Articles
Practical writing on statutory declarations, affidavits and the mechanics of getting documents witnessed properly in Australia.
The subcontractor payment declaration under AS 2124, AS 4000 and AS 4902
What the payment-of-workers-and-subcontractors clause in the Australian Standard contracts actually requires with each progress claim, who signs the statutory declaration, who may witness it, and why the month-end timing is the hard part.
Read articleSection 75 supporting statements: what a Queensland head contractor must give with every payment claim
Section 75(7) of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) makes it an offence for a head contractor to give a payment claim without a supporting statement. What the statement must say, the penalty, why the claim is still valid without one, and how the witnessed contractual declaration does the same job.
Read articleWhat “properly executed” actually means
Four elements decide whether a witnessed document is valid in Australia: identity, presence, the oral step and attestation. Get those right and the form matters less than people think.
Read articleHow to write a statutory declaration
Structure, opening words, what may be stated as fact and what must be qualified, and the question almost everybody skips: which law is your declaration actually made under.
Read articleHow to draft an affidavit
An affidavit is evidence, and that single fact explains nearly every rule about drafting one. The anatomy, the jurat, first-hand knowledge, exhibits, and what gets struck out.
Read articleAffidavits in New South Wales: form, jurat and practice notes
The NSW affidavit requirements that actually catch people out: Form 40, the signing and pagination rules, section 34 of the Oaths Act, remote witnessing under section 14G, and the practice note restricting generative AI in evidence.
Read articleJustices of the Peace by the numbers
Australia relies on tens of thousands of volunteer Justices of the Peace, and the coverage is wildly uneven between states. What the published figures show, and what they do not.
Read articleRemote witnessing in Australia: where video link works and where it doesn’t
Witnessing by audio-visual link is permanently authorised in most of Australia and authorised nowhere in two states. The state-by-state position, what the witness must actually do, and which documents remain outside the regime.
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Why we can't witness WA or Tasmanian documents online
Every other Australian jurisdiction has authorised witnessing by video link. Western Australia and Tasmania have not. Here is exactly why - and the important exception that means WA and Tasmanian residents can still be served.
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The statutory declaration that holds up your progress claim
Supporting statements and statutory declarations are different documents with different execution requirements. What each one is, who must sign it, and who may witness it.
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