By Ern Phang, Solicitor & Notary Public
Director of Phang Legal. Solicitor since 1998 and notary public since 2005.
Example: the situation
Jaya needs notarised copies of her passport and her Australian marriage certificate for India. Sydney is in lockdown, our office is closed to the public, and she can't come in.
During the lockdown we couldn't witness signatures, but we could still notarise copies of original documents. Let's discuss how.
Notary public services continue for some documents
At the moment our office is closed to the public due to the restrictions and the current stay-at-home orders in place across Greater Sydney. However, as a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney that hasn't stopped us from continuing to offer notary public services in support of the Indian community with respect to certain documents.
While we can't provide witnessing services (ie, for the power of attorney or declarations or affidavits) right now, we can still attest, certify and notarise copies of original documents such as:
- passports (Australian and foreign passports)
- Australian visas (VEVO)
- Australian birth certificates
- Australian marriage certificates
- Australian death certificates
- Australian police clearance certificates
- Australian drivers licences, and
- Australian utility bills.
If you're in urgent need of these services, then please review the following steps to see which relates to you. You can always call us on 02 9687 8885 if you have any questions about whether we're able to assist you and you can always choose to wait until the restrictions have been lifted to make an appointment with our office.
Attesting copies of original passports
Original passports should be delivered to us by courier. You can attempt to post it to us, however considering that items often are lost in the mail, we don't recommend this method.
A courier service is generally a door-to-door service. If you have any trouble arranging your own courier, we can arrange for a courier to collect your documents from you. The courier service that we use is generally a same-day service across Sydney, which sometimes means we can arrange for a collection in the morning and a return delivery by the afternoon (or the following business day at the latest).
Many of our clients have already elected to use service to great success and satisfaction, and so it's already a proven process during these past few weeks.
Attesting copies of Australian visas (VEVO)
As the VEVO is an electronic document, we can verify and notarise a copy of your VEVO without a physical document. In order to notarise your VEVO, we must verify your visa status and obtain a copy of your VEVO from the Department of Home Affairs. This allows us to confirm the details of your visa and we notarise a true and correct printed copy of the electronic document (ie, your VEVO) that we obtain from the Department of Home Affairs.
In most cases (because we offer discount pricing), we notarise a copy of your VEVO with a copy of your passport which also means that you'll need to provide us with your original passport as well (see above). However, if you prefer to avoid the logistics of sending your passport, we can notarise the VEVO by itself.
Once we have notarised your VEVO (and your passport), we arrange for a same-day courier to return the notarised documents (with any original documents) to you.
Attesting copies of Australian personal certificates
Birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates issued in Australia (or for this specifically, issued from NSW) are issued by the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages.
You must either arrange for these documents to be issued by the Registry directly to our office or if you have the original you can either post them or have them delivered to us by a courier. As these certificates can generally be easy to replace (ie, it's just an application to the Registry) we think using the post should be sufficient and it's unnecessary to incur the additional cost of a courier unless you wish to have the possibility of a same-day service or you have other documents, such as your passport.
After we've notarised copies of your certificates, we're able to return the original certificate and the notarised copy to you by same-day courier.
Attesting copies of Australian police clearance certificates
Police certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) or the NSW Police can also be sent to us by mail or by courier. We require the original certificate as it contains security features which is important for the purposes of verifying that the document is original and authentic.
If you've obtained your certificate from an authorised accredited body, we can generally verify these certificates online through the relevant website as they're normally issued electronically. If you're not sure whether you can rely on a certificate from an authorised accredited body, we recommend applying for your police clearance certificate from the AFP or NSW Police.
Once we've notarised your police clearance certificate, we'll arrange for it to be returned to you by same-day courier.
Attesting copies of Australian drivers licences
We cannot notarise copies of your digital drivers licence. This means that if you want copies of your drivers licence to be notarised, you must arrange for your original drivers licence to be delivered to us.
We recommend using a courier service to deliver your drivers licence to us rather than sending it to us by post. Once we receive your drivers licence, we're able to notarise a copy of it and return both the notarised copy and the original licence to you by same day courier.
We're unable to notarise copies of an overseas drivers licence UNLESS it's part of our Indian Drivers Licence Verification (IDLV) service. For the time being, due to the current restrictions, we've suspended our IDLV service as it also requires you to attend our office in person to verify your identity and to sign the IDLV affidavit.
Attesting copies of Australian utility bills
If you're attempting to provide evidence of your current address (ie, to VFS) by supplying a copy of your utility bill, it's likely that your utility bill must be notarised. As most utility providers now issue their bills and statements electronically, you must to arrange for your provider to email a copy of your bill to us directly.
Once we receive your bill from your provider, we're able to verify and certify the bill by confirming that it was received directly from your provider. We can then notarise your utility bill on that basis. After we've notarised your utility bill, we'll arrange to have it returned to you by same-day courier which means this process can be completed quite quickly.
What next?
To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit Request a notary quote.Example: the solution
Jaya called us first to confirm we could help, then arranged for her originals to be couriered to our office. Our notary public notarised the copies, and we returned her originals and the notarised copies to her by courier.
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.
