Notarial Services

 

The Australian Consulate-General will provide notarial services for clients between 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday only.

Appointments can be booked via http://acgcd.setmore.com.

If you are unable to make an appointment within the advertised hours and have valid reasons, you can either call 028-62685200 or send an email to [email protected]  to schedule another appointment.  

Please click here to check the notarial services the Consulate provides.

Booking Policy

Clients should arrive 5 minutes prior to appointments for security screening.  If you arrive late for your appointment you may need to wait until an officer is available. Bookings can be made 3 weeks in advance.  We request that you do not book more than one appointment at a time.  Please refer to your notification email if you need to amend or cancel your appointment. 

Please Note:

Please ensure that documents relating to notarial services you require from the Australian Consulate-General, are presented in the correct form and that you provide the correct instructions for witnessing any signatures on the documents. If you are unsure of the legislative requirements relating to witnessing signatures on a particular document, you should seek independent legal advice. Please note, by witnessing a signature on a document neither the Australian Government nor the Australian Consulate-General in Chengdu guarantees the legal effectiveness of the document or the accuracy of its contents.

 

Fees

Under the Consular Fees Act of 1955 a fee applies to notarial services. Consular Fees are updated on a monthly basis with floating exchange rate. 

 

Selling or buying land or property in Australia

The Australian Consulate-General does not allow urgent appointments for selling or buying land or property in Australia.

It is a requirement that written instructions from your legal representative in Australia be provided in addition to the land documents you need witnessed or certified. Where instructions from your legal representative are not provided, the service will be declined.

More information is available from Smartraveller under the "Selling or buying land or property in Australia" section.

Who else can do this?

Check with your representative to see if someone else can witness or certify your documents.  Each state has different requirements, for example:

• Queensland – witness can be notary publics, or Australian or New Zealand registered lawyers. This information is available from the Queensland Government https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/titles-property-construction/titles-property/transactions/death-joint-tenant/signing-and-witnessing
• New South Wales - an eligible witness can be anyone who is over 18 years of age and is not a party to the transaction and has known the person who is signing the dealing as a party to the transaction for at least a year or has taken reasonable steps to confirm the identity of that person. This information is available from the New South Wales Government http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/163348/Witnessing_obligations_Real_Property_Act_dealings.pdf
• Victoria – We cannot complete Victorian Land Transfers Duties Form 6A at the Consulate under section 107A(1) of the Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1958. They can be witnessed by a notary public, justice of the peace, an Australian lawyer among others. A full list is available from the Victorian Government http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/home/justice+system/legal+assistance/statutory+declarations. This legislation is currently under review by the Victorian Government and will hopefully be updated to include consular officers. You should discuss this with your representative.   
• Western Australia – Transfer of Land Act 1893 includes other witnesses like a Notary public, Australian qualified lawyer, Australian qualified engineer or an Australian qualified teacher. Discuss this with your representative and see the Transfer of Land Act 1893 for a full list http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/tola1893160/s145.html.
• South Australia –  According to the Registrar-General's Verification of Identity Requirements the identity declarant must be an adult who has known the person for 12 months, not related and not a party to the transaction OR a Bank Manager, a Community Leader, Court Officer, Medical Practitioner, Land Council Officeholder, Local Government Officeholder, Nurse, Public Servant, Legal Practitioner, Conveyancer or Police Officer.  This information is available from The South Australian Government https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/planning-and-property/land-and-property-development/conveyancing-and-surveying-professionals/registrar-generals-statutory-instruments/verification-of-identity-requirements-for-conveyancing.

 

Alternative Providers of Notarial Services

Not all documents must be signed by a consular officer, and in fact, there are some documents that we are not authorised to sign at all.  You should always check with your representative or legal adviser if there are alternatives to having your documents signed or witnessed by an Australian consular officer.

A consular officer is not a Justice of the Peace (JP) or Notary Public.

The Consular Section takes no responsibility should the witnessed/certified documents fail to meet the criteria specified or the intended purpose.  It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the documents are acceptable once witnessed/certified by an Australian consular official in China.

Alternative notarial service providers can be found here.

 

Statutory Declarations

The Consulate can only witness an Australian Statutory Declaration for use in Australia by an Australian entity.

Statutory Declarations must be written in English, however clients may include their own translation within the space provided prior to signing.

More information is available at smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents/Pages/overseas.aspx#statutory-declarations.

 

Privacy Policy

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) uses third-party software (Setmore) to manage the Consulate-General's appointments.  Your personal information (including your name and contact details) will be collected by DFAT via Setmore to book your appointment and for related purposes.  By proceeding with this booking, you are consenting to the collection of this information by Setmore on DFAT's behalf for these purposes.  If this information is not collected, DFAT's ability to arrange your appointment will be limited.  Your personal information will be handled by Setmore in accordance with Setmore's Privacy Policy, and by DFAT in accordance with DFAT's Privacy Policy.