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Commonwealth statutory declaration
A statutory declaration made for a purpose under Commonwealth law begins with the same
words as a declaration under Tasmanian law. It must be in the form prescribed by section 8 of the
Statutory Declaration Act 1959 (Commonwealth). The only difference between State and
Commonwealth statutory declarations is the closing clauses. A Commonwealth declaration
includes these words:
I understand that a person who intentionally makes a false statement in a statutory
declaration is guilty of an offence under section 11 of the Statutory Declarations Act 1959,
and I believe that the statements in this declaration are true in every particular.
Where can people get a statutory declaration?
Blank statutory declaration forms are available from most post offices, Service Tasmania offices
and the local Magistrates Court Registries. A Tasmanian statutory declaration can be downloaded
from the Department of Justice website and Commonwealth Statutory Declaration form can be
downloaded from the Attorney-General’s Website. It is not necessary to use these blank forms, as
long as the document is substantially in the form set out by the relevant Act. If you can see that
the format of the document is not substantially correct, you should decline to witness it.
How to witness a statutory declaration
You may ask the declarant:
“Do you solemnly and sincerely declare that the contents of this document are true and
correct to the best of your knowledge and belief?”
The declarant must answer:
“I declare” or “I do”.
Make sure you hear this response before you:
• Initial every deletion and alteration in the document after the declarant has initialled
them.
• Initial the foot of every page of the declaration and sign the last page near the signature
of the declarant.
• Complete and sign the part that starts:
‘Declared at ............................ before me ...............................’ as outlined in the Witnessing
section of the JP handbook (see section 6).
Never sign a blank form. If a declaration doesn’t take up a full page, it is good practice to rule a
diagonal line across the remainder of the page before you sign it to ensure nothing is added later
on. If a statutory declaration is pre-signed, you should cross out the current signature and both
the declarant and the JP should initial that crossing out and then ask the declarant to sign again.