{"id":"C2014A00024","name":"Marriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Act 2014","slug":"marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"24 of 2014","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8489,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2014A00024-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Marriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Act 2014","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nMarriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Act 2014\n\n \n\nNo. 24, 2014\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose celebrant registration charge, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Object of Act\n\n4 External Territories\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Imposition of celebrant registration charge\n\n7 Amount of charge\n\n8 The statutory limit\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nMarriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Act 2014\n\nNo. 24, 2014\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose celebrant registration charge, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 9 April 2014]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Marriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Act 2014.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provision(s) Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. 9 April 2014\n- 2. Sections 3 to 8 At the same time as Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Marriage Amendment (Celebrant Administration and Fees) Act 2014 commences. 1 July 2014\n\n\nNote:  This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n3  Object of Act\n\n  The object of this Act is to impose a charge for the purpose of funding the administration by the Commonwealth of Subdivision C of Division 1 of Part IV of the Marriage Act 1961, and the provision by the Commonwealth of services to people registered (or seeking to become registered) as marriage celebrants under that Subdivision.\n\n4  External Territories\n\n  This Act extends to the following Territories:\n\n (a) Norfolk Island;\n\n (b) the Territory of Christmas Island;\n\n (c) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\nindex number, in relation to a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number, being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities, published by the Australian Statistician in respect of that quarter.\n\nstatutory limit: see section 8.\n\n6  Imposition of celebrant registration charge\n\n  Celebrant registration charge that a person is liable to pay in respect of a financial year in accordance with section 39FA of the Marriage Act 1961 is imposed.\n\n7  Amount of charge\n\n (1) The amount of celebrant registration charge payable by a person in respect of a financial year is the amount determined by the Minister by legislative instrument. The amount determined must not exceed the statutory limit for the financial year.\n\n (2) For people who become marriage celebrants later than 1 July in a financial year, a determination under subsection (1) may provide that different amounts of celebrant registration charge are payable in respect of that year according to when, in the year, they become marriage celebrants.\n\n8  The statutory limit\n\n (1) The statutory limit is:\n\n (a) for the financial year commencing on 1 July 2014—$600; or\n\n (b) for a later financial year:\n\n (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies—the amount calculated by multiplying the statutory limit for the previous financial year by the indexation factor for the later financial year; or\n\n (ii) if the indexation factor for the later financial year is 1 or less—the same amount as the statutory limit for the previous financial year.\n\n (2) The indexation factor for a financial year is the number worked out by dividing the index number for the March quarter immediately preceding that financial year by the index number for the March quarter immediately preceding that first‑mentioned March quarter.\n\n (3) The indexation factor for a financial year is to be worked out to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more).\n\n (4) In working out the indexation factor for a financial year:\n\n (a) use only the index numbers published in terms of the most recently published index reference period for the Consumer Price Index; and\n\n (b) disregard index numbers published in substitution for previously published index numbers (except where the substituted numbers are published to take account of changes in the index reference period).\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 20 March 2014\n\nSenate on 27 March 2014]\n\n(54/14)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is narrowly drafted to achieve a single purpose: create and cap an annual celebrant registration charge to fund Commonwealth administration and services for marriage celebrants (see section 3). It does not broaden the subject matter beyond that original purpose. The Act delegates rate-setting to the Minister (subject to the statutory ceiling) and prescribes indexation mechanics, but these are instrument design features rather than an expansion of scope. There is no substantive growth beyond the Act's stated funding/charging purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act: 8 substantive sections (plus commencement provisions)","Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section (index number, statutory limit)","Cross-reference to the Marriage Act 1961 (section 6 refers to section 39FA of the Marriage Act) for liability mechanics","Ministerial discretion to set annual amount by legislative instrument (section 7) introduces administrative-delegation complexity","Indexation formula with rounding rules and a non-decreasing floor (section 8(1)(b)(ii) and section 8(3)) adds modest technicality","Commencement timing links to commencement of provisions in another Act (Marriage Amendment (Celebrant Administration and Fees) Act 2014), which is an external procedural dependency","Pro-rating option for mid-year registrants (section 7(2)) requires implementing rules but is conceptually simple"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanically)\n\n- Imposes an annual fee (called the \"celebrant registration charge\") that people registered as marriage celebrants must pay to the Commonwealth (see section 6).\n- The Minister sets the dollar amount each year by a legislative instrument, but that amount cannot exceed a statutory limit set by this Act (see section 7(1) and section 8).\n- The statutory limit for 2014–15 was set at $600; for later years the limit is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) using a specified formula and rounding rule (see section 8).\n- The Minister may provide for reduced or prorated amounts for celebrants who register part-way through the financial year (see section 7(2)).\n- The Act extends to Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (see section 4).\n\n\n**Who this affects and who decides\n\n- Who pays: people who are registered (or seeking registration) as Commonwealth marriage celebrants — the liability is imposed under this Act and section 39FA of the Marriage Act 1961 (see section 6 and section 3).\n- Who sets the exact fee each year: the Minister, by legislative instrument, so the amount is determined by executive decision subject to the statutory ceiling (see section 7).\n\n\n**Why it matters (stated purpose and practical effect)\n\n- Stated purpose: to fund Commonwealth administration of Subdivision C of Division 1 of Part IV of the Marriage Act 1961 and services for (prospective) celebrants (see section 3).\n- Practical effect: it creates a predictable, statutory mechanism for charging and indexing an annual registration fee for celebrants. That fee raises revenue dedicated to running the celebrant-registration functions and associated services.\n\n\n**Key mechanics and limits to be aware of\n\n- The annual cap (statutory limit) is set in the Act and is automatically adjusted each year by a CPI-based indexation formula (section 8). If the CPI factor is 1 or less, the cap does not decrease (section 8(1)(b)(ii)).\n- The Minister cannot set the fee above the statutory limit (section 7(1)).\n- The fee can be prorated for celebrants who start after 1 July in a financial year (section 7(2)).\n\n\n**Costs, incentives and implementation trade-offs (analyst notes)\n\n- Who bears the cost: the financial burden falls directly on individual celebrants (or applicants for celebrant registration). This is a concentrated, identifiable group (section 6).\n- Who benefits: the Commonwealth (administration and services supporting celebrants); benefits are concentrated to the administrating agency and to celebrants who receive the funded services.\n- Decision and discretion: the Minister has discretion to set the fee each year by legislative instrument, constrained only by the statutory cap (section 7). That creates administrative flexibility but concentrates pricing power in the executive.\n- Price signal and behaviour: a recurring fee raises the cost of operating as a registered celebrant. Depending on the level, it could influence individuals' decisions to seek or maintain registration, or to provide celebrant services informally outside Commonwealth registration.\n- Compliance and collection: the Act does not detail collection or enforcement mechanics; those remain in the Marriage Act or administrative practice, so implementation risk and administrative costs depend on existing processes under the Marriage Act 1961.\n- Indexation: using CPI for automatic indexation (section 8) reduces the need for frequent legislative change to the cap but also ties the cap to inflation; the rule that the cap does not fall if CPI is flat or negative (section 8(1)(b)(ii)) protects the cap from downward adjustment.\n- Transactional complexity for celebrants: the Act allows prorating for mid-year entrants (section 7(2)), which reduces fairness issues for late joiners but requires administrative rules to implement.\n\n\n**Concrete statutory references**\n- Imposition of charge: section 6.\n- Minister sets amount, subject to cap: section 7 (including prorating in 7(2)).\n- Statutory limit and CPI formula: section 8.\n- Purpose: section 3.\n- External Territories coverage: section 4.\n\n\n**Bottom line (mechanically)**\nThis is a short, targeted Act that creates a statutory fee for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants, sets a capped and CPI-indexed ceiling for that fee, allows the Minister to fix the exact fee each year by legislative instrument (with possible proration for late-year registrants), and applies the scheme to specified external territories. It assigns the cost to celebrants and assigns the pricing discretion to the Minister, constrained by the statutory cap and indexation rules."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing and calculating a registration charge for marriage celebrants to fund administrative costs. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific fiscal mechanism."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 8 operative sections","Simple legislative structure: imposition → amount calculation → statutory cap with indexation","Indexation formula in section 8 requires 4 subsections with mathematical calculations and CPI rounding rules","Cross-reference to Marriage Act 1961 (section 39FA) for liability trigger","Only 2 defined terms in section 5 (index number, statutory limit)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic beyond the basic indexation mechanics"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis law creates a **registration fee** (called a \"charge\") that people must pay to the government to be authorised as marriage celebrants in Australia. Marriage celebrants are the people legally allowed to conduct wedding ceremonies.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Marriage celebrants** — anyone who wants to register (or stay registered) to legally marry people must pay this annual fee\n- **The government** — the money collected funds the administration of the celebrant program, including processing applications and providing services to celebrants\n\n**How it works:**\n\n- The **maximum fee** starts at **$600** for the 2014-15 financial year\n- This cap **increases automatically each year** based on inflation (using the Consumer Price Index — a measure of how much everyday goods and services cost)\n- The actual fee charged each year is set by the Minister, but **cannot exceed** this inflation-adjusted cap\n- **New celebrants** who register part-way through a year may pay a **reduced (pro-rata) fee** depending on when they join\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nBefore this law, the government subsidised the cost of running the celebrant program. This law ensures that **celebrants themselves cover the costs** of their registration and administration, rather than taxpayers. It creates a \"user pays\" system where the people benefiting from the service bear its costs."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014","history":"/api/acts/marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014/history","analysis":"/api/acts/marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/marriage-celebrant-registration-charge-act-2014/documents"}}