Digital statutory declarations: what myGov can and cannot do
myGov makes Commonwealth statutory declarations only. With a Digital ID verified to the required strength you can make one online with no witness at all. If you need a NSW, Victorian, Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmanian or NT declaration, myGov cannot produce it.
Start with the limit, because it decides everything else: the myGov route is a Commonwealth service. It does not make a state or territory declaration. The official pages say so, but rarely in the place you look first.
So the question underneath "can I do a stat dec online" is "which declaration do I need", and the online option exists for one of the nine answers. If you have not settled that yet, start with which statutory declaration you need.
This page explains the process and points you to the official source. It is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, speak to a lawyer, Legal Aid or a community legal centre.
Checked 14 August 2026. We re-check this page every six months, and sooner if a witness list changes.
Three ways to make a Commonwealth declaration
Since 1 January 2024 all three are equally valid and legally effective:
- Paper, witnessed in person. The traditional route, with an approved witness.
- Electronic signing with video-link witnessing. You sign electronically and an approved witness observes over a video call. The witness must actually see you sign, and the signing and witnessing should happen in one sitting.
- Digital through myGov, with no witness. Requires a Digital Identity verified to the required strength.
What myGov cannot do
myGov cannot make a state or territory statutory declaration. If the organisation asking for your declaration needs a NSW, Victorian, Queensland, Western Australian, South Australian, Tasmanian or Northern Territory form, you need that jurisdiction's form and, in every one of them except the NT, an authorised witness.
Tasmania's Department of Justice puts the same point plainly from the other direction: the 2024 changes relate only to Commonwealth statutory declarations, and each state and territory maintains its own legislation and requirements, which in most cases still require physical or remote witnessing by an authorised person.
State by state, what is possible online
The states are moving at different speeds and the detail changes, so check the official page for your jurisdiction rather than assuming. Two worth knowing now:
- Queensland allows electronic signing and witnessing by audio visual link, but both require a special witness rather than an ordinary authorised witness. See the Queensland page.
- Tasmania publishes a separate statutory declaration form for electronic documents alongside its physical one. See the Tasmanian page.
Whichever route you use, confirm the receiving organisation accepts it. Queensland's guidance makes the point generally: some entities only accept declarations signed on paper, while others accept electronic signatures, and you should find out their requirements before you make the document.
If you do not have a Digital ID
The digital route is not available to you, and that is a common situation rather than a problem to solve on this page. Use the paper form with an approved witness, or the video-link option. The Commonwealth witness list is the widest in Australia, so finding an approved witness is usually easier than people expect: see who can witness a statutory declaration.
Go to the official service
Digital Commonwealth statutory declaration at myGov
We link the government service rather than reproducing any part of it. Digital identity requirements change, and the official page is the only place that is current.
Common questions
Can I do a statutory declaration online?
You can make a Commonwealth statutory declaration online through myGov if you have a Digital Identity verified to the required strength, and it needs no witness. myGov cannot make a state or territory statutory declaration.
Do I need a witness for a myGov statutory declaration?
No. The Attorney-General's Department states that you do not need a witness for a digital Commonwealth statutory declaration made through myGov, but you do need a Digital Identity to verify who you are.
Can I make a NSW statutory declaration online?
Not through myGov, which only produces Commonwealth declarations. Check the Service NSW page for the current NSW position, and note that NSW requires a Justice of the Peace, an Australian legal practitioner or a notary public as witness.
Is a digital statutory declaration as valid as a paper one?
For Commonwealth declarations, yes. Paper with a witness, electronic signing with video-link witnessing, and the digital myGov route are all equally valid and legally effective. Some organisations still ask for paper, so confirm what the recipient accepts.
Can my declaration be witnessed over video?
For a Commonwealth declaration, yes, by video link with an approved witness who must see you sign. In Queensland, video-link witnessing requires a special witness. Rules differ elsewhere, so check your jurisdiction's official page.
Where this comes from
Every rule on this page comes from the official source below. We link them rather than copy them, because a form or a witness list that is out of date is worse than no form at all. Check the source if anything here matters to your document.
- myGov, Commonwealth statutory declarations, the digital service, its Digital ID requirement and the no-witness rule.
- Attorney-General's Department, statutory declarations, the three ways to make a Commonwealth declaration.
- Queensland Government, making a statutory declaration, the Queensland electronic signing and special witness rules, and the advice to check what the receiving entity accepts.
- Tasmanian Department of Justice, statutory declarations, the separate Tasmanian form for electronic documents.
Working out a sequence of events?
If your declaration sets out what happened and when, build the timeline first. Nothing you type is uploaded, and you can export a clean copy.