Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to determine the specific legal and ethical requirements for marriage celebrancy practice, create and maintain systems and resources, and maintain and improve skills and knowledge in marriage celebrancy.
This unit applies to individuals seeking to be registered as a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant by the Attorney-General’s Department.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand Standards and industry codes of practice.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements define the essential outcomes | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Determine legal and ethical requirements for marriage celebrancy practice | 1.1 Identify and access sources of authoritative information on the legal and ethical requirements for the establishment and maintenance of a marriage celebrancy practice 1.2 Review and collate current information that supports professional practice as a marriage celebrant 1.3 Identify systems and resources required to meet legal requirements from evaluation of information |
2. Create and maintain marriage celebrancy systems and resources | 2.1 Organise resources required to support marriage celebrancy work 2.2 Create and document systems and procedures that support adherence to legal requirements and the Code of Practice for marriage celebrants 2.3 Ensure administrative systems and supplies are in place to support completion, storage and registration of relevant documentation in accordance with legal requirements 2.4 Seek guidance from authoritative sources on establishment of systems and resources |
3. Maintain and improve own skills and resources | 3.1 Maintain currency of marriage celebrancy knowledge using authoritative information sources 3.2 Pro-actively identify and use professional development opportunities 3.3 Use feedback and reflection as the basis for practice improvement 3.4 Collaborate with colleagues as part of ongoing professional development 3.5 Integrate current and emerging ideas and technologies into own practice and resources |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:
used critical thinking skills to identify, review and collate information from authoritative sources about requirements for marriage celebrancy practice
developed and documented an outline of the systems and procedures, and the associated costs, required to support a marriage celebrancy practice in the context of legal requirements.
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
the marriage regulations and current resources developed by the Attorney-General’s Department to support celebrants
the roles and responsibilities of the government and government agencies, at both Commonwealth and state/territory levels, under marriage regulations
the major sections of marriage regulations, including:
the legal definition of marriage in Australia
who may marry under Australian law
the requirements for a marriage to be valid
the grounds upon which a marriage could be declared void
the various offences under marriage regulations, and the related penalties
the Code of Practice, contained in marriage regulations, including understanding the legal requirements of the Code of Practice, such as the obligation to respect privacy and confidentiality
current resources developed by the Attorney-General’s Department to support celebrants, including how these resources can be used to assist a celebrant in their best practice
the links between marriage regulations (including the Code of Practice) and current resources
the purpose of marriage, and its evolution historically as it applies to marriage in Australia
Commonwealth anti-discrimination laws,
Statutory Declarations Act 1959, including knowledge of
Migration Act 1958, including:
broad understanding of
knowledge of how to respond to a request from a couple to verify their intent to marry to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
potential conflict of interest issues, where a celebrant is also a registered migration agent
Copyright Act 1968,
understanding of who (the celebrant or the couple) is responsible for obtaining any copyright licences or permissions
understanding of the difference between copyright licence and copyright insurance
awareness of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and Celebrant Group Copyright Licence available via most celebrant associations
Australian Consumer Law, including:
understanding obligations
identifying and accessing resources to assist marriage celebrants to understand and comply with obligations to consumers
Australian defamation laws
local government requirements that impact on ceremonies – requirements relating to the use of parks and gardens as wedding venues
the requirements of the Marriage Celebrants Program:
categories of marriage celebrant, the differences between each category and the legal responsibilities, rights and duties of each category
Register of Marriage Celebrants
requirements for registration as a Commonwealth marriage celebrant
application form and process of consideration of applications and registration:
fit and proper person criteria
qualification and skill requirements
conflict of interest provisions
administrative procedures and application registration fees that apply to making an application for registration as a Commonwealth marriage celebrant, and the availability and process to obtain exemption from the fee
obligations of marriage celebrants, including:
notification obligations, such as change in contact details, and documents of notification, including the marriage celebrant register portal
the annual celebrant registration charge, the availability of, and process to, obtain exemption from the charge, and the consequences of non-payment
requirements for ongoing professional development for marriage celebrants, and the availability of, and process to, obtain exemption from this requirements
performance reviews and the matters the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants must take into account in conducting a performance review
circumstances in which disciplinary measures can be taken against a marriage celebrant
disciplinary measures that may be taken against a marriage celebrant
review process for disciplinary decisions of the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants
complaints against marriage celebrants and the operation of the complaints process
records that the Registrar must keep in relation to each marriage celebrant
the methods available for a marriage celebrant to identify and maintain up-to-date information, resources and support services to support professional celebrancy practice.
Assessment Conditions
Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace or in a simulated environment that reflects workplace conditions. The following conditions must be met for this unit:
use of suitable facilities, equipment and resources, including legislative information and Code of Practice.
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Foundation Skills
The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.