How is the marriage ceremony officially recognised?
Section 42 of the Marriage Act 1961 requires that a marriage is not solemnized unless a Notice of Intended Marriage is given to the celebrant. It can be downloaded from the website www.ag.gov.au or directly here. The celebrant sends the Notice to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages of the State or Territory in which the marriage takes place after the marriage ceremony. The Registrar uses the information to register the marriage. The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages then sends the Notice to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
