Certification of Documents
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) requires various documents to be submitted in support of applications for admission and enrolment. All documents submitted must be certified copies of original documents.
Please do not send your original documents as UNSW retains the documents that are submitted and they will not be returned to you. However you must be prepared to present your original documents to UNSW for inspection if requested. If you are overseas you should bring your original documents with you to Australia.
If any fraudulent documents are discovered, action may be taken which can result in the withdrawal of an offer or the termination of an enrolment.
What is a certified copy of an original document?
A correctly certified copy is an unaltered photocopy of an original document that has been sighted and certified to be a true copy of the original by a person authorised to do so.
Who can certify copies of my documents?
Your documents can be certified by a person belonging to one of the categories below.
The person who certifies your document/s must be contactable by telephone during normal working hours. You, or a person directly related to you, cannot certify your documents, even if you/they belong to one of the categories listed below.
Documents certified OVERSEAS (not including New Zealand)
An authorised officer at:
- UNSW offshore offices
- UNSW Europe Office
- UNSW Hong Kong Office
- UNSW India Office
- UNSW Indonesia Office
- UNSW North America Office
- UNSW Singapore Office
- UNSW Thailand Office
- UNSW Vietnam Office
- UNSW Representative Officers in China
- UNSW/IDP Beijing
- UNSW/IDP Shanghai
- UNSW/IDP Guangzhou
- UNSW/EIC Beijing
- UNSW representatives from the Faculties, International Office, Admissions and Recruitment
- the official records department of the institution that originally issued the document/s. The authorised officer must be a representative of the Registrar or Academic Affairs Officer or equivalent.
- an official UNSW Offshore Representative (Agent)
- an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate
- Austrade
- [China] a Notary Public (Gong Zheng)
- [China] The China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Centre (CDGDC).
Documents certified in AUSTRALIA or NEW ZEALAND
An authorised officer at:
- the official records department of the institution that originally issued the document/s. The authorised officer must be a representative of the Registrar or Academic Affairs Officer or equivalent
- an authorised international recruitment agent of UNSW
A Justice of the Peace currently registered in Australia.
To find a Justice of the Peace in New South Wales, Australia, you can search the public register of Justices of the Peace, available online from the NSW Attorney-General's Department at www.jp.nsw.gov.au/jp/findjp.html.
Anyone who is currently employed in Australia or New Zealand as:
- an accountant who is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia or New Zealand, CPA Australia, the National Institute of Accountants or the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants
- a barrister or solicitor
- a manager of an Australia Post Office
- a medical practitioner
- a pharmacist
- a police officer
- a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of a Court
- a commissioned officer in the Defence Force
How do I get my documents certified?
To have your documents certified you will need to provide both the original hard copy document and the copy, to the person certifying the document.
The person certifying will:
- inspect the original and copy to satisfy themselves that they are identical;
- on each and every page of the document:
- write 'I certify this to be a true copy of the original document shown and reported to me as an original’;
- sign the document;
- write:
- their name in full
- their address;
- their contact telephone number;
- their capacity to certify documents (eg. their title and which institution they belong to, their profession or occupation. A Justice of the Peace should print his/her registration number and the state/territory in which they are registered); and
- the date of certification.
In what form will UNSW accept certified copies?
UNSW will only accept the actual document that has been sighted and certified to be the true copy of the original document by an authorised person.
UNSW will NOT accept documents:
- that have not been certified in accordance with this policy
- that are photocopies and have not been certified
- that are photocopies of the certified copy of the document (the document submitted must have the original signature of the authorised person)
- That are not in English (see Translation of documents)
- certified by a Justice of the Peace without a registration number
Certified documents can be submitted in hard copy by mail or in person at UNSW Student Central
Faxed, emailed or scanned copies of certified documents will only be accepted if faxed or emailed directly from the administration office of the institution that issued the document or from an authorised agent of UNSW.
Document Certification at UNSW Student Central
A document certification service is available at Student Central. To have your documents certified at Student Central you will need to bring with you all original documents and any copies that you would like to have certified. Photocopying facilities are available in the Student Central foyer.
If you require more than 5 copies to be certified, please contact Student Central to make an appointment by calling 02 9385 8500.
UNSW Student Central is open:
Mon, Tues, Thurs 8:30 am-5:30pm, Wed 10am-5:30pm, Fri 8:30-5pm
Translation of Documents
Documents that are in a language other than English must be translated by an accredited translator before they are submitted to UNSW.
- Translations performed in Australia - These should be performed by a translator accredited by NAATI (the national standards and accreditation body for translators and interpreters) - www.naati.com.au .
- Translations performed outside of Australia – These can be performed by
- a translator accredited by NAATI (the national standards and accreditation body for translators and interpreters) who is based outside of Australia www.naati.com.au, or
- an acceptable registered translator in the overseas country. You should contact the Australian mission in the country in which the translation will be conducted for advice on acceptable registered translators.
Each translation must be accompanied by a statement which states “The translated text in this document is an accurate and complete translation of the original document” and should then also contain the translator’s signature, printed name, membership of the relevant accredited translation body (and membership number if applicable) and the date the statement is made.
Certified copies of BOTH the original document and the translated document must be submitted to the University after the translation is completed and signed by the translator. For information on the certification of documents, please see above.
Applicants whose qualification is awarded by the People’s Republic of China must provide original or certified copies of transcripts in both Chinese and English, and these must be the certified bound booklets issued by a Notary Public Office in both Chinese and English, or the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Centre (CDGDC). UNSW will make full offers with conditions to eligible applicants who do not provide a notarised document with their application, but a notarised or CDGDC document must be submitted to the University prior to the Census Date of the Commencing Semester or the enrolment will be cancelled.
Further Information
Contact: UNSW Admissions Office
Tel: +61 (2) 9385 3656 (multiple lines)
Fax: +61 (2) 9385 9437
Email: admissions@unsw.edu.au