Earlier this year, on April 30, a new NSW Law “Ruling 003” came into place in NSW, which requires new identification requirements in the making of all Statutory Declarations, Oaths & Affidavits. The ruling requires all the documents to have two very specific two part questions/statements relating to a witness “seeing the face of” and “knowing a deponent” before the JPs or any other authorised person can witness any such documents.
The initial advice from the Attorney General’s Dept to all NSW JPs was that this ruling only applied to NSW documents and did not include Commonwealth or interstate (Queensland) documents, however the TVJPs received solicitors’ advice that the NSW Law Society had issued the legal advice that any and all such documents signed and witnessed within NSW required the new questions/statements to be in place and answered by the witness.
As this was conflicting advice, the president of the TVJPs Colleen Berry sought advice from the AG’s Dept. At first the AG’s Dept. stood by their initial advice but, after being shown the actual documentation as shown in the Mason & Handler “Succession Law And Practice New South Wales” handbook which is the NSW Law legal guideline, the AG’s Dept immediately sent all the documentation received from the TVJPs to the NSW Crown Solicitor for a final Legal Ruling. This may take some time before any decision is handed down, despite the matter being given high priority.
In the meantime, the members of the TVJPs have been advised not to witness any QLD or Commonwealth Documentation as, whilst the incorrect witnessing may not invalidate the documents, the JPs themselves could face heavy penalties for incorrectly witnessing a document if a matter was to be taken before the courts.
The TVJP members have had to turn many people away from their tables in the Tweed shopping malls, much to the ire of some members of the public, who now have to find a JP in nearby Coolangatta. The TVJPs are hoping that the matter can soon be resolved but asks for the patience and understanding of all persons requiring QLD documents to be witnessed.
Colleen Berry JP NSW
President TVJP’s Assoc Inc
& Vice President Alliance of NSW Justices’ Assoc Inc
