Put down the ink pen! This crucial step in applying for a visa has been digitised

Processing your working or partner visa is about to permanently change, affecting roughly 3.8 million statutory declarations lodged each year.

A temporary law to allow remote witness approval of statutory declarations was passed in 2021. Source: Getty / /

Key Points

• Digital statutory declarations were adopted in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The changes, now made permanent, impact a range of visa applicants including worker, student and partner visas.
• The federal government anticipates digitisation will streamline the process and save $156 million.

Migrant workers will no longer need to go to the post office with their visa renewal paperwork as the federal government looks to permanently allow digital statutory declarations.

The Albanese government will usher statutory declarations into the modern age through a bill introduced to parliament on Thursday, allowing the legal document to be electronically completed and witnessed.

A statutory declaration is critical to obtaining a working, partner or student visa, with witnesses required to sign off on statements of facts about the applicant to support their visa.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the strictly paper-based system, whereby an in-person witness was required, was digitised but the temporary law was set to expire on 31 December.

However, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the “modest” change was here to stay and would “have an impact” for individuals and businesses alike.

"The bill modernises and reimagines how individuals and businesses engage with documents and by extension with the Australian government,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

What will the bill do?

Dreyfus anticipated the move would boost productivity and efficiency, saving over $156 million and thousands of hours processing the previously paper statutory declarations.

The digital push will make the process a lot easier for applicants, especially those living with a disability or in regional or remote parts of Australia.

Despite a long list of “approved witnesses” that hold a particular occupation or office it can often be difficult to obtain a signature in person.

The bill will also allow Australians to use the MyGov digital ID feature to execute their documents, streamlining the roughly 3.8 million statutory declarations lodged each year.

In order to safeguard any sensitive information contained in the documents, the bill requires approved online platforms to show they comply with privacy laws and have robust security arrangements in place.

Those who prefer an ink pen will still be able to complete statutory declarations on a paper form.