Newsletter for celebrants 23 April 2024

In future, anyone that does not apply on time will be removed as a celebrant and will not be able to marry couples. If they later decide they want to continue being a celebrant, they will need to make a new application, pay the full application fee, and provide new documents.

Secondly, celebrants that didn't perform any ceremonies, or only did one ceremony, during the 12 months prior to the renewal, will be asked to explain why they believe there is a community need for them to be reappointed. If I am satisfied of the reason, the celebrant will be reappointed. Usually, it is only celebrants that have not married any couples that are asked to do this.

Make sure well before the renewal starts that your RealMe Verified Identity is current and active. If you have not already verified your identity or wish to confirm your login details are still correct, visit www.realme.govt.nz. 

Noho ora mai rā, 
Russell

Need to be married urgently 

Marriage and civil union licences may be issued before the 3^rd day after notice was given if:

• the marriage or civil union is not prohibited, and
• the legal requirements has been complied with, and
• the parties would otherwise be inconvenienced.

Evidence will need to be provided:

• If the urgency is due to medical reasons, the couple would generally need to submit a signed letter from a doctor on official hospital letterhead outlining the condition of the family member, including their full name and date of birth.
• If the customer was unaware they needed to apply for a licence, they would need to provide supporting evidence that shows that the wedding had been planned for a reasonable amount of time and that the couple would be greatly inconvenienced. The evidence may include: invitations; dated receipts for wedding purchases such as the venue; catering and wedding attire; email conversations discussing their intended ceremony.

Whether a licence is issued before the 3^rd day, or not, is at the discretion of a Registrar.

Instructions 

• Marriages: One of the parties needs to apply online for the marriage licence and then immediately email MarriageLicence@dia.govt.nz.
• Civil unions: One of the parties needs to email MarriageLicence@dia.govt.nz to discuss how this can be done. That's because it's a paper-based process. In the email they must clearly specify that it is for a 'civil union' licence.

Consent

In your professional judgement, if you believe there may be an absence of consent, you may as politely and courteously as possible, advise the couple that you will not be able to marry them. You could also advise the couple that they can try to find another celebrant at https://celebrants.dia.govt.nz and that their marriage licence is valid for 3 months, until its expiry date.

Absence of consent

Celebrants are not obliged to marry a couple if, for instance, in their professional judgement, a party to the marriage or civil union is showing signs that they do not voluntarily consent.

A marriage or civil union may be void if by reason of duress, mistake, insanity, or for any other reason, there was an absence of consent by either party.

Court consent for 16 and 17 year olds to marry

The consent of a Family Court Judge is required before a 16 or 17 year old can marry. For more information refer to www.justice.govt.nz/family/get-consent-to-marry-if-you-are-16-or-17/

Coerced marriage or civil union

New legislation in 2018 aims to prevent possible forced marriages, where pressure or abuse is used to coerce someone into a marriage against their will. For more information refer to section 207A of the Crimes Act 1961.

Law change in December – Parent titles

From December 2024, parents will be able to select between any of the three options of Parent Title on a Birth Certificate. The options are: Mother, Father or Parent. 

This is likely to have minimal effect on marriages, so is mainly for your information. We are currently working on the operational aspects of how this initiative will be delivered.

Update on our Civil Registration mahi

We have now terminated our contract with the IT vendor who was working on the replacement of our Civil Registration system. Because of this, we have stopped all development work.

Our customers and the key organisations that we work with will not be affected by this decision. You will continue to experience service delivery as you do today. We can confirm our current Civil Registration infrastructure is stable and supported. 

The case for change to improve our Civil Registration systems and processes, and to provide more digital services and improved functionality, remains strong. We will ensure we continue to maintain and enhance our existing systems. However, it is likely that we will not be able to start full replacement work for another few years. 

Investigation of fake wedding 

It has been brought to our attention that a couple may have gone through an imitation marriage ceremony in Aotearoa before going overseas to be legally married. The Department of Internal Affairs is currently investigating what occurred and whether an offence may have been committed.

Potential offences are:

• it is an offence to pretend to be a marriage celebrant and marry a couple. On conviction, the person could be imprisoned for up to 5 years.
• marriage celebrants commit an offence if they encourage or assist someone to pretend to be a celebrant. On conviction, the celebrant could be imprisoned for up to 5 years.
• if a marriage celebrant was involved and they married the couple outside the legal requirements. On conviction, the celebrant could be imprisoned for up to 5 years or a fine of up to $600, or to both.
• it is an offence to make or cause to be made, false statements to cause a false entry to be registered. On conviction, the person could be imprisoned for up to 2 years, or a fine of up to $400, or both.

In addition, if a celebrant was found to have made a serious breach of the law or a serious complaint was verified, they may be removed from the list of celebrants and will no longer be able to marry couples.

While the outcome of the investigation is confidential, this serves as a reminder to celebrants generally, and to not be an accessory before the fact (assisting someone to commit an offence).

If you are aware of a fake or imitation wedding occurring, email the facts to CelebrantFeedback@dia.govt.nz.

Learning and ongoing professional development

You are encouraged to take advantage of the support, learning opportunities and ongoing professional development offered by:

The primary focus of Celebrants Aotearoa is to support members in the creation and delivery of meaningful rituals and ceremonies. As celebrants, members work closely with all we serve to respond to their needs and values.

As a professional organisation, Celebrants Aotearoa strongly encourages all members to undertake celebrant specific training and endorses the two celebrant training providers.

We promote members as the preferred choice of celebrant, enriching Aotearoa New Zealand through the delivery of quality, bespoke personalised ceremonies.

• Web:  www.celebrantsaotearoa.co.nz
• Email:  support@celebrantsaotearoa.co.nz

Training and on-going development are important for any professional, and you can be assured of high-quality, relevant learning when you study with The Celebrant School. Their lecturers are all well-qualified, experienced celebrants and the school has a proud tradition of service to the celebrancy profession. Their Certificate in Celebrant Studies was established over 25 years ago, and its whakapapa is grounded in the cultural and social context of Aotearoa-New Zealand, thoroughly preparing you to meet the diverse needs in your community.

• Web:  www.celebrant.school.nz
• Email:  info@celebrant.school.nz
• Ph:  021 681 958

We provide training for celebrants which is focused, contemporary and relevant to New Zealand today. Many of our students are just beginning their celebrant careers, others are already experienced celebrants who want to develop, or extend, their skills and knowledge. We offer first class, inspiring, best practice training. All our trainers are experienced celebrants and wonderful teachers with a wide range of skills in celebrancy and business and can offer you the very best in training.

• Web:  www.celebranttraining.co.nz
• Email:  training@celebranttraining.co.nz
• Ph:  021 0278 9696