EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants
Marriage Act 1961
Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Amendment Determination 2016 (No. 2)
Legislation
The Marriage Act 1961 (the Act) establishes the Marriage Celebrants Programme.
Section 120 of the Act provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters that the Act requires or permits to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out and giving effect to the Act.
Paragraph 39C(1)(b) of the Act provides that a person is only entitled to be a Commonwealth‑registered marriage celebrant if the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants is satisfied that the person has all the qualifications, and/or skills, determined in writing to be necessary by the Registrar in accordance with regulations made for the purpose of this paragraph.
Regulation 37F of the Marriage Regulations 1963 (the Regulations) provides that a Certificate IV in Celebrancy means a qualification with that name awarded by a registered training organisation, that includes all the units mentioned in subparagraph 37G(1)(a)(ii).
Regulation 37G of the Regulations provides, for the purposes of section 39C of the Act, the qualifications and skills required for registration as a marriage celebrant. Subregulation 37G(1)(a) of the Regulations provides that the Determination must require the person to have either: a celebrancy qualification (however described) from a university, mentioned in the Determination, that includes all the units the Registrar determines to be necessary for registration as a marriage celebrant and are provided in accordance with the requirements in subregulation 37G(2); or a Certificate IV in Celebrancy that includes all the units the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants determines to be necessary for registration as a marriage celebrant.
Subregulation 37G(2) of the Regulations provides requirements for subregulation 37G(1)(a) including that each unit must include all the materials that the Registrar determines must be used in the unit.
The Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Determination 2009 (the Determination) commenced on 24 December 2009 and specifies the skills or qualifications an applicant seeking to become a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, under section 39C of the Act, must hold. It also requires certain training materials to be used in the delivery of a formal course of training that will award the required qualifications.
The Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Amendment Determination 2016 (No. 2) (the Amendment Determination) is made by the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants under regulation 37G of the Marriage Regulations 1963. The Amendment Determination remakes an earlier determination dated 23 March 2016 (the Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Amendment Determination 2016 (No. 1)). This is being done to address a technical issue which was identified in relation to the date on which the earlier determination was made.
The Amendment Determination amends the Determination.
Purpose
A revised Certificate IV in Celebrancy qualification was released in December 2015, which consolidated the previous four marriage celebrancy units into three marriage celebrancy units. The purpose of the Amendment Determination is to recognise completion of the three revised units (as well as the four previous units) for registration as a marriage celebrant. The units are fundamental to gaining the knowledge required for marriage celebrants to meet their ongoing legal obligations. The Amendment Determination removes the transitional period for using the prescribed Forms and Schedules of the Marriage Regulations 1963 from paragraph 5(3)(e) and the reference to the end of the transitional period in paragraph 5(3)(f). The reference to the approved Form for purposes of paragraph 39H(4)(a) of the Act is removed. This is an administrative form and is not required to be completed by marriage celebrants. The Amendment Determination continues to ensure that the most up‑to‑date materials are used in the delivery of training to aspiring marriage celebrants.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in the making of the Amendment Determination as the instrument is consequential and machinery in nature and does not substantially alter existing arrangements.
Regulatory Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation was consulted about the Determination and advised that a Regulatory Impact Statement is not required as the amendments are minor and machinery in nature.
Commencement
The Determination commences the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Marriage (Celebrancy qualifications or skills) Amendment Determination 2016 (No. 2)
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Human rights implications
The Amendment Determination does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Amendment Determination is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.