Notice of Intended Marriage for Victoria

By Sarah AirdCategories: Marriage Legalities

This entry is part 7 of 31 in the series Marriage Legalities

A question I see all the time is “Where do I find the Notice of Intended Marriage for Victoria?” Lots of people (including some of my colleagues) don’t understand that marriage in Australia is the same in the whole country. The Marriage Act 1961 is Commonwealth legislation, which means that its requirements are identical in every State and Territory.

This means that when it comes to the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM), the document is the same regardless of which State or Territory you live in. There is not a separate NOIM for Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, etc.

This also means that if you lodge a NOIM with an authorised celebrant in, say, Victoria, but then decide you want to get married in Western Australia, that’s not a problem. The NOIM can be transferred from the Victorian celebrant to the Western Australian celebrant with no issues. (Or you could fly the Victorian celebrant to Western Australia if you really liked them…)

Finally, it also means that if you live in Queensland, you’re getting married in South Australia, and your celebrant lives in Tasmania, there’s just one NOIM to be used. Where the couple lives, where the marriage is being held, and where the celebrant lives are all irrelevant considerations; there’s only one NOIM!