Name change in Australia, can a nurse sign?

Factual Questions
1

This is in regards to the changing of a name in NSW.

Im looking to change my name legally (just the middle name, no drama), and i have a person close to the family who is a registered nurse.
I know that registered nurses can sign a lot of things that a Justice of the Peace is able to sign.

Im just unable to make clear from the Chane of Name forms whether she will be able to witness me or not.

The registry of Births Deaths and Marriages is located at http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/changeName/changeName.htm
And it introduces the term “Notary Public” to me, which im not having luck with googling.

It also gives an option for the “witness” to be a “Person authorised to administer an path under the Oaths act of 1900”… which also doesn’t help me much.

So in short, can a registered nurse (of NSW) witness a change of name form in NSW?

Thanks

2

Just a bump.

3

I suggest that you just give the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages a call and ask whether a registered nurse is qualified to witness your signature. This isn’t legal advice, but from my reading of the instructions on the Change of Name form I suspect that the answer will be no.

The instructions state that a witness must be:

  • a Justice of the Peace; or
  • a Notary Public; or
  • a Legal Practitioner holding a current practising certificate; or
  • a person authorised under section 26 of the *Oaths Act * 1900 (which probably isn’t relevant here since it essentially relates to oaths being witnessed outside NSW and allows for various consular officials to act as a witness).

So unless your registered nurse friend happens also to fall into one of the first three categories (and he/she presumably doesn’t) then I think you’re out of luck.

4

No.

There are categories of people (some quite surprising) who can witness various things, but it changes with the type of document being witnessed, and as far as I can tell from the bdm site, a nurse isn’t able to do it (Sect. 26 is for overseas use at consulates etc).

I used to be a Justice of the Peace, but as an Australia Post employee I was actually able to sign some things in that capacity that I couldn’t as a JP.

5

Yes, a Registered Nurse can certified all photocopies of ID as long as he or she is holding a current practising certificate. Registered Nurse is Legal Practitioner and has license to practice. :slight_smile:

6

Certifying a photocopy wasn’t what Dystinct asked about 8 years ago though.

7

Yes but if Dystinct comes back with a question about signing the back of a photocopied ID…

8

And the answer is wrong, anyway. A legal practitioner in New South Wales is exactly what it sounds like: a barrister or solicitor.