AFFIDAVIT

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    What is an Affidavit?

  1. An affidavit is a written statement made and sworn under oath or affirmation and signed by the deponent for use as evidence in court.
  2. Affidavits are used as a means of giving evidence in court in lieu of appearing as a witness and givel oral evidence.

    3. Caveats

  3. Do not witness the document if it is unlawful or you do not have the authority to sign it.
  4. A document is unlawful if:
    1. it is not authorised to be sworn under any Act; or
    2. the wording used is not the wording that the relevant Act prescribes; or
    3. it includes unlawful material such as defamatory comments.

    Document Format

  5. The form of the affidavit varies according to the type of oath or affirmation. Ensure the affidavit is in the correct format.
  6. A general purpose affidavit form may be downloaded from here. in Microsoft Word or PDF format. At the top of the page see Sort by Category, and select General (not prescribed by legislation).
  7. The reference contains many different specific forms of affidavit, and for anything other than the general purpose form above, deponents should seek legal advice as to the most appropriate form for their need.
  8. Information which might assist the deponent in preparing the form can be found here.

    9. Determine the Form of Oath or Affirmation

  9. Determine which form of oath or affirmation the deponents wishes to use. The most commonly used forms are shown below, but see Oaths and Affirmations for other forms of oaths and affirmations.

    10. Multiple Affidavits

  10. If more than one affidavit is to be witnessed, use a plural form of the oath or affirmation.

    11. Alterations and Blank Spaces

  11. Alterations are to be initialled by both you and the deponent. Any large blank spaces are to be ruled through and initialled by both you and the deponent.

    12. Additions, Attachments, Annexures and/or Enclosures

  12. Under the Uniform Civil Procedures Rules 1999, a document to be used with and mentioned in an affidavit is an exhibit.
  13. Examples include financial statements, medical records, reports, photographs, short messages (SMS) or emails.
  14. Exhibits are normally marked sequentially with the letters 'A', 'B', 'C' and so on, but others forms of identification are acceptable.

    15. Certificate of Exhibit

  15. Exhibits to documents being filed in court for a civil proceeding must be accompanied by a Certificate of Exhibit and signed by both the witness and the deponent.
  16. This certificate takes the general form shown here.
  17. Both you and the deponent must sign the Certificate of Exhibit and all of the exhibits.
  18. If the annexure does not have a Certificate of Exhibit you may mark it with the following wording. Normally there is no need for the deponent to sign or initial these annexures.

    This is the [type of document] or a copy of the [type of document]
    marked with the letter 'A' referred to in the [name of main document]
    sworn/taken/affirmed/solemnly declared before me
    this [date]day of [month],[year].
    JP(Qual) signature
    Justice of the Peace (Qualified)

    19. Certified True Copies

  19. For information on Certified True Copies see menu item Certified Copies.

    20. Deponent's Understanding of the Document

  20. Question the deponent to ensure they understand the nature and contents of the document.
  21. Note that r 433 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules requires that if the person taking the affidavit considers the deponent to be incapable of reading the affidavit and/or physically incapable of signing it, the person taking the affidavit must certify in or below the jurat that:
    1. the affidavit was read or otherwise communicated in the person's presence to the person making it; and
    2. the person seemed to understand the affidavit; and
    3. the person signified that the person made the affidavit.
  22. See Disability and/or Non-English Speaking for further information.

    23. Multi-page affidavits

  23. The signatory and JP(Qual) are to sign the bottom of each page of the affidavit.
  24. Number pages as page 1 of 5, 2 of 5 etc. The position of the numbering is not prescribed, but it is normally placed in the lower right-hand corner of the page.

    25. oaths and affirmations

  25. An oath is a solemn declaration or undertaking that calls upon God to witness the truthfulness of the statement that the person is undertaking.
  26. A document made under oath is said to be 'sworn under oath', as the contents of the document are 'sworn before God'.
  27. There are various forms of oath for different belief systems (see Oaths & Affirmations).
  28. A solemn affirmation is the equivalent of an oath except that it does not call upon God to bear witness. In today's multicultural societiy, the use of affirmations is commonly accepted for those with no religious beliefs, or those whose belief system precludes the use of an oath .
  29. If, due to their belief system, the deponent requres a form of oath or affirmation other than those shown below, see Oaths & Affirmations for the less common forms.

  30. Warn the deponent of penalties and advise that an oath or affirmation is a solemn matter.
  31. Place the deponent under oath or affirmation (see below).

    32. Affidavit on Oath

  32. When the deponent is taking an oath on the Bible, the oath takes the following form:

    I SWEAR THAT THE CONTENTS OF THIS AFFIDAVIT, AND ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT I MAY PROVIDE, ORALLY OR IN WRITING, ARE TRUE AND CORRECT, SO HELP ME GOD.

  33. The affidavit then takes this form:

    I, [full name], of [address], make oath and say that . . .

    [Contents of the affidavit, including reference to all of the exhibits.]

    Deponent's signature

    Signed and sworn by the said deponent at [suburb where signed]
    this [date]day of [month],[year], before me.

    JP(Qual) signature
    Justice of the Peace (Qualified)

    34. Affidavit on Affirmation

  34. When the deponent is making an affirmation, it usually takes this form:

    I SOLEMNLY, SINCERELY AND TRULY AFFIRM AND DECLARE, THAT THE CONTENTS OF THIS AFFIDAVIT, AND ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT I PROVIDE, ORALLY OR IN WRITING, ARE TRUE AND CORRECT.

  35. The affidavit then takes this form:

    I, [name], of [address] do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that . . .

    [Contents of the affidavit, including reference to all of the exhibits.]

    Deponent's signature
    Signed and solemnly, sincerely and truly affirmed and declared by

    the said deponent at [suburb where signed],
    this [date]day of [month],[year], before me.

    JP(Qual) signature
    Justice of the Peace (Qualified)

    36. References

  36. The Duties of Justices of the Peace (Qualified) Handbook, Queensland Government - June 2017 Sections 3.1, 4.1, 4.7