Guide to Australian notary services
Notaries have a limited role within Australia but when certain documents are required to be presented in a foreign country, notary services Melbourne, or notary public services become relevant. Although,in general terms, the duties performed by a notary are similar to that of attorneys, the work of notaries has an expanded scope when compared with attorneys. Further, the level of authority and the type of documents that a notary can handle may also vary from one state to the other within Australia.
Appointment of notaries in Australia
The state legislation appoints notaries in Australia, except in the case of Queensland where the Archbishop’s Court is invested with the authority to appoint notaries. In other states, the Supreme Court is empowered to appoint the notaries. Generally, only legal professionals with extensive experience are admitted to the position of notaries and incumbents would also be required to demonstrate their knowledge for practising in the capacity of a notary, apart from explaining the need for such an appointment. Students aspiring to pursue higher learning in universities abroad, businesses that may have trade disputes in a foreign land generally will seek notary public services to comply with the stipulations of foreign governments or authorities. Intending candidates can easily find many accredited individuals to provide notary public services for various documents across the Australian jurisdiction.
Different ways of expressing a notary service
Notary public services may be expressed as notary international, document services, and notary public services Melbourne, etc. but all of them refer to a public officer appointed by a legally constituted authority like the Courts. All of them render identical services to citizens who need notary services connected with non-contentious matters, which are generally related to estates, deeds, international trade, power of attorney etc. Administering oaths and affirmations, taking affidavits, statutory declarations, authenticating and witnessing the execution of the specified type of documents, acknowledgement of deeds or identical conveyances, bill of exchange etc, constitute the major function of notaries. Mere signature to a document may not at times give the document legal validity and particularly when they relate to international trade or property transactions. But, when these documents are notarized and the notary places his/her distinct seal on the document they become fully valid in Australia and other nations as the nature of the document demands.
History of notarization
The beginning of notarization dates back to the 14th century as part of the English law and Archbishops and similar authorities from the Church were empowered to appoint notary publics. Over the years, the practice was gradually adopted by other nations and the authority to appoint notaries moved from the Church to the courts. During the 19th century, an event named as the Hague convention in 1961 introduced many changes to the requirement for the legalisation of documents that originated in a foreign land. In turn, the need for legalisation and notarization was extinguished in many jurisdictions. Nevertheless, certain nations like China refused to subscribe to the Hague convention and therefore legalisation and notarization continue to be in force in nations that were not a party to the Hague convention. However, with the introduction of the digital age, authenticating documents became more convenient and the role of notaries shrank further.
What do notaries do?
WThe function of notaries differs vastly from attorneys in many jurisdictions through the duties performed by notaries are similar to that of attorneys who create documents and advise clients. In the United States of America, however, notaries are barred from creating documents or advising clients. State laws within the USA may also prohibit them from issuing specific signs of documents or signing certain documents, particularly when they concern foreigners.
In Australia, there is no specific statement or definition of the role of a notary public. The English law, on the other hand, specifies a wide array of functions for the notary public. Consequently, notaries following the English Law may function related to international trade and shipping. But, advanced communication systems and digital access to a wide range of information, again reduced the scope of services rendered by a notary public. But, for students seeking higher learning in foreign Universities and immigrants, notarization continues to be relevant for completing the documentation process.
Conclusion
A notarized document enhances the legal validity of a document though, in many contexts, other forms of whetting have overtaken the significance of notarization. Yet, real-estate and education in foreign Universities are two distinct segments where notarization may still be relevant.