Notary

Notary

Michael Bula has the unique combined qualifications of the Graduate Diploma in Notarial Practice (Victoria University) in the areas of :

• Notarial Practice - Theory
• Notarial Practice - Practical
• Comparative Law
• Private International Law/Conflict of Laws

as well as appointment as a notary for the following jurisdictions:

• the State of Victoria
• the Australian Capital Territory and
• the Republic of Vanuatu.

Corporates Mobile Service [new!]

MBS has a VESPA service to attend at corporate premises for notarisations. Just ask!

Appointments and memberships

Michael Bula is again President [former President 2007 to 2009] and Fellow of The Society of Notaries of Victoria Inc., which ensures leadership in the profession, currency with the most up-to-date notarial practice and the application of the highest standards of the local and international professions, in recognition of his prominence.

As President in 2019, he achieved an historical first - the twinning with international collaboration agreements between the Society of Notaries of Victoria and the Societies of Notaries of England and Wales, NSW and Queensland, as well as Hungary and Estonia and in 2022 the Scriveners of London, Italy, Switzerland and Latvia. Other international projects are in the pipeline.

He is an affiliated individual member of the International Union of Notaries, which grants MBS access to the civil law world of the Latin notariat and its networks and expertise.

He is Former Deputy Chairman and current Governor for Victoria and responsible for International Relations on the Board and Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries, a public company limited by guarantee founded in June 2007. The College promotes excellence in education, professional development and support for members. This enhances the profile of MBS on a regional level.

He successfully achieved Observer Status for the College to the International Union of Notaries and is the Australian representative member on the International Task Force Civil Law Common Law. 

Michael Bula is a casual sessional lecturer and presenter in notarial practice with a focus on the French and Civil Law notariats at Victoria University and for The Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries.

Functions of a Notary

MBS ensures that all the required elements and information of a notarial act are present.

• This requirement is essential especially for public form documents.
• For private form documents, the notary must ascertain to the best of his or her knowledge:
• the true identity of the person signing the deed by virtue of a variety of identity documents
• that the parties are legally capable of signing the deed (over 18 years of age and are not under any legal incapacity)
• the signatories fully understand the nature and effect of the deed
• if the persons are acting in an official representative capacity, such as an attorney-under-power for a third party or a company officer or authorised signatory, proofs of such capacity must be produced
• the signing of the deed does not constitute a fraud or an unlawful act.

MBS can advise on all these issues.

Types of documents requiring a Notary

Only the notarial deeds, instruments and documents prepared by a notary such as Michael Bula, are recognised in the majority of countries in the world.

The types of documents requiring a notary which commonly come before MBS are:

• Foreign language documents which can also be translated/drafted in ALL LANGUAGES through our associated agency Corporate Language Communications
• Powers of Attorney
• Court documents
• Administrative documents
• Conveyancing, Real property, Personal property, Lease and Mortgage instruments
• Authorities
• True certified copies
• Certificates as to Australian law
• Certificates as to foreign law
• Foreign marriage contracts
• Affidavits and declarations
• Ship’s protests
• Bills of exchange
• Company documents
• Intellectual property documents and applications (Patents, Trademarks and Designs)
• Trust documents
• Wills, Probate and succession documents

as a non-exhaustive list.

Remote Online Notarisation [RON] [new]

MBS offers a NEW RON service by videoconference where clients are offsite and cannot attend at our office. Please enquire - click here and quote 'RON' in your message, as permitted by Victorian law.

International Applications

Most documents requiring notarisation are for overseas countries - foreign jurisdictions. Where those countries are members of the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, MBS recommends/obtains the affixing of the Apostille stamp from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which will ensure the document is accepted in the foreign jurisdiction.

Where the country of destination is not a member of the Hague Convention, an Australian based embassy or consulate of that country can “legalise” notarial certificates from MBS, so that documents are accepted in that country.

In the event that the country of destination is neither a member of the Hague Convention nor has any diplomatic or consular representation in Australia, MBS can advise as to other effective alternatives.

For Commonwealth countries, however, documents notarised in Australia can be used in most jurisdictions, without the requirement of the Apostille, as Australian notaries and those from Commonwealth countries usually accord mutual recognition. Nevertheless this should be vetted by MBS.

On some occasions, special notarial certificates need be prepared.

Care must also be taken to ensure that the notarial act is prepared in the proper form as follows:

• To comply with the requirements of the foreign jurisdiction;
• To be in the applicable foreign language
• To be drawn [see next heading] in either:
  • public [authentic] form, which is drafted and executed under seal by the notary as the author of the instrument, certifying the truth and accuracy of its content or
  • private form, where the document is executed by the client, sometimes with a number of independent witnesses in addition to the notary who signs and seals the document and/or an attached certificate.

MBS has produced a list of most world countries noting overseas document requirements which it can consult at the request of clients.

Authentic -v- Private Notarial Acts

We are one of the few firms which prepare authentic [public form] and private notarial acts [documents] in foreign languages which respect the civil law requirements of this complex area of private international law.

Deeds for France and French-speaking countries

MBS is uniquely recognised by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the French Embassy and Consulate General of France in Australia as a notary capable of drafting documents in the French language, which are recognised and valid in France and all its overseas departments and territories and as a consequence in all French-speaking jurisdictions.

NEW! - "From 1 January 2019, no French diplomatic or consular mission can receive notarial acts. For any act to be received in authentic form, clients are invited to contact either a local notary or his equivalent, or a notarial office in France (viz. the notarial directory) ..." Michael Bula is among a very small number of notaries in Australia who can receive AND explain the contents of French authentic and private notarial acts accepted by notaires in France with NAATI professional certified translation qualifications noted in the Notarial certificate which he prepares in French with or without Apostille, as required by the French notaire.

Documents can be translated to French through our associated agency Traductions Françaises.

Deeds in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese

MBS through our associated agency Corporate Language Communications can draft specialist deeds specifically in these languages spoken at the firm.