By Ern Phang, Solicitor & Notary Public
Director of Phang Legal. Solicitor since 1998 and notary public since 2005.
Example: the situation
Manoj has just had his General Power of Attorney notarised and is about to drop it in an ordinary envelope to his brother in Kerala. It took weeks to prepare, and his brother needs the original for the bank.
Getting your power of attorney notarised is only half the job: it still has to reach India safely. Let's discuss sending it.
After notarisation
As much as most enquiries that we receive focus on how a general power of attorney for India must be notarised, unfortunately many times clients do not take the appropriate care when returning the general power of attorney to India - and the result is the document is lost!The general power of attorney on behalf of someone living in Australia but used in India requires that power of attorney to be notarised by a notary public. That is what we do. We provide low cost fixed fee notary public services to ensure that any document that is going to be used in India will be recognised in India by other parties, banks, government departments or the courts.
In fact, many clients focus on this aspect asking whether the general power of attorney needs to be notarised, whether it should be printed on bonded paper, whether it requires 2 witnesses, or whether it needs to be counter signed by the Indian Consulate.
If it needs to be counter signed by the Indian Consulate, then the general power of attorney must be submitted to VFS which provides consular services to Indian nationals on behalf of the Indian Consulate. One of the requirements specified by VFS is that the general power of attorney must be stamped with an apostille before it can be submitted to VFS for processing.
In Australia, the apostille can only be issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and DFAT will only issue an apostille on the general power of attorney if it has been notarised by a notary public. Fortunately, we assist many clients around Parramatta and across all of Sydney with notarising their general power of attorney for India.
Edit 2017 (see updated video)
To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit Request a notary quote.Example: the solution
Instead of ordinary post, Manoj asked us to send the original by courier with tracking. His brother received it within days and took it to the bank in Kerala.
About Us
This blog is maintained by Phang Legal, a boutique law firm with offices in Parramatta and Rouse Hill. We help clients from across Sydney and beyond with personal, professional and timely Legal Services, Notary Services and Apostille Services.
As a leading provider of notary services in Sydney, we have 1k+ Google Reviews (4.9) (updated July 2026) with many clients happy to share their experience in using our services.
Phang Legal — Parramatta6/83 George Street
Level 3, 87 Marsden Street (from 1 March 2026)
Parramatta NSW 2150
Phang Legal — Rouse Hill
214/80 Main Street
Rouse Hill NSW 2155
Call 02 9687 8885 | WhatsApp | Request quote
About the author
Ern Phang — Solicitor & Notary Public
This article was written by Ern Phang, a director of Phang Legal, a solicitor since 1998 and a notary public since 2005.
Ern has been a member of the Society of Notaries of NSW since 2005, a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries since 2013, and a member of the Law Society of New South Wales since 1998.
Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public and the practical issues his clients face when sending documents from Australia to India and other countries all over the world.
Using information in this article
This article provides general information. Requirements, forms, fees and service arrangements may have changed since its original publication. Check the receiving organisation’s current requirements and obtain advice relevant to your circumstances.
