Statutory Review of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959

Overview

The Attorney-General’s Department is seeking views on the operation of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (the Act) and the Statutory Declarations Regulations 2023 (the Regulations) as part of a statutory review (the review).

Section 16 of the Act requires a review of the operation of the Act to be conducted as soon as practicable after 1 January 2026 (that is, the second anniversary of the commencement of the Statutory Declarations Amendment Act 2023 (the Amendment Act) on 1 January 2024). Under the Act, the review must consider whether the operation of the Act is effective, and whether amendments are necessary or desirable to improve its operation.

The Amendment Act provided Australians with more choice and convenience when making a Commonwealth statutory declaration. The principal change was the launch of a digital service that enables people to make a declaration without a witness, using myID, the Australian Government’s digital ID provider, and myGov. The reforms also permanently enabled the use of electronic signatures and video-link witnessing (following temporary changes enacted during COVID-19), while still retaining the traditional paper-and-ink method.

Discussion Paper

Terms of Reference

The review will examine the following matters in relation to the Act and Regulations:

whether the operation of the Act and Regulations is effective
whether amendments to the Act or Regulations are necessary or desirable to improve their operation.

In considering these matters, the review will examine the following issues:

To what extent has the expansion of execution options improved efficiency and convenience for Australians when making a Commonwealth statutory declaration?
Are current safeguards operating effectively?
Are any changes needed to improve the operation of the Act and Regulations more broadly?

Who we want to hear from

We are seeking the views of those who have experience, expertise or interest in statutory declarations and the operation of the Act and the Regulations. This may include:

any member of the public who uses statutory declarations for business or personal purposes
legal practitioners and peak legal bodies
community associations and other interest groups
academics
government agencies.

How to share your views

We encourage you to provide your responses using the ‘Have your say’ button on this page. This will take you to the consultation platform. Submitting your response through the platform helps us publish responses in a way that all users can access.

You do not need to answer every question. You may respond only to the questions that are relevant to you or your organisation.

We encourage you to refer to the discussion paper while you answer questions on the consultation platform. The discussion paper contains further background information about the consultation questions. You can download it above.

If you are unable to use the consultation platform, you may provide a written submission responding to the questions in the discussion paper by email to our Modernising Document Execution Section at statdec@ag.gov.au.

Privacy Collection Notice More Information

The Privacy Collection Notice outlines how we will collect your personal information, how it will be used and who it may be disclosed to. To participate in the consultation, either via the online survey or by providing feedback via email, you must confirm that you have read and agree to the Privacy Collection Notice.

Privacy Collection Notice

The Attorney-General’s Department (the department/we/us) adheres to the Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). The APPs set out standards, rights and obligations regarding the handling and management of personal information. This includes how we collect, store, use, disclose, quality assure and secure personal information, as well as your rights to access or correct your personal information. The privacy and security of your personal information is important to us and is protected by law.

Further information about the collection of your personal information is provided below.

What personal information is being collected

The Attorney-General’s Department is collecting some of your personal information for the purpose of a consultation relating to a statutory review of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (the Act).

When you submit a consultation response, you will have the option to provide the following personal information:

Name
Email address

The consultation will ask further questions, broadly intended to help us determine whether the Act is operating effectively and whether any amendments may be desirable. You do not need to provide further personal information in response to these questions, but you may if you wish.

Further information about the review can be found on the department’s consultation website.

How your personal information will be collected

You can participate in the consultation by:

responding to the questions in the web form in Citizen Space, or
making a submission by email to the department’s Modernising Document Execution section (statdec@ag.gov.au).

Citizen Space is assisting us with the collection of consultation responses and so will have access to your personal information. Citizen Space is a Software as a Service (SaaS) product used for public consultations and internal surveys. It is owned and maintained by Delib. Their privacy notice is available on the website or you may request a copy from the department.

If you make a submission by email, we will collect your name and email address and any other personal information you choose to provide directly.

What happens if your personal information is not collected

You are under no obligation to provide us with any personal information. However, if we do not collect your personal information, it may affect our ability to:

get in touch with you to seek information and feedback on the consultation process
clarify any aspect of the feedback you provide in your submission
invite you to provide additional feedback, and/or
advise and update you on the progress and work in this space.

If you choose to use a pseudonym or remain anonymous, and in future you request access to your personal information, we may not be able to identify the relevant information.

How your personal information will be used

We will use your personal information in connection with the review of the Act being conducted by the department, including in internal documents prepared by the department to inform policy analysis, or to contact you if we have questions about your submission or response.

We may use an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for the purposes of analysing submissions and responses. Any AI tool used for this purpose will be securely hosted for departmental use within Australia and will comply with all departmental and government obligations on AI use. No information used within the AI tool will be shared outside of the department or be used for training any AI models.

If you have provided your name and given permission for your response/submission to be published your name may be published along with your consultation response. We may also publish a summary or quotations from information provided by participants in this consultation on the department’s website.

How your personal information may be shared

In some cases, we may share information in your consultation response, including personal information, to relevant Commonwealth agencies as is reasonably necessary to inform policy development related to the Act and the purpose of the review.

If we identify any other reason we need to disclose your personal information other than those listed above or permitted by the Privacy Act, we will seek your consent before doing so.

If you provide information to us (including personal information and sensitive information) that leads us to consider you, or someone else, may be at risk of harm, we may be required to share this information with police and/or other relevant authorities. We may also be required to disclose your personal information (including sensitive information) to meet mandatory reporting requirements or to report a suspected crime.

Your personal information (including sensitive information) may also be subject to Freedom of Information requests. If we identify any other reason to disclose your personal information other than those listed above or permitted by the Privacy Act, we will seek your express consent before doing so.

Will your personal information be disclosed overseas

Your personal information will not be disclosed by us to overseas parties.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle and protect the personal information you provide us. Our Privacy Policy also explains how you can request access to, or correct, the personal information we hold about you, and who to contact if you have a privacy enquiry or complaint. If you require a hard copy of our Privacy Policy, please contact the Privacy Officer at privacy@ag.gov.au.

If you have any questions regarding the statutory review of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959, please contact the project officer at statdec@ag.gov.au.

Have your say

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