Notarial Services available

Boris Mutavdzija is a Lawyer & Notary Public.

He is a member of The Society of Notaries of Victoria, Australia.

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To make an appointment to discuss your need for having a notarial certificate prepared for your documents and the notary’s affixed to the certificate, please call Boris Mutavdzija on 0438 888 009.   Alternatively, you can send an email through our contact page and we will be in contact to provide you with preliminary information, and make an appointment for you.

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When you make an appointment you will be asked to provide details about:

1. the purpose of the appointment.

2. the documents for which you require a notarial seal and signature; and

3. the county to which the documents shall ultimately be sent.

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You may be asked to send scanned copies of the documents in advance of your appointment as well as documents to verify your identity.

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Urgent Appointments

Although we understand that you may have a limited time period to have the Notary intervene, please remember that as most Notaries are practising lawyers, they are usually very busy. We will try and fit you in where possible in the shortest amount of time and usually on the same day.

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We do not accept “walk- in” appointments and a prior email of telephone call is necessary.

On occasions, we may need to travel to see you at your office but this is limited to long-standing and regular clients.

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Why do I need a Notary Public ?

In order to use certain documents in a jurisdiction outside Australia, you may be required to have such documents legalised (‘Notarised’) for use in that country.

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Foreign countries often have a legal requirement within their system for documents to be authenticated in a particular way when they are signed overseas (for example signed in Victoria).   The most common system of doing this is for the person who needs to sign the document, to appear before a Notary.   Most countries in the world accept documents where a person who is overseas (in the sense of overseas from that country) where the person appears before a local Notary.   For example documents that are required in Greece, Germany, France, Norway, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Thailand, China, India, Bahrain, all achieve authentication through being signed in Victoria before a Notary.   There are over 180 countries that accept the process of a Victoria Notarial Intervention.

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In a technical sense, Notaries are necessary because in a foreign country the legal requirements of that foreign country include a requirement that someone outside that foreign country (for example in Victoria, Australia) must appear before a Notary (again for example a Victoria Notary) in order that the documents that need to be signed or notarised are properly authenticated by the local Notary in order to give those documents validity in the foreign country.

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The work of Notaries is essential to commercial certainty and business efficacy in international dealings.   Notarial practice is fundamental as a safeguard against fraud and forgery in international dealings.

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The signature seal of the Notary allows people in foreign jurisdictions to be confident about the authenticity of documents and the identity of the person or people with whom they are dealing.

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Services provided by a Notary

Notarisation refers to any act that must be performed by a Notary Public. This may include administering oaths and affirmations, taking affidavits and statutory declarations, witnessing and authenticating the execution of certain classes of documents, taking acknowledgments of deeds, preparing protest notes and bills of exchanges, and preparing marine protests in cases of damage.

We offer the following services:

• Certification of copies (including passports, educational qualifications and birth, death and marriage certificates)

• Notarisation of company documents (including minutes, resolutions, constitutions, shareholder agreements and certificates)

• Notarisation of trade mark documents

• Taking affidavits, statutory declarations, powers of attorneys, contracts/deeds, wills and security documents for use in overseas court cases; Notarisation of any document for use by an overseas government department or institution

• Advise on obtaining an Apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

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Who can be a Notary?

To become a Notary in Victoria a person must have practiced as a principal lawyer for at least five years, be of good fame and character, be competent to act as a Notary and be appointed by the Supreme Court of Victoria. The legislation in Victoria that governs the appointment of Notaries is the Public Notaries Act 2001.

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Can a Justice of the Peace Carry Out a Role as a Notary?

A Justice of the Peace cannot act as a Notary. They are different roles. If the person you are dealing with overseas advises you to go to a Notary, there is no Justice of the Peace who can carry out the role required.  A Justice of the Peace has, what is usually called, a “domestic role”, in that they are authorised by law to sign, witness and certify documents for use within Victoria, and in some circumstances other states and territories in Australia.   This domestic role of a Justice of the Peace cannot be compared to the international role of a Notary. A Notary generally will not carry out Notarial Acts where the document is for use within Australia, even where they are authorised at law to do so.

All Notaries’ seals and signatures must be officially recorded in a data base held by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), who is authorised to issue apostille or authentication certificates certifying that the signatures, seals or stamps of Notaries on documents are authentic.

 

How many Notaries are there in Victoria?

There are less than 200 persons in Victoria who hold the special office of Notary Public, one of whom is Boris Mutavdzija.

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Where can a Victoria Notary operate their practice?

The geographical limits of a Victorian Notary is only in the State of Victoria. They cannot practice as a Notary outside Tasmania, unless they obtain an appointment as a Notary within the other relevant state or territory.  Notaries from overseas, and from other states and territories of Australia, cannot act as a Notary in Victoria.

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Notarial work undertaken by Boris Mutavdzija for Individual and Corporate Clients.

Boris Mutavdzija provides a wide range of Notarial services for individuals and corporate clients that may include:

• Witnessing Signature on Affidavit, Statutory Declaration, Power of Attorney, Contracts and more

• Certifying documents – such as passports, university testamurs and letters of enrolment, drivers licence, utility bills

• Company Status Verification – ASIC Certificate of Registration, company searches

• Verification of Identity and Signature

• Organising translation of foreign language documents and more Notary Public services in Melbourne

• Providing certifications and certified copies of original documents

• Arranging an Apostille or Authentication from DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) or other Consular Authentication

• Providing various Notarial Certificates for private clients

• Dealing with documentation which relates to someone who has died, and the documentation about that death, or the estate of the person who has died needs to be used overseas, including Wills, Contracts and Deeds.

• Dealing with documentation for land and property overseas

• Dealing with documentation which relate to a private client’s claim to citizenship of an overseas country

• Authenticating official Government documents and information, for use overseas by private clients

• The exemplification of documents for use internationally

• Providing certificates of being alive, where this is required for the payment of pensions or payment of income streams during life. These are some time called “Life Certificates”

• Providing Notarial certificates for companies and other entities where the Notarial certificate relates to corporate governance, reports, resolutions and minutes

• Prepare ships’ protests

• Documents involving intellectual property which require verification, authentication and certificates of deeds, declarations and related documents

• Advice on and preparation of Certificates of Good Standing for corporations and entities

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What is the difference between notarising documents for individuals and companies?

If a document is to be signed by an individual and witnessed by a notary public, the notary public shall need to verify the identification of the individual. This is a simple matter of the individual bringing 100 points of identification (such as a current drivers licence or passport) to the appointment. Please note that the notary shall require you to bring in original identification documents and it is at the sole discretion of the notary as to whether they accept the identification.

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If the document is to be signed by an authorised representative of a company, the authorised representative shall need to bring 100 points of identification and also documentation evidencing that that they are authorised to sign documents on behalf of the company. It is up to the notary to determine whether the evidence given is sufficient, and the notary may refuse to attest the signature of the authorised signatory in the event that they not satisfied.

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Please be aware the notary shall need to make and keep copies of the identification and authority documents for our records.

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Are there different legalisation requirements for different countries?

Yes. The legalisation process may require 3 different processes as follows (depending on the country where the document is to be used):

• Commonwealth Countries – if a document is to be legalised for use in a British dominion (member of the Commonwealth), the only legalisation requirement should be notarisation by an Australian notary public. Countries in the British dominion include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island.

• Hague Convention Countries – if a document is to be legalised for use in a Hague Convention Country (a country that has signed onto the Hague Convention), the document should first be notarised, before it is taken to DFAT for an apostille certificate

• Non-Hague Convention Countries – If a document is to be legalised in a non-Hague Convention Country (i.e. a country not on the list above such as the United Arab Emirates) the document shall need to be notarised, taken to DFAT and legalised and then the document shall need to be presented to the relevant embassy or consulate for attestation.

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Please note that the above three steps are what one would generally expect to have to carry out in order to legalise your documents. However, different embassies or consulates may require additional documents or steps to be carried out. The above is only a basic guide. 

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I am planning on moving overseas to live as an expat – what documents might I need?

If you are planning on travelling abroad to live the expat dream you may need certain documents legalised for use in that country. For instance, if you are married and moving to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with your spouse, you should take a fully legalised copy of your marriage certificate with you. This is so that you may show the authorities there that you are legally married, and as such, allowed to live together. It is against the laws of the UAE for an unmarried couple to live together.

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Just as important as your marriage certificate, you should arrange to have your credentials notarised and fully legalised for use in the United Arab Emirates. Prior to commencement of employment in the UAE, your employer may need to submit your fully legalised credentials to the UAE Department of Immigration in order to obtain your visa.

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Fees

Notaries are free to set their own fees. Our fees are generally charged in accordance with The Society of Notaries of Victoria's Scale Charges.

As an indication, for one document requiring the Notary's stamp and signature, the fee will commence at A$125.00 + GST.

For more complex documents and services, Notaries will charge by time. 

 

Fees for both individuals and companies are payable immediately after the appointment or, if further services are to be provided, upon collection of the notarised documents.

 

DFAT Fees

Some documents require Apostille or Authentication Stamps from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). 

Apostille DFAT Fee: $85
Authentication DFAT Fee: $85

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OUR OPTIONAL ADD-ON SERVICES

If you require our office to arrange DFAT stamping for you, our administration services fee is $165.

If you are overseas and require us to notarise and arrange DFAT stamping, there is an additional administration fee of $110. If you are overseas, email Boris at boris@sternlegal.com.au

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Notary Public Fees FAQ

Are your fees lower than other Notaries?

You will no doubt find that our fees are most competitive. Moreover, we are available to notarise documents 7 days a week. Our objective is to offer our clients value for money by providing outstanding service and using our extensive experience.

There is no extra cost for the provision of Notarial Services After Hours and on Weekends.

 

Why are the fees of other Notaries higher?

Our notarial practice is able to remain very competitive on price due to economies of scale. This means that we are able to keep our notarial services cost-effective as we have a very large client-base that regularly requires documents to be notarised. We pride ourselves on providing a value for money notarial service that allows us to quickly and efficiently notarise documents and have documentation authenticated for overseas use.

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Do you charge an hourly rate or a fixed price for Notarial Services?

We endeavour to provide you with a fixed-price estimate prior to the provision of notarial services. A final estimate can only be issued once we have a full understanding of the services required, and after inspection of the documents to be notarised. The reason for this is that we need to ascertain the document’s intended use and whether it needs an Apostille or Authentication Stamp from the Department of Foreign Trade and Affairs (DFAT) before it can be used overseas. If you can outline what is specifically required, we are usually able to provide you with an immediate estimate.

 

How can I receive an estimate of the cost of the Notarial Services?

For an obligation-free estimate, simply contact Boris directly on 0438888009.

 

A final estimate will be issued after a physical inspection of the documents and when we have a complete understanding of the services you require from our firm. Our objective is to provide an easy to understand, transparent estimate that allows you to clearly see the costs that you are likely to incur when using our notarial services. Once you have agreed to our estimate, we will be happy to proceed with providing you with the requested services.

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Our firm will be able to provide with an estimate straight away if you can:

• Clearly identify the type of document/s you would like notarised

• Describe the intended purpose of the document/s to be notarised

• Confirm the destination country of the document/s

• State whether you have been advised that the document/s needs an Apostille or an Authentication certificate from DFAT

 

Please be aware that our Notarial fees may change in accordance with your specific requirements.

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How much does the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) charge?

DFAT charges fees for the issuing of Apostilles and Authentication Stamps. The cost is dependent on the number of documents and whether these documents are bound. Currently DFAT charges $85 for one Apostille Stamp and $85 for an Authentication Stamp.

 

Do you charge for travelling to a client’s office?

Our firm charges clients a travelling fee consisting of the time taken to and from the place where the notarial services are provided. This fee is in addition to the fee for notarial services but is at a lower hourly rate.

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Are there any other costs that I may incur?

We supply our clients with fixed-fee estimates. These estimates will outline our fee for notarial services plus any other additional costs. These costs may include but are not limited to:

• Filing fees (applications to DFAT for Apostilles and Authentications)

• Postage (for lodgement with DFAT and/or consulates)

• Out of pocket expenses

 

You can either have our firm send your documents overseas, or you may prefer to arrange your own courier to reduce additional costs associated with using our notarial and administration services.

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Which payment methods do you accept?

The accepted payment methods are cash, cheques and EFTPOS.

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Do you have credit terms?

Our firm does not extend credit terms to clients. On request or completion of notarial services, payment is due and payable.

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When can I expect to receive a Tax invoice or Receipt?

Our Administration Team will issue you with a Tax Invoice/Receipt after your appointment. Please advise our team at the time of payment if you require your Tax Invoice/Receipt to be issued to a third party.