For training organisations - Certificate IV in Celebrancy
This is the official site of the Australian Government Marriage Celebrants Program.
Essential information for training organisations offering or intending to offer marriage celebrancy training through the Certificate IV in Celebrancy (CHC42608) or an equivalent university qualification.
- Background - Marriage Celebrants Program
- Required training qualification - Certificate IV in Celebrancy (CHC42608) or an equivalent university qualification
- Providing the Certificate IV in Celebrancy
- Requirements for certificates issued to students
- Providing an equivalent university qualification
Background – Marriage Celebrants Program
The Attorney-General’s Department regulates marriage celebrants registered under the Australian Government Marriage Celebrants Program.
The Department is committed to maintaining a high professional standard among marriage celebrants. The role of marriage celebrant carries significant legal responsibilities and, unlike most occupations, involves working alone and unsupervised from the day the marriage celebrant is authorised to solemnise marriages.
Increasingly, marriage celebrants are faced with complex situations for which they need a thorough knowledge of marriage and related legislation. They also need to have excellent skills in communication, business administration and ceremony presentation.
The Registrar of Marriage Celebrants has set requirements for training organisations delivering the qualification for registration as a marriage celebrant.
Required training qualification - Certificate IV in Celebrancy (CHC42608) or equivalent university qualification
People wishing to become a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant must have successfully completed the Certificate IV in Celebrancy awarded by a registered training organisation or an equivalent university qualification in order to meet the qualification requirement for registration. Further information on the application process is available on the Becoming a celebrant page.
The Certificate IV in Celebrancy consists of 13 units: five compulsory and eight electives. The Certificate IV in Celebrancy must be delivered in accordance with the packaging rules contained in CHC08: Community Services Training Package published by the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council, as in force on 2 February 2009 (see training.gov.au for details). The qualification must include all the units determined by the Registrar to be mandatory for registration as a marriage celebrant.
Providing the Certificate IV in Celebrancy
Registered training organisations seeking to offer the Certificate IV in Celebrancy
Registered Training Organisations should contact their state or territory training authority (accrediting body) for information about pre-registration requirements for adding this qualification to their scope of registration.
Required units for registration as a marriage celebrant
The Certificate IV in Celebrancy comprises 13 units of training: five compulsory units and eight electives.
The following five compulsory units must all be undertaken:
- CHCADMIN305D-Work with the administration protocols of the organisation
- CHCCEL401A-Work effectively in a celebrancy role
- CHCCEL406A-Identify and address client needs in a celebrancy role
- CHCCOM403A-Use targeted communication skills to build relationships
- CHCCS400A-Work within a relevant legal and ethical framework
Of the eight electives available, the following four electives are mandatory for registration as a marriage celebrant:
- CHCCEL402A-Establish and maintain knowledge of legal responsibilities of a marriage celebrant
- CHCCEL403A-Develop an effective relationship with a marrying couple
- CHCCEL404A-Plan a marriage ceremony in line with legal requirements
- CHCCEL405A-Conduct and review a marriage ceremony in line with legal requirements
In delivering the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units referred to above, training organisations must meet certain requirements relating to materials and qualifications of trainers. These requirements are set by the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants in the Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Determination 2009.
• View the Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Determination 2009
The requirements relate only to the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units specified in the Registrar’s determination.
There are important consequences if the requirements for delivery of the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units are not met. Despite the training provider issuing a certificate on completion of the training, an applicant seeking registration as a marriage celebrant may not meet the qualification requirement for registration if the requirements for the delivery of the four mandatory units are not met.
Meeting the Registrar's requirements for trainers
For quality assurance purposes, the Registrar needs to be satisfied that the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units have been delivered by persons with practical experience of marriage celebrancy work.
For paragraphs 37G(2)(a) and (b) of the Marriage Regulations, registered training organisations must ensure that each trainer delivering any or all of the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units:
- has been registered for a minimum of three years as a marriage celebrant under Subdivision C, Division 1 of Part IV of the Marriage Act
- has complied with professional development obligations under subsection 39G(b) of the Marriage Act
- has been found satisfactory at their most recent performance review conducted under section 39H of the Marriage Act,
- has conducted at least three marriage ceremonies during a period of two years immediately before delivering any of the units, and
- is not subject to any disciplinary measures imposed by the Registrar under subsection 39I(2) of the Marriage Act during the 24 months immediately before the day that the delivery of the unit begins.
It is the responsibility of the trainers who will deliver training for the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units to satisfy the registered training organisation engaging them that they meet the requirements for trainers delivering the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units.
Each trainer to be engaged by your organisation to deliver these units should complete the Commonwealth Statutory Declaration for trainers form and lodge it with you for your records.
If the trainer is not able to declare that they comply with all the requirements, the Department will confirm such details as it holds in its records. The trainer should e-mail a request for confirmation to the Department, sending their request to marriagecelebrantssection@ag.gov.au. The request should be marked: ‘CHC42608: trainer requirements’.
Please note: If you are a registered training organisation you may be required to submit the originals or copies of the Statutory Declarations made by trainers when applying to your state or territory training authority to have the qualification included in your scope of registration.
Please check whether your state or territory training authority requires the original, a copy or a certified copy of the statutory declaration/s.
Meeting the Registrar's requirements for materials
In delivering the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units, trainers must use as their core training materials the following resources that the Registrar has determined, pursuant to paragraph 37G(2)(c) of the Marriage Regulations. These materials contain information that is fundamental to the discharge of the legal obligation of a celebrant in solemnising a marriage:
- the Marriage Act 1961
- the Marriage Regulations 1963
- Explanatory Material on the Marriage Act 1961 for Marriage Celebrants, available at www.ag.gov.au/celebrants
- the DVD When Words are not Enough: Some Legal Obligations of a Marriage Celebrant, 2008, Attorney‑General’s Department
- sample copies of forms and 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 12A, 12D, 13, 14, 14A, 15, 16, 24 and Schedules 1A, 1B and Schedule 2 as prescribed in the Marriage Regulations for use in the conduct of marriages and fulfilment of obligations under the Marriage Celebrants Program, and
- information on the Marriage Celebrants Program at www.ag.gov.au/celebrants.
The materials listed at (a), (b), and (c) above can be downloaded free of charge from this website.
Item (d) - the DVD can be purchased by authorised purchasers from CanPrint Communications Pty Ltd , Canberra, tel: 1300 656 863 (toll free call).
An authorised purchaser is a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant.
The forms specified at item (e) are contained in the Marriage Regulations, which can be viewed online or downloaded from this website.
A pack of samples of the forms most commonly used by Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants are available free of charge to registered training organisations delivering the Certificate IV in Celebrancy or universities offering an equivalent qualification.
The pack contains samples of forms 13, 14, 14A, 15, 16 and 24. The forms may be reproduced in unaltered form only for non-commercial use within your training organisation.
To request a sample pack of the forms, e-mail marriagecelebrantssection@ag.gov.au. E-mail requests should be marked 'Sample marriage forms'. Please include in your message the name of your training organisation, its postal address and a contact name.
Requirements for certificates issued to students
Training organisations will need to ensure that all of the following matters are addressed on certificates (these are in addition to any other requirements for issuing certificates under the Australian Quality Training Framework):
- Confirm that all units of competency mandatory for registration as a marriage celebrant have been successfully completed.
- State the name of the trainer/s of the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units.
- Confirm that all required training materials were included in the delivery of the four mandatory marriage celebrancy units.
- Include the following statement: ‘Units completed for this qualification meet the requirements of the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants, as set out in subregulation 37G(2) of the Marriage Regulations 1963.’
- Include a transcript of units completed as part of the qualification (including titles and national codes for each unit).
You may wish to provide the above information on a separate page/s to the formal certificate. This is an acceptable practice, as long as all the information is provided.
Students applying for registration as a marriage celebrant are required to submit a certified copy of both the transcript of units and the certificate issued to them by their training organisation. Where there are deficiencies in certificates, applicants will be asked to contact their training organisation for a revised certificate.
Providing an equivalent university qualification
Universities seeking to offer an equivalent qualification
The term ‘equivalent university qualification’ refers to a ‘celebrancy qualification’ delivered by a university mentioned in the Determination that includes all the units determined by the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants to be necessary for registration and provided in accordance with the requirements in the Marriage Regulations 1963.
Units determined by the Registrar to be equivalent
Currently, there is one university, Monash University in Victoria, which has provided the required information to the Attorney-General’s Department for its qualification to be considered equivalent to the Certificate IV in Celebrancy.
The units delivered by Monash University, determined by the Registrar are listed in the Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Determination 2009. They are:
- Rites of passage: Culture and celebrating life cycle events - APG4729 (formerly CVL4010)
- Life cycle events: Literature, music and life stories - APG4730 (formerly CVL4020)
- Celebrant and client: Legal, ethical and personal issues - APG4731 (formerly CVL4030)
- Professional celebration of rites of passage - APG4732 (formerly CVL4040)
Information about the Registrar’s requirements
Universities seeking further information about the Registrar’s requirements under the Determination should contact marriagecelebrantssection@ag.gov.au.
Contact details
Should you have any questions about the information on this page, please contact:
marriagecelebrantssection@ag.gov.au
