Can I fill in and sign a statutory declaration online?

Three ways to make one

There are three ways to make a Commonwealth statutory declaration, and the Attorney-General's Department is explicit about the choice: you can choose whichever way you prefer, and each one creates an equally valid Commonwealth statutory declaration.

In person: you and your approved witness must meet and sign the statutory declaration together at the same time and in the same place to create a valid Commonwealth statutory declaration.

By video link: you can have your statutory declaration witnessed remotely through a video link program rather than by meeting an approved witness in person. This means you or your witness can be anywhere in the world and still complete a validly-witnessed statutory declaration. If you are meeting with your witness remotely through a video link program, such as Skype, Microsoft Teams or Zoom, you do not need to be in the same place, but you and your approved witness still must sign the statutory declaration together at the same time, and the witness must see you sign. There is no set program you must use, just as long as it allows for two people to connect with video and audio so that a witness may see you sign your declaration wherever you are. This way of having a declaration witnessed has been in place for a few years; the changes to the legislation have made the temporary measure permanent.

With myGov: alternatively, you can create a digital Commonwealth statutory declaration using myGov and your Digital ID, without the need for an approved witness, and you can choose whichever way you prefer. To do it without a witness, you must have a Digital Identity connected to your myGov account, and it needs to be at least standard digital identity strength. You do not need a witness for a digital Commonwealth statutory declaration, but you will need a Digital Identity to verify your identity. Other options are still available if you do not have a myGov account with a Digital Identity connected to it, or would prefer not to use one: you can still make a Commonwealth statutory declaration using a witness, just as before.

A digital declaration made this way carries its own check. It will have a QR code, encrypted with the information provided in the declaration, and anyone with a paper or digital copy of the declaration can scan the QR code with the myGov app, then compare the text and details on the QR code page with the declaration.

Three practical points run across the ways. The witness still needs to be an approved witness as per Schedule 1 of the Statutory Declarations Regulations 2023. You will need to sign every page of the declaration, including any extra pages or attachments; you can sign by pen (a "wet-ink" signature) or electronically. The witness needs to watch you sign: over a video link, position the camera so that the witness can see you sign the form, whether by pen or through electronic signature. And do not sign the form, add the date or include witness details until you are with your witness, whether in person or remotely.

The approved form

This form is unlike the others this site covers in one way: the stationery is mandatory. To make a valid declaration, you must use an approved form, and you cannot create your own. The department's page carries the approved form and the steps to follow.

In NSW

NSW has its own remote witnessing scheme, explained by NSW Communities and Justice: NSW law allows legal documents to be witnessed in real time via audio-visual link (AVL). The witness must see the signatory signing the document in real time over AVL. The witness must also endorse the document with a statement that specifies the method used to witness the signature and that it was witnessed in accordance with section 14G of the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW). And the people using it need not be in NSW: signatories and witnesses using the remote witnessing provisions need not be physically present in NSW at the time of witnessing, as long as the relevant document is required to be signed under, or is governed by, NSW law.

The scheme has two limits. It does not permit copies of documents to be certified remotely over AVL: certifying a document as a true copy of the original must be done in person by an authorised witness. And it does not enable documents to be electronically signed: remotely witnessed documents may only be signed electronically by a signatory or witness where this is otherwise permitted by a NSW Act or law.

A false statement

The penalty, in the Statutory Declarations Act 1959's own words: a person must not intentionally make a false statement in a statutory declaration. Penalty: imprisonment for 4 years. The department's page states the same in plainer words: if you make a false statement on purpose, you can be charged with an offence.