Interpreters for wedding ceremonies

Under section 112 of the Marriage Act 1961, an authorised celebrant can require interpreters for wedding ceremonies if any of the authorised celebrant, the couple, or the official witnesses do not speak language the ceremony will be conducted in.

An Australian marriage ceremony does not have to be conducted in English. If the celebrant, the couple, and the two official witnesses all speak, for example, German, the ceremony can be conducted in German. But if the celebrant, one of the marrying parties, and both witnesses speak English, but the other marrying party speaks Italian, there will need to be an Italian interpreter for that wedding ceremony.

It’s up to the celebrant to decide whether an interpreter is needed for a wedding ceremony, not the couple.

So what needs to happen at a wedding ceremony involving an interpreter?

Who can act as interpreter?

The Marriage Act does not require the interpreter to be accredited, but it does state they cannot be a party to the marriage. So if one party doesn’t speak English, the other party can’t interpret for them. The interpreter can be a friend or family member. Alternatively the couple can hire a professional interpreter through the NAATI directory.

Meetings and rehearsals

If it’s one of the couple who doesn’t speak the language (let’s call it English for simplicity’s sake), an interpreter really should be present at all meetings before the wedding. This is to ensure the couple both understand:

• the nature and effect of the marriage ceremony
• the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) and
• the Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage (DONLIM).

I usually email the ceremony script to the interpreter ahead of time so that they can familiarise themselves with the slightly archaic legal wording.

At the ceremony

Before the ceremony

Before the ceremony begins, the interpreter must sign a Commonwealth Statutory Declaration stating that:

I have been requested to act as an interpreter at the solemnisation of marriage between (party 1) Full Legal Name and (party 2) Full Legal Name. I understand and am able to converse in English and the Other language(s), being the languages spoken and understood by parties 1 and 2, the authorised celebrant, and the 2 persons who are the witnesses as defined in section 44 of the Marriage Act 1961.

The celebrant can witness the interpreter’s signature on the stat dec.

During the ceremony

An interpreted ceremony will always take longer than a regular ceremony, simply because the words are all being spoken twice! It is important to be aware of this while planning the ceremony.

It is crucial that everyone can hear the interpreter to ensure the marriage is legal.

After the ceremony

After the ceremony is complete, the interpreter must sign the Certificate of Faithful Performance, which is at the bottom of the page containing the stat dec. It says:

I, Full Name and Address of Interpreter, certify that on the Day of Month, Year, at Location I faithfully performed the services of interpreter from English into Other Language (and from Other Language into English) in or in connection with a ceremony of marriage solemnised between Party 1’s Full Legal Name and Party 2’s Full Legal Name.

Again, the celebrant witnesses the interpreter’s signature and adds their full name.

The celebrant then sends the interpreter document to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages along with the other marriage documents to register the marriage.

And that’s it! Having interpreters for wedding ceremonies is really not too complex, and there’s not too much extra paperwork involved! Everything just takes a bit more time, and that’s an important thing to be aware of.