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Apostille Meaning Australia

Swift Notary
August 2024
5 min read

What is the meaning of Apostille in Australia?

An Apostille confirms the authenticity of a document's signature, seal, or stamp and the authority of the person or organisation that issued it for countries that are members of the Apostille Convention. An Apostille certifies a document so that the document can be recognised in a foreign country that is a member of the Apostille Convention.

An Apostille is a 9x9 cm square which sets out the details of the country where the document was issued, the authority of the person or organisation that issued the document, the date of the Apostille, the DFAT issuing officers name, the seal and stamp of DFAT and the Apostille number.

What is the difference between an Apostille and Authentication?

Apostille and Authentication are two processes used to verify the authenticity of documents for overseas use.

An Apostille certificate is used for documents that are intended for use in countries which are members of the Apostille Convention. An Apostille is issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Australia. Once the document has been Apostilled, the document will be recognised in the foreign country. There are no other steps required.

If the destination country of the document is not a member of the Hague Convention, then the document needs to be Authenticated by DFAT and legalised by the Foreign Embassy or Consulate in Australia. An Authentication Certificate, similar to an Apostille, confirms the authenticity of a document's signature, seal or stamp and the authority of the person or organisation that issued it. However, for the authenticated document to be recognised in the destination country it must also be presented to the foreign Embassy or Consulate in Australia for legalisation once it has been authenticated by DFAT.

Legalisation by the foreign Embassy or Consulate in Australia is not required if the country is a member of the Apostille Convention and the document has been stamped with an Apostille. Therefore, the Apostille Convention simplifies the process of certifying documents for overseas by removing the need for the document to be legalised by the foreign Embassy or Consulate in Australia. For countries that are members of the Apostille Convention, an Apostille stamp by DFAT is sufficient for the document to be recognised in that country.

It is important that the correct process is followed for the destination country as making the wrong selection between Apostille or Authentication will result in the document being rejected by the destination country.

Why Choose Swift Notary

Swift Notary is the only Notary Public in Australia which provides transparent pricing - all of our Notary Public, Apostille, Authentication and Legalisation services are available to book and pay online instantly. Our online booking platform will provide you with an instant price for your selected services. Simply follow this link to our booking platform to get started! We provide complimentary express postage of your completed documents anywhere in Australia. Need a PDF of your document or your document to be sent overseas? We can arrange that too.
Please note that these guides are intended to provide a general guide and information and should not be relied upon as legal or other professional advice.
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"Only 5 stars available? Surely not! 10 stars for 'Elle' at Swift Notary Public! ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆. Fantastic communication; detailed and regular updates, personable and professional, knowledgeable and humble.I appreciated the thorough authentication service. Very thankful that such a service is available. Moreover, that I chose Swift Notary."
CLARE
Sydney, NSW
"Swift Notary provided one of the most impressive services I have received from a business. Their clear and timely communication was perfect, the speed in completing my request was far faster than my expectation and the professional yet friendly approach was how every business should interact with their clients. 10 out of 10! Thank you once again Swift Notary"
ERNESTO
Northern Rivers, NSW
"Exceptional service! I highly recommend the Swift Notary team for their prompt, friendly and professional service. Thank you again for making it so easy"
BREANNA
Perth, WA
"Swift by name and nature! We visited Swift Notary to get a document notarised as well as the Apostille. We visited Rhys on Friday morning who was super friendly and helpful. Our document was with DFAT that same day and it was in our hands by the following Tuesday! This saved us so much time and hassle. Thank you!"
MICHAELA
Sydney, NSW
"Excellent customer service and the process to complete the Apostille stamp on my documents was super efficient. Turnaround in 48 hours. Highly recommend this service"
YVONNE
Sydney, NSW
"Thank you so much for your help. Awesome communication! Was a very seamless and stress free experience. Highly recommend"
ANTHONY
Brisbane, QLD
"I highly recommend Swift Notary. I reside in California and needed an Australian Apostille for a document, in a very short period of time. My situation was complex and Swift walked me through the process, timeline etc. They had questions for me and were persistent in contacting me via text , email and a realtime phone call.I was shocked at how they covered all update and communications on all those platforms."
LORI
USA
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THOMAS
Sydney
"Great service from Swift Notary. Our documents were taken care of very quickly and efficiently and we were continually kept informed. Thank you Elle - you have been a pleasure to do business with. See you in El Salvador"
AUDREY
El Salvador
"Swift Notary (and more importantly yourself) have gone absolutely above and beyond for me and I could not thank you enough"
REBECCA
Sydney, NSW
"Had some documents to be notarized + Apostilled urgently and had difficulty getting booked into the Apostille office (as usual). Elle was absolutely proactive in trying to help me get them done within my timeframe and even managed to get it a day earlier than I asked. Very efficient and helpful. Cannot fault any step of the service I received. Beyond 5 star service!"
YVES
South Korea
"I really appreciate how prompt you have been with my enquiries and requests. It is difficult to find this level of customer service these days"
ANDREW
Saudi Arabia
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WILL
Italy
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Saudi Arabia
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Melbourne, VIC
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CHRISTINE
USA
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MABEL
Gold Coast, QLD
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TOM
Brisbane, QLD
"Excellent Service!!! The entire process was faster than I was expecting. Elle is really helpful, friendly and working as per your need and giving regular updates. I am happy to choose Swift Notary and would recommend this service to others. Thank you!"
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India
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GUY
Zimbabwe
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Sydney, NSW