

What is the legal marriage age in Australia?

The legal marriage age in Australia is 18 (Marriage Act s 11).

You can get married at 16 or 17 in Australia only through the exception in Marriage Act s 12: you apply to a judge or magistrate for an order to marry a particular person who is 18 or older. The court makes the order only in exceptional and unusual circumstances, and it lapses if the wedding does not happen within 3 months.

The required consents are also needed, as explained in the Attorney-General’s Department’s Notice of Intended Marriage form, version 1 September 2021. It is not a choice between parental consent and a court order: the order and the consents are both required.

Two people under 18 cannot marry each other under Marriage Act s 12(1), because the other person must be of marriageable age. The Attorney-General’s Department’s Notice of Intended Marriage form also states that marrying a person under 18 without the required order is an offence under Marriage Act s 95.

The authorised celebrant’s role

An authorised celebrant is the person the Marriage Act allows to marry you: a registered minister of religion of a recognised denomination, a state or territory officer authorised to solemnise marriages, a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, or a religious marriage celebrant (s 5).

Whatever title is used—“officiant” or “civil celebrant”, for example—the person must be an authorised celebrant and physically present at the place where the marriage takes place (Marriage Act s 41).

The celebrant:

1. receives the notice and writes its date of receipt on it (Marriage Regulations 2017 reg 70(1));
2. checks your documents (Marriage Act s 42(1)(b));
3. meets each of you separately and in person (Marriage Act s 42B);
4. has each of you make the declaration in their physical presence (Marriage Act s 42(1)(c));
5. is physically present at the ceremony (Marriage Act s 41);
6. prepares and signs the certificates (Marriage Act s 50);
7. lodges the paperwork with the registry within 14 days (Marriage Act s 50(4)).

What is the legal minimum ceremony?

The legal core is the authorised celebrant, at least 2 witnesses over 18, each partner saying the vows, the celebrant’s reminder of the nature of marriage for civil ceremonies, and the signed certificates (Marriage Act ss 41, 44–46 and 50). The notice, documents, separate meetings and declaration requirements still apply before the ceremony.

A registry officer authorised to solemnise marriages is an authorised celebrant under Marriage Act s 5; however, Tasmania’s registry does not hold ceremonies, according to its “Getting married” page, updated 19 September 2024.

If one of you is not Australian: which visa to come and marry (the Prospective Marriage visa)

The Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page, dated 13 June 2024, says you do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to marry in Australia, and that a non-citizen who wants to live here after marrying should find out about getting a visa. Smartraveller’s “Getting married overseas” page, updated 18 August 2026, adds that marrying an Australian citizen does not ensure you can come to Australia.

1. Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300). You apply from outside Australia, sponsored by the Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen you intend to marry. The Home Affairs Prospective Marriage visa page, updated 10 August 2026, explains that it lets you come to Australia to marry within a visa period of 9 to 15 months from grant, then apply for the Partner visa in Australia; Migration Regulations 1994 cl 300.511 sets that period.

   Each date that matters when Getting married on a Prospective Marriage visa is laid out on the wedding timeline guide.

2. Visitor visa. Australian marriage requirements do not exclude a visitor from marrying, but immigration conditions are separate. Home Affairs’ “No Further Stay waiver” page, updated 24 September 2026, explains that condition 8503 prevents a valid application for a new substantive visa in Australia, except a protection visa, unless waived; it lists marriage as not a reason for a waiver.

   The ETA (subclass 601) and eVisitor (subclass 651) do not carry condition 8503 under Migration Regulations cls 601.611 and 651.611. Visitor applicants must genuinely intend a temporary stay: cl 600.211 sets that requirement for the Visitor visa, and Home Affairs’ ETA and eVisitor pages also require a temporary intention.

   Couples asking can you get married in Australia on a tourist visa will find the condition 8503 problem explained in full.

3. Marrying outside Australia first. For a couple pursuing the offshore Partner visa route after marrying, the subclass 309/100 application is made from outside Australia, according to Home Affairs’ Partner visa (subclass 309) page, updated 24 September 2026. The standard main-applicant charge is AUD 11,710, from 1 July 2026 and live as at 3 October 2026 in Home Affairs’ price data; a Pacific-regional passport concession applies to eligible applicants.

Witnesses at the ceremony

A marriage needs at least 2 witnesses who are, or appear to the celebrant to be, over 18 (Marriage Act s 44).

They must be physically present. The Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page explains that the amendments commencing on 12 June 2024 clarified that the celebrant, the couple and the 2 witnesses must all be physically present; Marriage Act s 45(2) requires the civil vows to be said in the presence of the celebrant and witnesses, and s 50(2) requires the witnesses to sign the 3 certificates.

Can a witness attend by video?

No: Marriage Act s 42(2) allows video witnessing of the notice signature, not attendance at the ceremony. The physical-presence requirements explained on the Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page still apply to the wedding.

Registry and certificate by state

In every state and territory you give the notice to your celebrant, never to the registry; within 14 days of the wedding the celebrant sends the paperwork to the registry of the state or territory where you married (Marriage Act ss 42(1)(a) and 50(4); Attorney-General’s Department, “Get married”).

The certificate handed to you on the day is ceremonial; the registry certificate is the official one, as explained by the Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page and the Queensland, Victorian, NSW and ACT registries.

Marriages that are void in Australia

A marriage is void in Australia on 5 grounds only (Marriage Act s 23B(1), “and not otherwise”):

1. either partner is already lawfully married to someone else;
2. the partners are within a prohibited relationship;
3. it is not a valid marriage under s 48: the ceremony was not held as the Act requires, beyond the defects s 48(2) excuses;
4. either partner’s consent is not real—because of duress, fraud, a mistake about identity or the ceremony, or not understanding it;
5. either partner is not of marriageable age.

Mistakes that do not void a marriage

A marriage is not invalid only because the notice was missing or wrong, a declaration was missing or false, a required document was not shown, or the witness or civil-celebrant reminder rules were not followed (Marriage Act s 48(2)). Nor is it invalid because the celebrant lacked authority where either partner believed the celebrant was authorised (s 48(3)).

These exceptions do not remove the requirements that couples and celebrants must follow; they address whether a marriage is invalid under Marriage Act s 48.

Offences, not grounds

Bigamy carries 5 years’ imprisonment under Marriage Act s 94. Giving or signing a notice known to contain a false statement, error or defect carries up to 6 months’ imprisonment or 5 penalty units under s 104.

Forced marriage is also a crime, as explained on the Attorney-General’s Department’s “Forced marriage” page. Criminal offences and the grounds that make a marriage void are separate legal questions.

Getting married in Australia on a Prospective Marriage visa: the date that matters, and when an Australian migration lawyer helps

The holder must marry the person specified in the visa application within the visa period under condition 8519, and must not marry before first entering Australia on the 300 under condition 8515. These conditions appear in Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations 1994, Compilation No. 288, and Home Affairs’ visa conditions page, checked 3 October 2026.

Marrying before Home Affairs decides the 300 ends eligibility, according to its Prospective Marriage visa page, updated 10 August 2026. If the applicant marries the named prospective spouse, the marriage is valid and Home Affairs receives notice before the decision, Migration Regulations reg 2.08E treats the applicant as having also applied for the Partner visas (subclasses 309/100); Home Affairs says the 300 will be refused if it is not withdrawn.

After the wedding, Home Affairs’ Prospective Marriage visa page directs the holder to lodge the Partner visa (820/801) in Australia before the 300 ends. Its Partner visa (subclass 820) page, updated 24 September 2026, and price data show a standard main-applicant charge of AUD 1,955 for a married 300 holder lodging before expiry, from 1 July 2026 and live as at 3 October 2026.

The standard former-holder charge is AUD 2,475 as at 3 October 2026, but expiry alone does not establish eligibility for that charge or route. Home Affairs’ Partner visa page and Migration Regulations cl 820.211(5) require, among other things, that the applicant last entered on the 300, married the intended partner before the substantive visa ceased, and holds no substantive visa when applying; eligible Pacific-regional passport applicants have lower charges.

This guide’s reading of the law: a void marriage does not make the holder a spouse for migration purposes, because a married relationship requires a marriage valid for the purposes of the Migration Act 1958, Compilation No. 171, under s 5F(2)(a). Whether the couple could instead qualify as de facto partners turns on s 5CB and is a question for an Australian migration lawyer.

Who qualifies for the Australian fiancé visa, and who can sponsor it, is set out on the guide’s home page. Couples who were married before prospective marriage visa granted letters arrived should read the reg 2.08E rules first. The move from Prospective Marriage visa to partner visa, with the charge and the bridging visa, is set out step by step.

For a 300 couple, check the decision and first-entry dates alongside the notice, wedding and partner-visa lodgement dates: marrying before the decision changes the application under Migration Regulations reg 2.08E, while marrying after grant but before first entry breaches condition 8515. If an earlier marriage has not legally ended, the new wedding is void under Marriage Act s 23B; on this guide’s reading of Migration Act s 5F(2)(a), it does not establish spouse status, and the fixed visa period under cl 300.511 does not pause while the problem is addressed.

An Australian legal practitioner is permitted to give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice under Migration Act s 280(3). Before you book the wedding date, an Australian migration lawyer can compare the grant letter, first entry, notice deadline and proposed wedding date, and check identity documents and evidence that earlier marriages have ended. That review helps you identify a timing or document problem before booking; it does not promise a visa outcome.

If you need your wedding dates and documents checked

An Australian migration lawyer can compare the grant letter, entry, notice and ceremony dates with the identity and earlier-marriage documents. The shared enquiry page can send a private question to Australian Migration Lawyers. If a deadline is close, contact an Australian migration lawyer directly; viewing this page does not lodge an application or pause a deadline.

This page has no separate active form. The shared enquiry page can send a private question to Australian Migration Lawyers; contact an Australian migration lawyer directly while considering the deadline.

Frequently asked questions

What is the quickest way to get legally married in Australia?

The ordinary earliest wedding is 1 month after your celebrant receives the notice, on any day and at any place (Marriage Act ss 42(1)(a) and 43). Less notice requires a prescribed authority’s approval under s 42(5) for one of 5 prescribed circumstances: travel commitments, wedding arrangements or religious considerations, medical reasons, legal proceedings, or an error in giving notice (Marriage Regulations reg 72 and Schedule 3).

Can two people who are not Australian get married in Australia?

Yes: the Attorney-General’s Department’s “Get married” page says you do not have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to marry in Australia, and the notice can be completed from overseas. Being in Australia on the right visa is a separate question.

Is a religious wedding legally valid in Australia?

Yes, when an authorised celebrant, such as a registered minister of religion or religious marriage celebrant, marries you under the Marriage Act’s requirements. A minister of religion uses the ceremony form their religious body recognises (Marriage Act ss 5 and 45(1)); this applies to Muslim and other religious weddings meeting those requirements.

Does getting married in Australia give the overseas partner a visa?

No: Smartraveller’s “Getting married overseas” page, updated 18 August 2026, says marrying an Australian citizen does not ensure you can come to Australia. A visa is still needed.

Ask an Australian migration lawyer

An Australian migration lawyer can check that your wedding plans fit the visa conditions. The page on subclass 300 legal help explains how that help works, and the enquiry page is where to put your question to Australian Migration Lawyers.