Statutory Declaration | Statutory Declarations Act 1959

A statutory declaration is a formal statement of fact that the declarant solemnly and sincerely declares to be true, made under the authority of a specific Act rather than under oath on a religious text. That distinction matters. A declaration is not sworn evidence in the way an affidavit is, and it is generally used for administrative rather than courtroom purposes. Where an affidavit supports litigation and is filed with a court, a stat dec confirms facts for a bank, a government agency, an insurer, or an employer. The legal weight comes from the criminal consequences attached to lying, not from a religious oath.

There are two parallel systems in Australia, and choosing the right one is the single most important decision you make. A Commonwealth statutory declaration is used for matters that fall under federal law or federal agencies, such as Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office, Medicare, or many superannuation and passport matters. A state or territory statutory declaration is used for matters governed by state law, and each jurisdiction has its own prescribed form and its own list of who may witness it. Our template covers both tracks and flags which one your situation calls for, because a Commonwealth form lodged where a state form is required (or the reverse) is often rejected on sight, regardless of how truthful its contents are. If you are dealing with a broader life-admin task, our Australian personal legal documents collection sits alongside this form for wills, powers of attorney, and health-decision appointments.

Commonwealth statutory declarations are governed by the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (Cth) and the Statutory Declarations Regulations 2023. Since 1 January 2024, following the Statutory Declarations Amendment Act 2023, a Commonwealth declaration can be validly made in three ways that are all equally effective in law: traditional paper execution with a wet-ink signature witnessed in person, electronic execution with an electronic signature witnessed over an audio-visual link, and fully digital execution through an approved online platform using a verified digital identity. At present myGov paired with myID is the only approved platform for the witness-free digital route, though the Act leaves room for others to be approved once they meet the prescribed fraud and privacy standards. You can confirm the current framework and the authorised witness list through the Attorney-General's Department guidance on Commonwealth statutory declarations.

State and territory declarations run on their own statutes, and the differences are real. Victoria uses the Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018, New South Wales the Oaths Act 1900 (NSW), Queensland the Oaths Act 1867, and Western Australia the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005. Each Act prescribes the exact declaration wording, the categories of authorised witness, and in most cases now permits remote witnessing by audio-visual link. The witness must see you sign, must be satisfied you have capacity and are not acting under coercion, and must complete their own section in the same sitting. A declaration witnessed by someone outside the authorised list is invalid, and you will need to redo it. One structural point worth absorbing early: the witness is never responsible for whether your statements are true. That liability sits entirely with you, the declarant.

The most common trigger is a mismatch or gap in official records. A birth certificate spells your name one way and your bank another, a marriage or deed poll has not filtered through to every institution, or a document has been lost and you need to formally declare that fact before a replacement is issued. Insurers lean on statutory declarations heavily, asking for a formal account of a car accident, a theft, or a loss where there is no police report to rely on. Superannuation funds request them to confirm dependency, identity, or the circumstances behind a death benefit claim.

Employment and business situations generate their own share. You might declare that you have no conflicting directorships, confirm your residency status for a visa or tax matter, or verify income when standard payslips do not exist because you are self-employed. Families use them constantly, from confirming a relationship for a Centrelink assessment to declaring who a child normally lives with. If you are setting up a company or confirming officeholder details, the form often pairs with a company constitution under the Corporations Act or sits beside an Australian employment contract when an employer needs a declared fact on file.

Two edge cases legitimately catch people out. First, a declaration made on information and belief rather than personal knowledge must say so and state the source, or an agency may reject it as overreaching. Second, if there is any question about the declarant's decision-making capacity, the timing and witnessing become critical, because a declaration signed under family pressure or late-stage illness is exactly the kind that gets challenged later.

• The declarant identification block captures your full legal name, address, and occupation exactly as they appear on your identity documents. Institutions cross-check this against the identification you present, so a nickname or an abbreviated address is a frequent cause of rejection at the counter.
• The solemn declaration wording reproduces the statutory language your jurisdiction requires, whether it is the Commonwealth form under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 or a state form such as the Oaths Act 1900 (NSW) eighth schedule. Using the wrong jurisdiction's phrasing is the error that most often invalidates an otherwise honest declaration.
• The statement of facts is where you set out what you are declaring, numbered by paragraph for clarity. Where your knowledge is second-hand, the template prompts you to identify it as based on information and belief and to name the source, which keeps the declaration defensible.
• The witness attestation section records the authorised witness's name, their qualifying capacity such as Justice of the Peace, legal practitioner, pharmacist, or police officer, and their signature. For remote execution it includes the audio-visual link wording that confirms the witness saw you sign.
• The false-statement warning carries the statutory caution that making a knowingly false declaration is a criminal offence. This is not decorative language. It is the mechanism that gives the whole document its legal force.

Victoria operates under the Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018, which replaced the older 2006 regime and prescribes a specific statutory declaration form. Only statements made on the current form are valid, and the list of authorised witnesses is defined by regulation rather than left open. The Act permits witnessing by audio-visual link under section 30A, subject to the witness seeing the declarant sign. A knowingly false statement is treated with real seriousness in Victoria, and the penalties for making false statements on oath or declaration are among the heaviest in the country. Anyone signing in Victoria should confirm their intended witness sits within the prescribed list before attending, because a well-meaning but unauthorised witness voids the document.

New South Wales uses the Oaths Act 1900 (NSW), which offers two alternative forms, the eighth and ninth schedules, differing mainly in their wording. Authorised witnesses within the state are typically a Justice of the Peace, an Australian legal practitioner, or a notary public, and the witness must see the declarant's face and be satisfied as to identity. Under section 25 of the Act, wilfully making a false declaration is an indictable offence carrying up to 5 years imprisonment, with substantial fines applying in the Local Court. NSW also penalises anyone who purports to witness a declaration without authority, so both sides of the signing carry legal exposure.

Queensland relies on the Oaths Act 1867, one of the oldest statutes still in force, supplemented by modern amendments that allow electronic signing and audio-visual witnessing. The authorised witness list is specific and includes Justices of the Peace, commissioners for declarations, legal practitioners, and certain special witnesses under part 6A. Queensland forms prompt the declarant to state the source of any fact declared on information and belief, and the witness must record their qualifying capacity precisely. A false statement is a criminal offence, and the declaration should never be signed before the witness is present.

Western Australia applies the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005, which requires the declaration to follow the form in Schedule 1. The Act sets clear witness categories and attaches a penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment for taking a declaration while not authorised to do so. As with the other states, WA now accommodates remote witnessing, but the declarant and witness must complete the process in a single continuous session so the witness genuinely observes the signature.

You begin by telling the form whether your matter is Commonwealth or state, because that single choice sets the declaration wording, the witness rules, and the available signing methods. From there you enter your full legal name, residential address, and occupation as they appear on your identity documents, then draft the body of your statement in short numbered paragraphs, keeping each fact separate and precise. If any fact rests on what someone told you rather than what you saw yourself, the form guides you to flag it as based on information and belief and to name the source. Once the statement reads cleanly, you select your execution route. For a Commonwealth declaration you can print and sign before an authorised witness, sign electronically and witness over video, or complete the witness-free digital path through myGov if that suits your matter. For a state declaration you attend an authorised witness in your jurisdiction, sign in their presence, and let them complete the attestation block. The template outputs an editable Word and PDF personal document so you have a clean copy to lodge and one to keep.

The mistake that sends most people back to the counter is choosing the wrong jurisdiction. A Commonwealth form presented to a state agency, or a NSW form used for a federal super claim, gets rejected on the wording alone even though every fact in it is true. Close behind is the unauthorised witness. People assume any respectable adult will do, but each state defines its list narrowly, and a retired professional who no longer holds the qualifying role no longer counts. Signing before the witness is present is another quiet killer, because the witness must actually see you sign for the attestation to be valid, whether in person or over an audio-visual link.

The remaining errors are about content and care. Declaring facts on information and belief without saying so, and without naming the source, can render a declaration unusable for the very purpose you needed it. Leaving margins, alterations, or attached pages uninitialled invites suspicion and delay. And the most serious of all is treating the form casually. A statutory declaration is a criminal instrument, and a knowingly false statement can lead to imprisonment. Read your own statement twice before you sign, because the liability is yours alone and the witness carries none of it.