Costs for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants

All charges for marriage celebrants

We charge to cover the cost of managing the Marriage Celebrant Program.

These include:

• Annual charge for registered celebrants -  $170
• Apply to not pay the annual charge for 1 year - $30
• Apply to not complete ongoing professional development for 1 year - $30

We cannot refund any payments.

Annual charge for Commonwealth-registered celebrants

You must pay a yearly charge to renew your registration as a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant. The annual charge for registered celebrants is $170.

We will send you an invoice in July every year. If you don’t pay it, you will be deregistered.

In special situations, you can apply to not pay the annual charge for 1 year.

How we send yearly invoices

Invoices are sent by email. If you don’t have an email address, we will post it to you.

You have 60 days to pay the invoice, and you should keep a copy of your payment receipt. A receipt will also be kept in the self-service portal.

If you resign as a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant before the invoice is due for payment, you don’t need to pay it.

We cannot refund any payments.

Apply to not pay the annual charge for 1 year

You may be allowed to not pay the annual registration charge for 1 year if:

• you live in a remote or very remote area, and
• there is not more than 1 Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant who has the same postcode as you, or
• you won’t live in Australia at all during the financial year (July to June), or
• you won’t be solemnising marriages for at least 6 months due to serious illness or caring responsibilities

You must apply within 21 days of receiving the invoice for that year’s charge. Include any information or documents to support your claims.

There is a $30 fee to apply. But you won’t need to pay the annual registration charge for 1 year if we approve your application.

You must still complete your OPD unless you apply to not complete your OPD for 1 year.

Complete the ‘exemption application’ process in the self-service portal to apply.

How we make a decision

We will write to you and tell you what we decide within 21 days. You won’t be deregistered while we make our decision.

If your application is successful, you won’t need to pay the annual charge for that year. To be exempt from payment in future years, you will need to apply again.   

If we tell you that your application is unsuccessful, you will need to pay the full registration charge for the year. If you don’t, you will be deregistered.

Ask us to review the decision

You can write to us and ask for a review of the decision. You must do this within 14 days of receiving our decision. You may need to give us more supporting evidence for your application.

Another officer who was not involved in the first decision will review it.

They will either agree or disagree with the decision.

If they agree, you will need to pay your annual registration charge. If they disagree, we will approve your application and you won’t need to pay.

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