mistermoose Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 PostNet, although a good option, will require me to take time off work - and I'd like to get these docs off to VETASSESS this weekend given that they're now ready to go!The VETASSESS site says that a police officer's certification is acceptable:http://www.vetassess.com.au/certifying_document/certifying_documents.cfmPlease could anyone confirm that this will be fine?Thanks!Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoose Posted January 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Another question, regarding certification of photos, I got this back from VETASSESS. Which method did you guys go with? Concerned that the stamp will be too big for the back of the photo ... but also concerned that I'm not allowed to glue the photo to a sheet of paper.To certify photographs, you need to visit such authorised persons as a Lawyer, Notary Public, Police Officer etc.The authorised person will write or stamp on the back of the photograph the following:Certified as a true likeness of _______. Signature of certifying officer, date, printed name/official stamp, position title.Alternatively, they may choose to affix the photographs to a sheet of paper and partially stamp one of the photographs, writing the following:Photograph of _______________ affixed below and duly attested as being a true likeness of ____________ by signature of certifying officer. Date, printed name/official stamp, position title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21yearsoutofrsa Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Persons authorised to certify documentsThe person who certifies your documents must be contactable by telephone during normal working hours.Contactable in nornal working hours is the fun part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KangaRoux Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Don't know if there is any truth in the rumor that SAPS certified documents are not accepted in Australia, but I didnt use them out of principal as they are useless and just increases my Blood pressure!!!! My advice would be to certify with anyone else than the SAPS.By looking at the link you supplied it seems that the list is for inside Australia as they mention "Australian Lawyer" etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourieJutci Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hi, you can go to the bank ( FNB, ABSA..) Or your priest can assist you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 (edited) Avoid the Post Office and SAPS, the reason I say this is that the specific words "certified a true copy of the original" don't appear on the stamp and they do not put contact details like physical address and telephone number on the copies either which is a requirement for certification of documents for DIAC and the assessing authorities. I think that when VETASSESS say police officer that they are referring to an Australian one and not the South African version. I also read somewhere that they do not accept the SAPS certification because of the level of corruption present in the organisation. Edited January 13, 2013 by HadEnoughofJuju Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoose Posted January 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 OK ... no police station then! Back to the PostNet idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoose Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 SO, I've finally sent off my VETASSESS docs. Woohoo.Just to let you know, banks now no longer act as commissioner of oaths (I tried FNB and Standard Bank), and neither does the post office. AND PostNet only does the 'certified as a true copy' stamp for passport copy and other docs, not the Commissioner of Oaths stamp (required for photos and statutory declarations). So I ended up at a lawyer to do the Commissioner of Oaths stamping. Not so bad in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZuricaR Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 If not for posts like these, I wouldnt even know where to begin... Thanks ..... Mr lawyer will me soon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleV Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 The best option (even though it will cost you more) would be to make use of a notary to certify any documents. I know that I have to have a notary certify all my documents for the assessment of my qualification with the Legal Profession Admission Board in Sydney. I am, however, not sure of what the requirements of the other assessment bodies in Australia are with regard to the "certification" of documents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bams Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Create post, thanks for helping to safe me time and frustration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeInOz Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Nursing skills assesment specifically mention that Police cannot be used. We used the bank a priest and lawyers as well as SAPS, but checked on the application for any exlusions. The whole imigration thing is designed by an Australian who thinks everything should work the same as Australia. In most shopping centres in AUSTRALIA you can get this done for free by notaries.The funny part is when you attempt to get an RSA passport in Austrlai there are some forms that must be done by Australian police. Somepolice stations charge a nominal fee $25 or so and others are free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reeds Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Can anyone tell me if, for all qualifications, it is acceptable to have these certified by a Commissioner of Oath? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I haven't read all the responses here, but I will give my personal experience. Generally anything required to be certified or attested to can be done by a commissioner of oaths. This is pretty much anyone in a legal profession of some sort and includes attorney/notary/police/post officer manager/bank manager etc, among many others.When we submitted my husband's Vetassess application in 2011 on our own, we used a combination of the police and post office and they did not have an issue with the certified documents.When we submitted my Vetassess application a few months ago, this time using an agent, he said it's better to rather use an attorney because the police and post office do not always do a very neat job and it may not be accepted if it is not legible.Also, the more important the document, ie our financial declaration for our state sponsorship will not carry much credibility with a smudged and scribbled police affidavit but more so with a neat, legible stamp with clear contact details of an attorney.It's up to you, but I think the benefit of using an attorney or similar far outweighs that of using police or post office. Personally, I found it much less effort to use an attorney. I got in contact with one who didn't charge me, and the benefit is that you can make an appointment and pop in and out. And also the police and post office will often only allow you to do 5 at a time so you have to go back a few times. Not to mention the waiting in the queues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Oh and with regards to certifying a photo as a true photo of yourself. We glued two passport photos to an A4 page and our attorney stamped her name stamp that it just slightly overlapped the top of the photos and stamped her "True copy of original" stamp just overlapping the photos slightly at the bottom. This was accepted by Vetassess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonnieBecker Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 Last year my husband and I were informed by our global visas agent that any documents certified by the SAPS will no longer be accepted in Australia. We, therefore, used an attorney for every single document and had no problems at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrandMrsK Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 I used a Ward Councellor (DA, ANC etc) who is a friend to certify my documents for the entire process. Had no problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGP Posted April 1, 2013 Report Share Posted April 1, 2013 Don't use the police for certification. I did this and my docs were rejected. I had to re-certify and resubmit. Rather go to an attorney. A junior attorney did all the certification for free.Don't even think of getting the Aussie embassy to do it - they charge R245 per document! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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