“...this Subdivision sets out procedures for making and resolving complaints about the solemnization of marriages by marriage celebrants” — Regulation 37Q of the Marriage Regulations 1963.
Your Registered Marriage Celebrant should adhere to the highest standards of the Code of Practice for Marriage Celebrants. This ensures you will be completely happy with the celebrant's services. If, however, something goes wrong and you are not satisfied, there are appropriate steps to make a complaint, as follows.
- Firstly, via your celebrant's feedback system, indicate your dissatisfaction and why you were not satisfied.
- Your celebrant will check into the circumstances and contact you quickly to let you know the feedback has been received. Your celebrant may email you, phone you or send you a letter, either suggesting a way of resolving the problem, or suggesting a meeting to discuss this. In most cases, the client's dissatisfaction would be resolved at this point.
- If the client is not satisfied by the celebrant's offers in recompense, or if the celebrant has acted against the Marriage Act 1961 in some way, a complaint can be made to the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants.
- A complaint must:
- be made, in writing, to the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants; and
- be made within 3 months after the matter complained of took place, or a longer period that the Registrar considers is justified in the circumstances.
- A complaint must state:
- the complainant's full name and contact details; and
- the name of the marriage celebrant to whom the complaint relates; and
- the full details of the complaint, including the date and place of the marriage (or, if known, the date and place of the intended marriage) and the nature of the complaint; and
- whether the matter being complained of:
- has been, or is, the subject of a legal proceeding; or
- has been, or is being, dealt with by another complaints mechanism.
The Registrar will make a preliminary assessment of the complaint, including whether the complaint is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith. If appropriate, the Registrar will deal with the complaint.
