Certifying and translating documents

Certifying your documents

Certification is a process whereby an approved individual (referred to here as an ‘authorised officer’) confirms the authenticity of a copy of an original document for the purpose of providing it to UTS. Authorised officers must be contactable by telephone during normal working hours. You are not permitted to certify your own documents if you yourself are an authorised officer.

You will need to supply certified documents as part of your UTS application. You can arrange a Justice of the Peace in Australia or a notary office overseas to certify your documents and then upload your certified documents to the UTS Application Portal. We recommend doing this as early in your application as possible.

UTS also accept certified documents in following methods:

  • Previous institution issued documents. Your education provider who issued the academic documents may send the documents by email or post directly to grs@uts.edu.au. We will only accept digital copies by email if the electronic copy is received directly from the institution. The email must be received from an authorised department's/employee's official email address with their electronic signature in the body of the email confirming their function/position at the institution.

  • Electronic or digital document.

    For admission supporting documents: if your previous academic institution has partnered with a platform, ie. CHESICC, which enables universities to confirm the digital qualifications of students, please contact them to issue your digital documents to grs@uts.edu.au through this platform. If your previous studies have been taken in Australia, please use My eQuals to issue secure digital credentials documents. For scholarship and other funding opportunity supporting documents, please email clear color scanned copy of your certified documents to research.scholarships@uts.edu.au. 

  • In person. If you are onshore, you can submit your documents in person to the Graduate Research School, University of Technology Sydney, Enter via Building 5D, Level 03, Room 025, Door #3 (CB05C.03.025) 7 Quay St, Haymarket NSW 2000
     Australia. 
  • UTS Student Recruitment Agents certified documents. You can nominate an approved UTS agent in your country/region to assist with your application who can certify your documents. 

Authorised officers within Australia

Authorised officers include employees of:

  • The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC)
  • The Student Enquiries Office or Admissions Office at any UAC participating university
  • The Administration Office at any TAFE college
  • Interstate tertiary admissions centres
  • The official records department of the institution that originally issued the document(s)

Alternatively, documents may be certified by someone who is currently employed as one of the following:

  • Accountant — including members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, National Institute of Accountants, Association of Taxation and Management Accountants or a Registered Tax Agent
  • Bank or Credit Union manager
  • Barrister, Solicitor or Patent Attorney
  • Police Officer or Defence force officer
  • Post Office manager
  • Principal of an Australian secondary college, high school or primary school
  • Commissioner for declarations
  • A health professional registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (eg doctor, pharmacist, optometrist, nurse)

  • Currently registered Justice of the Peace

     

Some participating institutions may charge for making certified copies. Note: if you are an authorised officer, you are not permitted to certify your own documents.

Authorised officers outside Australia

UTS will accept copies certified by employees of one of the following:

  • Australian Overseas Diplomatic Mission and Australian Educational Centres
  • UTS Authorised Representative or Agent
  • Public Notary Office
  • the administration of the institution that originally issued the document(s)
  • an Australian university

Acceptable certified documents

The authorised officer who certifies your documents must:

  • Affix the official stamp or seal of the authorised officer’s organisation on the copy, if the organisation has such a stamp
  • Provide full name, profession/occupation or organisation name, and professional registration number
  • Print their business address and contact number (these contact details are optional for a Justice of the Peace)
  • Include their signature and the date the document was certified, and
  • Include the statement “This is true copy of the original document sighted by me” on all copies

In addition, a Justice of the Peace (JP) is required to provide:

  • Their registration number, and
  • The state in which they are registered as a JP

Translating your documents

Documents that are not in English must be officially translated and submitted together with certified copies of supporting documents.

Officers authorised to translate official documents into English include:

Privacy notice

UTS will take steps to verify that documents that have been certified are authentic if it believes that the certification may be in question. UTS will use the contact details provided by the authorised officer, or obtained them from public registers, for this purpose (for example a state’s Justice of the Peace Register).

Personal information will be used to investigate any suspected fraudulent activity or other forms of serious wrongdoing, which will be dealt with in line with the Student Rules and/or the Whistleblowing and Public Interest Disclosures Policy as appropriate in the circumstances. Suspected fraudulent activity may also be referred to the police.

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.