A written statement declared to be true in the presence of an authorised witness or, for Commonwealth declarations on and from 1 January 2024, using an authorised digital verification service. Each state and territory has legislation governing the making of statutory declarations.

For the Commonwealth and the Australian Capital Territory, statutory declarations are governed by the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (Cth) and may be made through traditional paper-based methods or using electronic signing and video-link witnessing or a digital verification service, with all methods being equally valid and legally effective.

The legislation in the other states and territories generally provides for statutory declarations to be made and signed in a paper or electronic format and witnessed by certain authorised persons.

For the form of statutory declaration required in each Australian jurisdiction and detailed guidance, see Standard documents: