Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018 resources:
The Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018 makes a number of important changes to the law in Victoria, including:
- Expanding the list of authorised witnesses in Victoria to be consistent with the Commonwealth
- Revising standard forms for statutory declarations and affidavits which include instructional guidance
- Simplifying language for deponents when making declarations/oaths or affirmations
- Providing for ‘reasonable modifications’ for people with disabilities (s 15)
- Clarifying the involvement of people who assist a person to make a statutory declaration (s 32)
- Modifying approaches for illiterate, blind or cognitively impaired persons completing affidavits (s 28) and statutory declarations (s 3(c))
To assist authorised witnesses, the Department of Justice and Community Safety ( DJCS) has prepared a range of guidance materials:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (External link)*
- Certification of true copies (External link)
- Witnessing a statutory declaration (External link)
- Taking an Affidavit (External link)
- Statutory declarations (External link)
- Affidavits (External link) (See link to form)
- Affidavit Witness link (External link) (See link to witnesses)
- Statutory Declaration Witness link (External link) (See link to witnesses)
*Please note that the DJCS will upload additional practice FAQs specifically targeted to honorary justices.
- A5 Declarations/Oaths and Affirmations resource (PDF)
- Word version of Stat Dec Form It is important to note that a transitional period from 1 March 2019 to 31 December 2019 is in place if older versions of the statutory declaration forms are used, and if the authorised witness was listed under the Evidence Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1958 to witness that document the process will be valid for that period only.
- Word version of Affidavit Form
- JP Handbook
- Code of Conduct (PDF)
Guidelines