FAQ · Politics & Government 20

In Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade does not witness signatures or certify true copies, even if the document is meant for use overseas. An Australian Notary Public can certify original documents for use overseas, notarise documents before they go overseas, and witness signatures on those documents. Each state and territory publishes its own list of notaries, and DFAT keeps a database of notary signatures so it can check a notarisation before legalising the document. A Justice of the Peace can witness an oath or affidavit, take a statutory declaration or affirmation, witness a signature, and certify a true copy of an original document. A JP signature is recognised anywhere in Australia, but a JP cannot certify documents for use overseas, and a Notary Public must do that. In Australia, DFAT instead issues apostille or authentication certificates for Australian public documents, plus a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, at passport offices or by mail.

Foreign governments sometimes need proof that the signatures of Australian officials on documents are genuine before those documents can be accepted. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Australian Passport Office in your capital city, checks a signature, stamp or seal on an official Australian public document against a specimen held on file. Staff then print and attach a certificate called an Authentication or an Apostille that states certain facts. That certificate is signed by DFAT staff and sealed with both a wet seal and a dry seal. Inside Australia, passport office staff in capital cities are also authorised to issue a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, including witnessing the signature on the application form. DFAT cannot advise you on another country's rules for a legal marriage, so you need to ask that country's embassy, high commission or consulate.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is part of the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and it is Australia's regulatory authority for therapeutic goods. It regulates those goods for safety, efficacy, performance and quality, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vaccines, medical devices, blood and blood products, sunscreens, vitamins, and software and artificial intelligence-based medical devices. Its work includes assessing new medicines and medical devices before they can be sold, monitoring how they are made, advertised and supplied, and tracking safety after they reach the public. It keeps the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, which lists goods that can be lawfully supplied in Australia, and it also offers pathways to unapproved goods through clinical trials and special programs. Decisions follow a risk-based approach that asks whether the benefits outweigh the risks, using clinical expertise and scientific evidence. If a product on the market risks public health or fails Australian standards, the agency can cancel an approval, require packaging changes, or issue fines.

NAATI is the national standards and certifying authority for translators and interpreters in Australia, and it is the only organisation that issues credentials or certification for people who want to work in that profession. It is a public not-for-profit company owned jointly by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. Its mission is to set and maintain high national standards for the translating and interpreting sector, and to support a supply of certified professionals that matches Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse society. The organisation says meeting that mission will help people engage and participate in Australian society, and its stated vision is a connected community without language barriers. Someone looking for a translator or interpreter can search NAATI's online directory of people who are certified or recognised by NAATI. The people in that directory do not work for NAATI, and they are usually self-employed or employed by a language service provider.

If a visa or citizenship question is complex, or you cannot find the answer on the website, you can call the Department of Home Affairs Global Service Centre with your documents ready so staff can confirm who you are. Have your passport or travel document ready before you phone, because they will ask several questions to establish your identity. They do this to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 before discussing or updating your record, including when you are authorised to act for another person. They will not discuss your migration matter with an unauthorised third party unless you have given permission by submitting the relevant 956 Form. The centre is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm in your local time, it is closed on Australian national public holidays, and Monday is the busiest day so the wait can be longer. Inside Australia the number is 131 881, and from outside Australia it is +61 2 6196 0196.

TIS National interprets for people with limited or no English, and for agencies and businesses that need to speak with those clients, by phone, by video conference, or with an interpreter attending in person. Its immediate phone service runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, on 131 450, and any person or organisation in Australia can use it. Calling 131 450 costs a local call throughout Australia, although a mobile phone or a call from outside Australia may cost more depending on the provider. Most of this interpreting is free for the non-English speaker, because the organisation being contacted generally accepts the charge. You name the language when the automated prompt asks, confirm that language with the operator, and stay on the line while an interpreter is found. The operator asks for your name, the organisation you need, and that organisation's phone number, then connects you and the interpreter to the number you gave.

Healthdirect says emergency contraception is available from a pharmacy in Australia without a prescription, and two kinds of morning-after pill are on sale. A levonorgestrel pill, also called an LNG pill, can be used up to 3 days, or 72 hours, after unprotected sex and is usually one tablet, though a doctor or pharmacist may tell you to take two. An ulipristal acetate pill, also called a UPA pill, can be used up to 5 days, or 120 hours, after unprotected sex, and healthdirect says it is more effective than the LNG pill. The morning-after pill stops or delays ovulation, it is not an abortion pill, and it will not work if a pregnancy has already started. It does not protect against sexually transmitted infections, it has no long-term effects, and it should not be used as regular contraception. A copper intrauterine device is a further option, and a trained health professional must insert it within 5 days of unprotected sex.

The National Emergency Management Agency runs national exercises so governments, industry and community partners can prepare for severe and catastrophic crises. An exercise can be a discussion workshop or a large multi-agency activity with hundreds of participants, and it tests plans, decisions, communication and coordination in a safe setting. Under the National Crisis Exercise Program, the National Crisis Exercising and Lessons Capability delivers two national-level exercises each year. Other government agencies may run their own exercises, and the agency can advise and support them. After a national plan is activated, and after major exercises and other significant events, it reviews what happened so the emergency management sector can improve. It uses observations, insights, lessons identified and lessons learned, so organisations can see what happened, why it happened, what should change, and what has already improved.

An airport curfew is a legislated restriction on aircraft movements at a federally leased airport during set hours. Adelaide, Essendon, Gold Coast and Sydney airports have curfews from 11 pm to 6 am, and most operations are prohibited then, although emergency aircraft, some small jets, propeller-driven aircraft and freight movements are allowed. The rules also limit which aircraft may land or take off and, in some cases, which runways they may use. These curfews are legally enforceable, and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts can decide that a breach occurred and prosecute an airline or operator. Only those federally leased airports have this kind of legislated curfew, though other airports, including private ones, may still limit their own hours. A small number of shoulder movements may be allowed between 5 am and 6 am and between 11 pm and midnight, usually on a quota that the same department controls, and a ministerial dispensation has to be granted before the flight, not afterwards.

About 99 percent of drivers who pass a Victorian road safety camera are following the rules and are not fined. When a camera detects an offence, such as speeding, running a red light, a registration offence, using a portable device, or a driver or front-seat passenger not wearing a seatbelt correctly, Victoria Police verify it and then issue an infringement notice. You must pay that notice by the due date or deal with it another way. Options can include a payment plan, disputing the notice, or asking for an official warning, although some of those options may not be available if you were travelling more than 25 kilometres an hour over the limit. You pay, or see the other options, through Fines Victoria. All revenue from these camera fines goes into the Better Roads Victoria Trust to improve roads.

In New South Wales, lane filtering is legal when a fully licensed motorcycle rider moves alongside vehicles that have stopped or are moving slowly, and only while the rider travels at less than 30 kilometres an hour. The rider may filter through stationary or slow-moving traffic, but only when it is safe, and must still obey the other road rules, including stopping before the stop line at a red light or a stop sign. Filtering next to the kerb, next to parked vehicles, or in a school zone is illegal. Riders are told not to filter around heavy vehicles and buses, and to watch for pedestrians and cyclists. Moving between traffic at more than 30 kilometres an hour is a separate offence called lane splitting, and it brings a heavy fine plus three demerit points. Other motorists should not deliberately move into the path of a rider who is filtering legally.

When you apply for an Australian passport, you must include two good-quality photos, because biometric checks match your face to the image in the passport. Each photo must be 35 to 40 millimetres wide and 45 to 50 millimetres high, with the face from chin to crown measuring 32 to 36 millimetres. The print must be less than six months old, in colour, made by dye sublimation rather than an inkjet printer, and printed on heavy glossy paper of at least 200 gsm. The background must be plain white or light grey, the face must be centred and looking straight at the camera, and anyone over three years old needs open eyes and a neutral expression. You must not retouch moles, wrinkles or scars, tilt your head, or let hair cover the edges of your face, and you must not wear glasses unless you cannot remove them for a medical reason. The passport office recommends a professional photographer at a post office, camera store, pharmacy or similar business, and it advises against an online photo service or a mobile app because of identity-fraud risk.

Australian Notary Publics, not the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, certify original documents for use overseas, notarise documents before overseas use, and witness signatures on those documents. The department does not witness signatures or certify true copies inside Australia, even when the document is meant for another country. You look up a notary on the list published for your own state or territory, covering the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The department keeps a database of those notaries' signatures and uses it to check a notarisation before it legalises a document. A Justice of the Peace can certify a true copy for use inside Australia, but a JP cannot certify a document for use overseas. If you later need an apostille or an authentication certificate, the department issues that at Australian Passport Offices across the country or by mail.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is the Australian legalisation authority, and no one else in Australia can legalise a document. Legalisation means the department verifies a signature, stamp or seal and then places either an apostille or an authentication certificate on the original document. That certificate also covers a Notary Public's signature, stamp or seal when the document was notarised. The department cannot tell you which certificate a foreign authority wants, so you have to ask that authority or its embassy, high commission or consulate in Australia. Inside Australia the service is available by mail and at Australian Passport Offices. The apostille or authentication is applied directly onto the document, so if you do not want the original marked you should submit a notarised copy and first confirm the receiver will accept it.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman asks you to raise the problem with your phone or internet provider first, because skipping that step adds five extra days. When you contact the ombudsman you will be asked what happened and when, what the provider said or did, and what resolution you want, and you should have your contact and account details plus the provider's name. You can complain for yourself or for someone else if you have that person's permission, and documents are helpful but optional. The ombudsman then escalates the complaint to a dedicated team at the provider, which is expected to propose a resolution within 10 working days, and the page says 80 percent of complaints are resolved at that stage. If you are not satisfied you can ask the ombudsman to investigate. You can start online, and the form takes 10 to 20 minutes and cannot be saved part-way, or call 1800 062 058 from 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday AEST, with landline calls free and mobile calls at your usual rate.

The Australian Energy Regulator says you should contact your electricity or gas retailer, whose details are on the bill, about connection, meters, contracts, prices, discounts and usage. You contact the distributor, which owns the poles, wires and gas pipes, about outages, supply quality such as dimming lights, and the lines that connect a home or business. If the company still will not resolve a complaint about an electricity or gas firm, a free energy ombudsman scheme in your state or territory can receive it, investigate it and help settle it. The schemes are not the same everywhere: New South Wales uses Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW on 1800 246 545, Victoria uses Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria on 1800 500 509, and Queensland uses its Energy and Water Ombudsman on 1800 662 837. The regulator also lists the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 02 6207 1740, Ombudsman NT on 1800 806 380, South Australia on 1800 665 565, Energy Ombudsman Tasmania on 1800 001 170, and the WA Energy and Water Ombudsman on 1800 754 004. Separate state regulators, not those ombudsman schemes, handle questions about compensation for poor supply quality and about regulated retail prices in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia.

The Queensland Ombudsman says water retailers and some local councils, including Gold Coast, Logan and Redland, set water charges in south-east Queensland, while outside that region the local council generally sets them. The Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland investigates complaints about Unitywater, Queensland Urban Utilities, and those three councils. It will only take the complaint if you are a residential customer or a business that uses under 100 kilolitres of water a year. The Queensland Ombudsman itself looks at complaints from south-east Queensland businesses that use more than 100 kilolitres a year, and it also looks at complaints about the energy and water ombudsman. If you live outside south-east Queensland, the page says your local council is usually responsible for the charges, so you contact the council. The ombudsman office can be reached on 07 3005 7000 from outside Brisbane, and people who need an interpreter are told to use the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

The Public Transport Ombudsman helps people in Victoria who could not get a public transport operator to fix a problem, including V/Line, Metro Trains, Yarra Trams, a local bus company, or another member agency. You can go to the ombudsman if you are unhappy with the operator's response, if you get no response, or if the problem is still not fixed. It can help individual members of the Victorian community with most complaints about public transport services and about the impact of related works such as infrastructure and maintenance, though some complaints are outside its scope. Its job is to help you and the operator reach an outcome you both accept, and if you cannot agree it can determine an outcome that is fair and reasonable. A complaint about a public transport fine has to be reviewed first by the Department of Transport and Planning, and you can complain to the ombudsman only if the fine is not withdrawn after that review. You can use the online form or call 1800 466 865 on Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, and you can also connect through the National Relay Service or the Translating and Interpreting Service.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman's postal page says it can look into complaints about Australia Post and StarTrack. Those issues include lost or delayed letters, lost damaged or delayed packages, parcel drop-off problems, incorrect mail redirection, and roadside delivery problems. They also include customer service or complaint handling, and damage to personal property, for example if a delivery contractor's vehicle damages a fence. The office can look at services in an Australia Post retail outlet, including a licensed post office, such as retail products, bill payment, passport services and mailbox rental, and at the actions of Australia Post staff. It cannot look into a complaint that is not about Australia Post or StarTrack, a complaint you did not raise with the postal operator within 12 months of the incident, or a matter already before a court or tribunal unless special circumstances exist. It also cannot take a complaint from one postal operator about another, or a complaint about the price of a postal service or product.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says it educates people about consumer law on travel delays and cancellations, and it can take reports and investigate if a business misleads people about those rights, but it does not resolve an individual complaint about a delayed or cancelled trip and it does not give legal advice. Consumer guarantees cover travel inside Australia, travel by an international business that departs Australia, and travel to Australia booked on an Australian website, whether you booked with the airline, cruise line or tour operator, a travel agent, or a booking platform. If a delay or cancellation means the service was not provided in a reasonable time, and a replacement is also not within a reasonable time, the provider must let you choose a different replacement or a refund. There is no single definition of a reasonable time, and the commission says a court or tribunal decides that, not the commission. A provider does not have to give a replacement or refund under the guarantees if you simply change your mind, miss the service for a reason unrelated to the service, or a third party stops the provider from supplying it, and in those cases the booking terms usually decide. If the provider has not offered another service in a reasonable time or a satisfactory solution, the first step on the page is to contact that provider and explain the problem.