Drafting and making a statutory declaration
A statutory declaration is a written statement of fact that the maker declares to be true, under legislation that makes a false declaration an offence. Most of what goes wrong with them goes wrong before the witness is ever involved.
Statutory declarations are the most common witnessed document in Australia. They are used to prove identity, to state a fact no other record establishes, to support an application, and to satisfy a contractual precondition to payment.
The first question is almost always the one people skip: which law is the declaration made under? A declaration for a federal department is made under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (Cth). A declaration required by a state Act, a state court or a contract governed by state law is made under that state's legislation. The answer decides the form, the authorised witness class, and whether it can be witnessed by video link at all. It is not decided by where the person making it happens to live.
The second is whether a declaration is the right instrument. Where the statement is to be used as evidence in a proceeding, a court will generally require an affidavit instead, and a declaration will be rejected at the registry.
The articles here cover the drafting itself - structure, the opening words, what may be stated as fact and what must be qualified as belief - and then the specific declarations that come up most: identity and change of name, visa and citizenship support, insurance claims, tenders, and declarations accompanying a progress claim.
Articles in this guide
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 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 articleThe 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.
Read articleThe law where your document is made
Which law your document is made under decides its form, who may witness it, and whether it can be witnessed by video link.
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