This article was in the Sunday Mail, March 20, 2011
“Crackdown on code breachers.
Dodgy marriage celebrants have been deregistered and slapped with Federal Government warnings after an audit found one in 10 had failed strict new standards.
But Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has moved to assure married couples their unions were legitimate, even if their celebrant was later deregistered.
The results of a Federal government review of celebrants exclusively obtained by the Sunday Mail reveals:
. thirty-five celebrants in 2010 were deregistered, including nine in Queensland;
. Sixty-two celebrants were cautioned, including 15 in Queensland and;
. A further 56 were deregistered after resigning, becoming religious ministers or dying.
Celebrants were deregistered for breaching the Code of Practice under Marriage Regulations, such as failing to undertake yearly training and following protocols.
Some couples complained their celebrants pushed through the ceremony because they were overbooked and failed to deliver what was promised.
Mr McClelland said the vast majority of celebrants did a wonderful job. “To maintain high standards it has been necessary to deregister a small number of celebrants and caution others who are not doing the right thing,” he said.
“I want to make it clear that someone’s marriage is not void if they have been married by a celebrant who is subsequently deregistered. Couples can rely on their official Births, Deaths and Marriages marriage certificate as evidence that the marriage was registered and solemnised in accordance with the Marriage Act 1961.”
New training requirements were introduced in February last year after concerns were raised about lax standards.
A person who registers as a Commonwealth celebrant must hold a Certificate IV in Celebrancy or an equivalent university qualification. It replaces an earlier requirement that a single unit of training was needed.
Mr McClelland said people should check the bona fides of celebrants at
Register of Marriage Celebrants ”
