Need help with Public Notary Services in Broome?
Our Public Notary Services include certifying documents, administering oaths, witnessing signatures, and more.
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Things To Keep In Mind About Public Notary Services?
… a notary is a practicing lawyer who holds a unique public office of trust and fidelity, and who, among other things, has the internationally recognised power and authority to prepare certificates of Australian law, and deeds and other instruments of all kinds, authenticated by his or her signature and official seal in a manner which renders them acceptable to the judicial or other public authorities in the countries in which they are produced.
(Principles of Notarial Practice,
Peter Zablud, Notary Public).
An Australian Notary Public is appointed for life by a State or Territory Supreme Court, or by an English Archbishop in the case of Queensland, and given statutory powers to witness documents, administer oaths, and perform other wide-ranging and useful administrative functions of a national and international nature.
What notarial services do we offer?
- attesting documents and certifying the due execution for use in Australia and overseas countries;
- preparing and certifying powers of attorney, wills, deeds, contracts and other legal documents, for use in Australia and overseas countries;
- administering oaths for Australian and international documents;
- witnessing signatures to affidavits, statutory declarations, powers of attorney, contracts, and other documents, for use in Australia and overseas countries;
- verifying documents for use in Australia and overseas countries; and
- certifying copy documents for use in Australia and overseas countries.
How do I get a document notarised?
In order to get a documents notarised you will need to make an appointment with our office (in Broome) to meet with our Notary Public. You must bring the original document and not less than 100 points of identification.
What is legalisation of documents (authentications and apostilles)
Foreign governments sometimes need proof that the signatures of Australian officials on documents are genuine before they can be accepted.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), through the Australian Passport Office in your capital city will certify that a signature, stamp or seal on an official Australian public document is genuine by checking it against a specimen held on file, and print or attach a certificate in the form of an ‘authentication’ or an ‘apostille’ stating certain facts.
The authentication or apostille is then signed by DFAT staff and sealed with a wet and a dry seal.
Do I need an apostille or authentication?
This depends on the country you are dealing with.
As a general rule, countries that are party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents require an Apostille on documents which qualify as Australian public documents. A full list of countries that are party to this convention can be found at the Hague Conference on Private International Law website.
Documents going to countries that are no party to the Hague Convention mentioned above generally require an Authentication. These countries include China, Vietnam and most of the middle east.
Please check with the government of the country concerned to find out which stamp you need, and which documents (if any) you need to have Authenticated or Apostillised.
This advice can only be provided by the overseas government you are dealing with, or with those countries that have embassies and/or consulates in Australia.
How do I get an apositille or authentication?
You need to give DFAT a document with an original signature, seal or stamp on it. That means either the original document or a notarised copy. DFAT can stamp any official Australian Government document with an original signature, stamp or seal on it. If the document is not an official Australian Government document (such as legal documents or medical certificates) the document (or a copy of it) must be notarised by an Australian Notary Public before you bring it to DFAT.
The Notary Public at HFM Legal will obtain an apostille or authentication for you if required.
Fees
The fees charged by a notary public are not only for the time taken in providing a certificate or the materials and seals used and supplied. The fee is also intended to reflect the importance of the work undertaken and the high office and responsibility of the Notary Public in performing that service.
Fees are controlled by legislation and, in particular, section 15A of the Public Notaries Act 1979 (WA).
Our fees are fixed in accordance with the scale prescribed by the Legal Profession (Public Notaries) Determination 2015 (WA).
Note: notarial work is only available in our Broome Office.
Need help with Public Notary Services?
Just fill in the form below to book your consultation.
Please note that only our Broome office can provide Public Notary Services.