Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia

Document Authentication Application Guidelines

• For in-person submissions (drop-off/pick-up), no appointment is required. Please visit during service hours (Mon-Fri 09:00-12:30, 14:00-16:00).
• For documents requiring personal signature (e.g., Power of Attorney, Authorisation, Appointment Letter, Declaration of Residence in Australia, Disclaimer of Inheritance, Chinese Translations, etc), please make an appointment in advance by calling us at 02-61201030.
• If unsure whether an appointment is needed, please call us at 02-61201030 or Email to consular.aus@mofa.gov.tw for clarification.

Important Note:
Document authentication is subject to strict jurisdictional regulations. Please contact the appropriate office based on the location where the document was issued.

Australian TECO office Jurisdiction for Document Authentication

Application Guidelines

• Application Form: To apply for any document authentication, the Document Authentication Application Form must be completed. The applicant must personally sign the form in the signature section. Electronic signatures, scanned copies, or faxed forms will not be accepted.
• • Republic of China (Taiwan) nationals must provide the original Taiwan passport or national ID card.
  • Foreign nationals
  • applying for consular services must provide the original passport; electronic driver’s licenses or ID cards are not acceptable.Proof of Identity: Applicants are required to provide an official valid identity document that matches the name on the verification documents.For applicants in Australia, a copy of the Passport certified by a Justice of the Peace (JP) is acceptable. For overseas applicants, passport must be certified at the relevant diplomatic missions before a copy can be provided.

• Documents requiring personal signature (e.g., Power of Attorney, Authorisation, Appointment Letters, Declarations, Disclaimer of Inheritance)
  • For walk-ins, please make an appointment in advance and bring your original passport to sign in front of consular staff. Do not sign the document before arriving.
  • For postal applicants, please have your signature notarised in front of a Notary Public Prior to submission. Note: Certified as true copies will not be accepted.

• Minors under 18: The application must be signed by a parent or guardian, who must provide proof of the relationship and their identity document.
• Authorising another person to apply: The authorised person must provide a copy of their passport or ID, and the applicant should fill in the agent’s details on the application form.
• Authorising another person to collect the documents: The applicant must complete the Authorisation Letter for document collection and provide the authorised person’s valid ID (which will be returned after verification).

Fee Structure (Effective from 12th October 2015)

• Original Document Authentication: AUD $22 per document
• Photocopy Authentication: AUD $11 per document
• No expedited services are available, so please plan your application in advance.

Notaries and Legalisation

According to the regulations, if your document requires a signature authentication or cannot be verified by our office, it must first be certified by DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) or a Notary Public before we can proceed with the legalisation. Examples of documents that may require certification include, but are not limited to: divorce orders, business documents, medical records, enrollment letters, records of study, court/adoption documents, employment certificates, and more. If you are unsure whether your document needs to be notarised, please contact us by email or phone for clarification.

Email: counsular.aus@mofa.gov.tw
Phone: +61 2 6120 1030

• Notaries in Australia: notarylocator.com.au.
• DFAT: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/consular-services/notarial-services

Please note that Justices of the Peace (JP) are not authorised notaries, and documents signed by JPs will not be accepted for authentication.

• Special Consular Services:
  In cases of illness, imprisonment, or other similar circumstances, and based on humanitarian and special considerations, with prior approval from our office, document authentication applications may be processed at locations other than our office. An additional fee of AUD $100 will be charged according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular fee regulations. The applicant will also be responsible for covering the consular staff's transportation, accommodation, and meal expenses.
• Mailing:
  If you require our office to mail the completed documents, please provide a prepaid return envelope with the recipient’s name and address clearly written. For postage and delivery time, please refer to Australia Return Mail and Overseas Shipping Notice.
• Postal Applications: Please include a prepaid return envelope, with the recipient's name, address, and sufficient postage for Express Post. The envelope must be B4 size (353mm × 250mm).
• Processing Time: After receipt of the application, documents are generally processed within approximately 4 weeks (not including mailing time, public holidays, or additional documentation requests). For applications that require verification by other agencies (e.g., school verification for educational documents), processing may take up to 6 months.

Overseas Mail Applications

• Apply from Taiwan: If you wish to apply by mail from Taiwan, please purchase an Australian dollar bank draft from Mega Bank. The bank draft should be made payable to: Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia. Alternatively, you can ask a friend in Australia to make the payment in person or via a Au Post money order.
• International Courier: If you wish to have documents mailed back to Taiwan, please arrange a DHL or FedEx online appointment by yourself, and send us the Waybill after completing the payment. The consular staff will handle the collection and delivery to Taiwan.

Important Reminder:
To save time, please fill out all required forms and prepare your identification documents before visiting or posting. If information is incomplete, we reserve the right to reject the application. Please maintain the integrity of the authenticated documents. If the documents are tampered with (e.g., opening or resealing), they may lose their authentication validity. The validity of the authenticated document is determined by the requesting entity.