Apostille (also known as Legalisation)
Australian education documents sometimes need to be legalised by the Australian Government before they can be used in a foreign country, involving an 'apostille' stamp.
About the apostille
When Australian education documents are legalised by the Australian Government, they are marked with an 'apostille' stamp by an Australian Passport Officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
An apostille can legalise a University of Melbourne testamur or academic transcript.
If ordering a hardcopy Academic Statement, a student or graduate may request that the document be certified (signed and stamped) by an authorised officer of the University for the purposes of an Apostille application. This is not usually required for Testamurs, as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can usually verify the document against our free online Verification of Qualification website.
To notify us that you require a document to be certified for the purposes of an Apostille application, please state this in the special requirements box in your order.
How to order an apostille
Before you apply for an apostille, you must find out what sort of documentation is required by the foreign government you are dealing with. Advice can be provided by the country's embassy and/or consulate in Australia.
You will be required to provide one of the following:
- Your original document; or
- a notarised copy of your original document.
Visit the DFAT website for guidelines on how to legalise/authenticate your document, and the current monetary cost.
Testamurs (degree certificates) may not need to be signed and stamped by the University first. Please check the University of Melbourne Graduation website. If you can see the degree that you are wanting legalised on this website, DFAT may use that website to check your educational credentials and you will not need to obtain a stamp and signature from the University.