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CHCMCEL401A |
The Academy of Celebrancy Australia®
is an official
approved provider of Nationally
Recognised training for
celebrancy. All our accredited
courses have been found
to meet high quality Australian
standards. |
Congratulations on your decision to
become a high quality marriage
celebrant. The Academy of Celebrancy Australia®
is a leading provider of the
required accredited courses that are a
prerequisite to the application process.
We offer a
Best Price
Guarantee and
Unmatched Student
Benefits not seen anywhere
else. You may consider downloading a
brochure,
or reading more
frequently asked
questions about our Marriage
Celebrancy course. You can also enrol in
this course by
clicking here.
When you finish our CHCMCEL401A (Plan,
conduct and review a marriage ceremony)
course, you would have also completed
the units: CHCADMIN5C "Work within the
administration protocols of the
organisation” and CHCCS5B “Identify and
address specific client needs”.
The Attorney-General's Department is
responsible for the administration of
the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961. 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. The Department also authorises
Marriage Celebrants who do not belong to
a recognised denomination.
The Government undertook an extensive
4-year review of the Marriage Celebrants
Program commencing in 1996. The review
carefully considered the opinions and
experiences of Marriage Celebrants,
celebrant organisations and the marrying
couples who use celebrant services. The
review identified a number of
deficiencies in the program requiring
reform.
A package of reforms was developed that
aim to raise the professional standards
in celebrancy services provided by
Marriage Celebrants appointed under the
program. The reforms will broaden and
enhance the role of celebrants to
include the provision of information on
pre-marriage and
other relationship services.
This aims to ensure celebrants play an
important role in developing longer
lasting family relationships and
stronger communities within Australia.
The then Attorney-General, the Hon Daryl
Williams AM QC MP, announced that the
changes by the way of amendments to the
Marriage Act 1961 would commence on 1
September 2003.
Aspiring celebrants will need to have
completed an approved, competency-based
training course or have been
independently assessed against the
competencies in order to be eligible to
apply. This is an approved
competency-based training course, so
you’re well on the way!
Once an aspiring 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
Amendment Act 2002 has been met. The
requirements of the 'fit and proper
person' test are as follows.
Fit
and Proper Person Test
-
whether you have a sufficient
knowledge of the law relating to the
solemnisation of
marriages by Marriage Celebrants;
-
whether you are committed to advising
couples of the availability of
relationship support services;
-
whether you are of good standing in
the community;
-
whether you have been convicted of an
offence punishable by imprisonment for
one year or longer, against a law of
the Commonwealth,
-
whether you have an actual or
potential conflict of interest between
your practice, or proposed practice,
as a Marriage Celebrant and your
business interests or interests such
as employment or hobbies;
-
whether
your registration as a Marriage
Celebrant would be likely to result in
your gaining a benefit in respect of
another business you own, control or
carry out;
-
whether you will 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.
When will I be Registered?
If and when the Attorney-General
approves your registration you will be
assigned a 'number' in the queue ready
for appointment in September 2008.
Performance Reviews
All celebrants will undergo a
performance review a maximum of every 5
years. Reviews will be based on
consideration of matters such as any
complaints received, compliance with the
Code of Practice and satisfying
requirements for ongoing professional
development. Reviews may be conducted
more regularly if required.
Complaints
A mechanism has been developed to deal
with complaints against celebrants.
Celebrants will have a right to be
advised of the complaint against them
and to put whatever material they think
appropriate to the Registrar before any
final decisions are made.
Sanctions may include a caution, a
requirement that further professional
development be undertaken, and the
suspension of a celebrant for a given
period of time and only as a last
resort, the revocation of authorisation.
Special or one-off ceremonies or
participation in a ceremony
Applications will not be accepted for
authorisation to solemnise a single
ceremony, or to solemnise marriages for
friends and relatives. However, persons
not authorised as Marriage Celebrants
may participate in aspects of a marriage
ceremony as long as an authorised
Marriage Celebrant is present and
fulfils all legal requirements for
solemnising the marriage.
The authorised Marriage Celebrant must
do the following:
-
To consent to be present as the
responsible authorised Marriage
Celebrant;
-
To take a public role in the ceremony;
-
To identify themselves to the
assembled parties, witnesses and
guests as the celebrant authorised to
solemnise the marriage;
-
To be responsible for ensuring the
validity of the marriage according to
law;
-
To say the words required by section
46 in the presence of the parties, the
formal witnesses and the guests before
the marriage is solemnised;
-
To be in close proximity (i.e. nearby)
when the vows required by section
45(2) are exchanged because it is the
exchange of vows that constitutes the
marriage and the authorised celebrant
should ensure that they see and hear
the vows exchanged;
-
To be available to intervene (and
exercise the responsibility to
intervene) if events demonstrate the
need for it elsewhere in the ceremony;
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To be part of the ceremonial group or
in close proximity to it; and to sign
the papers required by the Act.
* Source: Attorney-General's Department
Where can we take you?
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