Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Melbourne Marriage Registry is a private marriage ceremony, celebrant, and marriage registration support service based at the Victorian Marriage Hub in South Yarra, Victoria. We provide registry-style and location ceremonies, Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) assistance, celebrant services, visa support letters (where offered), and related customer support.

We are not Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria (BDM Victoria). We are not a government agency. We do not issue official marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, change of name certificates, or historical marriage records. Official certificates are issued by BDM Victoria.

This website is part of a family of related marketing websites that share the same underlying Victorian Marriage Hub operations (the “Service Family”). Personal information collected through this website may be processed together with information collected through other Service Family websites and through our MarriageAi booking, form, payment, CRM, email, and analytics platforms.

Operator details

• Legal entity: Destination Weddings Group Pty Ltd
• ABN: 65 121 255 847
• ACN: 121 255 847
• Business address: Victorian Marriage Hub, 893-915 Punt Road, South Yarra VIC 3141, Australia
• Privacy contact email: office@marriagevictoria.com.au
• Published enquiry emails: office@marriagevictoria.com.au and marriage@getmarriednow.com.au
• Phone: (03) 9820 1119

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use, disclose, and protect personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

2. Scope

This Policy applies to:

• visitors to https://melbournemarriageregistry.com.au and related Service Family websites;
• people who contact us by phone, SMS, email, website forms, chat, social channels, or in person;
• couples and parties who enquire about, book, pay for, or receive marriage, ceremony, NOIM, visa support letter, or related services;
• witnesses, parents named on marriage paperwork, and other people whose details are supplied to us for a booking or NOIM;
• users of our embedded marriage booking form, digital NOIM tools, hosted form pages, and any chat assistant linked from this website.

It covers personal information collected online and offline, including at our South Yarra venue, by phone or video, and by email or SMS.

3. The kinds of personal information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use this website and which services you ask for. We do not collect everything below from every visitor.

3.1 Enquiry and booking form information

Our WordPress / Elementor forms (including the homepage, booking form, contact page, how-to-marry booking form, and Google Ads landing pages) typically collect:

• your name
• email address
• phone number (the form notes we may SMS you when we have sent an email)
• your partner or spouse’s name
• preferred ceremony date and time
• ceremony type (for example registry office wedding, legals-only / simple marriage, on-location, garden / beach / outdoor, visa or legal purposes, NOIM lodgement only, guidance request, or transfer of a NOIM from another celebrant)
• time-sensitive notes (for example visa or immigration timing, overseas travel booked, shortening of time on a NOIM, special circumstances, or no urgency)
• free-text comments you choose to provide
• whether you asked us to send the free guide to getting married in Australia
• Google reCAPTCHA verification data (see section 6)

Website search terms you enter in the site search box may also be processed by WordPress.

3.2 Identity and contact information

• names (given names, family names, preferred names)
• email addresses and phone numbers
• postal or residential addresses
• preferred language and communication preferences
• relationship to another party (for example partner, witness, parent, or agent)

3.3 Marriage, ceremony, and NOIM information

When you use our embedded marriage form, lodge a NOIM, book a ceremony, request a callback, or complete paperwork with us, we may collect:

• the service you want (book a wedding, lodge a NOIM, ask a question, talk to a person, secure a date, lodge now and book later, visa support letter, shortening of lodgement time)
• ceremony preferences, including package type, guest numbers, witness arrangements, preferred dates and times, and any terms you accept
• callback details: name, email, phone, preferred contact time, and message
• official NOIM fields required under the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), including for each party:
  • description of the party (for example partner, bride, or groom)
  • family name and given names
  • optional gender
  • usual occupation
  • usual place of residence
  • conjugal / marital status (never validly married, widowed, divorced, or divorce pending)
  • birthplace and date of birth
  • whether the parties are related, and a description of that relationship if they are
• parent details for each party where required on the Notice (current name, birth name, country of birth, or “unknown”)
• signatures, signature dates, witness full name, authorised witness details, and witness signatures
• lodgement, ceremony, and payment status, including resume links so you can continue a saved form
• visa support letter requests and immigration timing notes you provide (we do not provide migration legal advice and we do not grant visas)

Some of this information is sensitive information under the Privacy Act. That can include identity document data, health information if you volunteer it, religious or philosophical beliefs if you volunteer them for ceremony planning, and information that may imply sexual orientation or relationship context (for example Pride Registry or same-sex marriage enquiries). We only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities, with consent where required, or where another exception in the Privacy Act applies (including where required or authorised by law).

3.4 Identity documents and supporting evidence

To lodge a NOIM and to satisfy celebrant identity checks, you may provide originals, certified copies, scans, or photos of documents such as:

• birth certificate or official extract from a birth register
• current or expired (not cancelled) passport
• driver licence or proof of age card
• divorce certificate, decree absolute, or nullity order
• death certificate of a former spouse
• accredited translations of documents not in English
• statutory declarations where birth evidence cannot be obtained
• for a person under 18, a court order and required parental consents

You may send these by email, show them in person, or provide them during a remote witnessing appointment. We hold copies only as needed for celebrant, lodgement, and legal record-keeping duties.

3.5 Payment and transaction information

• billing name, email, phone, and payment status
• amount paid, currency, and product or fee type (for example NOIM lodgement fee or ceremony booking fee)
• Stripe payment references, a Stripe Customer record for the first party, and limited payment metadata (including the second party’s name and contact details used to identify the payment)

We do not store full card numbers, CVV, or full payment account credentials on our servers. Card payments on the embedded marriage form are processed by Stripe.

3.6 Communications and support information

• messages you send through contact forms, email, SMS, phone notes, chat transcripts (if you use our chat assistant), and callback requests
• notes of calls or video appointments, including remote NOIM witnessing
• documents you email to us (for example a completed NOIM scan or photos)
• feedback, complaints, and survey responses

3.7 Technical, device, and usage information

When you browse this website or use an embed, we and our providers may collect:

• IP address and approximate location derived from IP (country, region, city)
• browser type, device type, operating system, language, timezone, and screen characteristics
• pages viewed, referrer URLs, advertising click identifiers, UTM campaign parameters, scroll depth, time on site, and engagement events
• cookie and similar technology identifiers
• device and browser identifiers used to understand unique visits and to reduce spam or abuse
• website host / source site identifiers so we know which Service Family website you used
• user agent and, for digital NOIM lodgement, IP address stored with the submission metadata

3.8 Marketing and analytics information

• Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4, and Google Ads conversion / remarketing tags installed on this website
• first-party MarriageAi analytics events from the embedded form (page views, form funnel steps, lead events)
• advertising click identifiers present in landing URLs, including our Google Ads landing pages (/google-registration01/ and /google-visa02/)

3.9 Information about other people

If you give us personal information about another person (partner, witness, parent named on a form, agent, or family member), you must only do so if you are authorised to provide it, and you should tell that person about this Policy.

4. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information:

• directly from you, when you fill in website forms, use the embedded marriage booking or digital NOIM form, use a chat assistant if shown, email or call us, visit our venue, upload or email documents, attend a remote witnessing appointment, or otherwise deal with us;
• automatically, when you browse our websites or use embeds (cookies, tags, server logs, analytics scripts, and similar technologies);
• from your partner or authorised representative, where they supply your details for a shared booking or NOIM;
• from payment providers (Stripe) in connection with a transaction;
• from technology providers that support hosting, security, spam filtering, email delivery, reviews widgets, fonts, maps links, and analytics;
• from publicly available sources only where reasonably necessary (for example to verify a business contact who enquires as an agent).

If you choose not to provide information we reasonably need, we may be unable to respond to your enquiry, complete a booking, process payment, lodge a NOIM, or provide celebrant services required by law.

5. Why we collect, hold, use, and disclose personal information

We collect, hold, use, and disclose personal information for purposes including:

1. Providing our services: answering enquiries; scheduling; ceremony planning; NOIM preparation, witnessing, and lodgement support; celebrant services; visa support letters where offered; sending the free guide if you asked for it; customer care.
2. Legal compliance: complying with the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), celebrant obligations, identity verification, record-keeping, and other applicable laws.
3. Payments and accounting: processing fees, issuing receipts, preventing fraud, reconciling transactions, and meeting tax and financial record duties.
4. Operating our platforms: MarriageAi form sessions, CRM customer records, admin dashboards used by authorised staff and celebrants, document and PDF generation, and secure resume links.
5. Security and integrity: detecting spam, abuse, unauthorised access, and payment fraud; protecting couples, staff, and systems (including Google reCAPTCHA on website forms).
6. Analytics and service improvement: understanding website and funnel performance across Service Family sites; improving content, UX, and operations.
7. Communications: service messages (booking confirmations, resume links, payment notices, ceremony updates, SMS alerts that an email was sent) and, where permitted, marketing about our services. You can opt out of marketing at any time. Service messages required to deliver a booking or legal process may still be sent.
8. Complaints and disputes: handling privacy or service complaints and establishing legal claims or defences.
9. Business operations: training (using minimised or de-identified material where practicable), quality assurance, and corporate transactions (for example sale or restructure of the business), subject to appropriate safeguards.

We will not use or disclose personal information for a secondary purpose unless an APP exception applies (for example you would reasonably expect it, you consent, or it is required or authorised by law).

Official marriage documents we lodge are also used by BDM Victoria to register the marriage. BDM Victoria provides non-identifying information from the Notice to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and may provide documents to the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants and the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, as explained on the official Notice of Intended Marriage privacy notice.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage, and similar technologies to:

• make the website and embeds work (essential / functional);
• remember preferences where applicable;
• measure traffic and campaign performance (analytics and advertising);
• support security and spam reduction;
• load fonts, reviews, and payment fields.

This website does not currently show a separate cookie preference banner. You can still control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may limit website or booking functionality.

6.1 Technologies in use on this website

As at the effective date, this website uses or may load:

Those providers may set their own cookies and collect data under their own policies.

6.2 WordPress and logged-in features

If comments are enabled and you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email, and website in cookies for convenience. Login and screen-option cookies may be set for administrators. A temporary cookie may be used to test whether your browser accepts cookies.

6.3 Embedded and third-party content

Pages may embed content from other services (reviews widgets, payment fields, form widgets hosted on MarriageAi / Firebase domains, or social links to Facebook and Instagram). Those services may set their own cookies.

6.4 Managing cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings, Google’s Ads Settings, and industry opt-out tools. Blocking some cookies may stop a form, payment field, or reviews widget from working correctly.

7. Who we share personal information with

We do not sell your personal information.

We may disclose personal information to:

If you request a password reset on WordPress, your IP address may be included in the reset email.

We do not send your identity documents to the Department of Home Affairs unless you ask us to prepare a visa support letter that you (or your migration agent) choose to submit. We do not grant visas.

8. Overseas disclosure (APP 8)

Some of our service providers store or process information outside Australia, including in the United States and other countries where Google, Stripe, Trustindex, or other subprocessors operate infrastructure.

Where we disclose personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient does not breach the APPs in relation to the information, or we rely on another permitted exception (for example your consent, or the disclosure is required or authorised by law).

By using our websites and services, you acknowledge that your personal information may be transferred to, stored in, or accessed from those overseas locations.

9. How we hold and protect personal information

We hold personal information in electronic systems (including Firestore databases, cloud storage for documents and PDFs, CRM records, email systems, and WordPress) and, where needed, in paper files at our business premises.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Measures include:

• TLS / HTTPS for websites and APIs;
• access controls for staff and admin users;
• origin allowlisting and application security controls for embedded forms;
• payment data handled by Stripe rather than stored as full card data on our servers;
• monitoring for spam and abuse.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If you believe your interaction with us has been compromised, contact us using the details in section 14.

10. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes set out in this Policy, including:

• Enquiry and marketing leads: typically retained while an enquiry is active and for a reasonable period afterwards for follow-up, analytics, and dispute handling, unless you successfully request deletion and no legal retention duty applies.
• Booking, payment, and ceremony records: retained for operational, accounting, and legal purposes.
• NOIM and marriage documentation: retained for periods required or expected under celebrant and marriage law obligations and our professional record-keeping duties. Some records cannot be deleted on request where we are obliged to keep them.
• Website comments (if any): may be retained indefinitely to manage moderation and follow-up comments.
• Analytics events and logs: retained for analysis and security for periods appropriate to those purposes, then deleted or de-identified where practicable.
• WordPress accounts (if any): profile information remains while the account exists.

When information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it, subject to legal retention requirements.

11. Direct marketing (APP 7)

We may use your contact details to send service-related and, where permitted, marketing communications about marriage, ceremony, and related services offered by the Service Family. That includes the free getting-married guide if you ticked that box on a form.

You may opt out of marketing emails by using the unsubscribe link (where provided) or by contacting office@marriagevictoria.com.au. We will not use sensitive information for direct marketing unless an exception under the Privacy Act applies (for example you consented).

12. Your rights and choices (APP 12 and APP 13)

You may request to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• correct personal information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading;
• withdraw consent where we rely on consent (this may affect our ability to provide some services);
• opt out of marketing;
• request deletion of personal information we no longer need, noting we may refuse where we are required or authorised by law to retain it (including marriage / celebrant records), or where another exception applies.

To make a request, email office@marriagevictoria.com.au with enough detail for us to verify your identity and locate the information. We will respond within a reasonable period (generally within 30 days).

We may refuse a request in limited circumstances permitted by the Privacy Act. If we refuse, we will tell you why (unless unreasonable to do so) and how to complain.

If you have a WordPress account on this site, you may also be able to view or edit some profile information in your account settings. Website administrators can also access that information for site administration.

13. Children and young people

Our marriage services are directed to people who are legally able to marry under Australian law. Additional legal requirements apply if a party is under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marriage services where that would be unlawful. If you believe we have collected information inappropriately, contact us and we will take reasonable steps to address it.

14. Complaints

If you have a privacy complaint, contact us first:

• Email: office@marriagevictoria.com.au
• Phone: (03) 9820 1119
• Post: Privacy Officer, Destination Weddings Group Pty Ltd, Victorian Marriage Hub, 893-915 Punt Road, South Yarra VIC 3141, Australia

Please describe the issue and how we can reach you. We will investigate and respond within a reasonable time.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992

15. Third-party websites and services

Our websites may link to third-party sites (including BDM Victoria, government resources, payment pages, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, or partner tools). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Read their privacy policies before providing information to them.

Relevant third-party policies include:

• Stripe: https://stripe.com/au/privacy
• Google (Analytics, Ads, Tag Manager, Firebase / Google Cloud, Gemini, reCAPTCHA, Fonts, Maps): https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Google reCAPTCHA terms: https://policies.google.com/terms
• Trustindex: https://www.trustindex.io/privacy-policy/
• WordPress / Automattic (if using WordPress.com services or Gravatar): https://automattic.com/privacy/

16. Media uploads and comments (WordPress)

If you upload images to the website, avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Other visitors may be able to download images and extract that location data.

If comments are enabled, we collect the data shown in the comments form, plus IP address and browser user agent to help with spam detection. An anonymised hash of your email may be provided to Gravatar to retrieve a profile image. After approval, your comment and profile picture may be publicly visible. Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

17. Automated decision-making and AI tools

This website may include an AI-assisted chat that uses third-party language models to help answer general questions about marriage processes and our services. Chat content you submit may be processed by those providers to generate a response through our systems.

We do not use fully automated decision-making as the sole basis for decisions that have a legal or similarly significant effect on you (for example whether a marriage can be solemnised). Celebrant and legal decisions remain subject to human professional obligations and applicable law.

Do not submit unnecessary sensitive documents through chat. Prefer the secure form, email, or in-person process we direct you to for identity documents.

18. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page will change when we do. Continued use of the website or services after an update means you should review the revised Policy. For material changes, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.

19. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information:

• Melbourne Marriage Registry
• Website: https://melbournemarriageregistry.com.au
• Email: office@marriagevictoria.com.au
• Alternate published email: marriage@getmarriednow.com.au
• Phone: (03) 9820 1119
• Address: Victorian Marriage Hub, 893-915 Punt Road, South Yarra VIC 3141, Australia