A person living in Australia can get most Indian legal work done without flying to India. Documents are signed before an Australian notary public and apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, then couriered to India and stamped within three months. An attorney holder or our team then deals with banks, registrars and courts. Australia is not a reciprocating territory, so an Australian court judgment must be sued upon afresh in India rather than executed directly.
- Document route
- Australian notary public, then apostille from DFAT
- Time difference
- Australia is 2h30 (Perth) to 5h30 (Sydney and Melbourne in summer) ahead of IST
- Foreign judgments in India
- Not reciprocating: fresh suit
- Apostille with India
- In force
What Indian-Australians most often need from an Indian lawyer
The Indian community in Australia grew quickly over the last two decades through skilled migration and international education, and it is concentrated in Sydney's western suburbs, Melbourne's south-east and north-west, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. Many people arrived as students from Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Haryana, became permanent residents and later citizens. Most have parents still in India, and that is where much of their legal work comes from.
The requests we see from Australia reflect that stage of life. Children in Melbourne need a deceased father's bank deposits released through a succession certificate, a family in Perth wants to sell a flat in Hyderabad, and an engineer in Sydney needs a power of attorney for India so a sibling can handle land records. Family matters arrive too: separations between spouses on partner visas, criminal complaints filed in India by an estranged wife, and disputes over children taken from Australia to India or held there after a holiday.
Signing documents in Australia for use in India
Australia and India are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so Australian documents for India are apostilled rather than attested by the High Commission. The usual route is:
- Sign before an Australian notary public, who is a senior lawyer authorised by the state Supreme Court. A Justice of the Peace or a statutory declaration witness is not enough for documents that will be apostilled for India.
- Obtain an apostille from DFAT, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which authenticates the notary's signature and seal. Public documents such as an Australian death certificate can be apostilled directly.
- Courier the original to India for stamping within three months of receipt and, for property powers of attorney, authentication or registration where the state requires it.
Indian passport holders may also sign before the consular section of the High Commission or a Consulate General, but many Indian-Australians are now foreign nationals with OCI cards, for whom the notary and DFAT route is the usual answer. We confirm the format required by the Indian office before you book a notary, because a rejected document costs weeks.
Most requested services from Australia
These are the six services Indian-Australians ask us for most. Each page explains how the matter runs from Australia, from the notary and DFAT apostille step to what happens in the Indian registry, bank or court.
Wills & Probate
Australian wills often do not deal cleanly with Indian assets, and families find that Indian banks and registrars want Indian probate or a will drafted for India.
Succession Certificate
When a parent dies without a will, children in Australia usually need a succession certificate before Indian banks release deposits and shares.
Buying & Selling Property
Many settled migrants sell a family flat in India to put the money towards an Australian home, or buy one in India for parents.
Power of Attorney
A notarised, DFAT-apostilled power of attorney lets a relative in India act for you while you stay at work in Australia.
498A & Dowry Case Defence
Marital breakdowns in Australia are sometimes followed by a dowry or cruelty complaint in India against the husband and his family.
International Child Custody
Children taken from Australia to India, or kept there after a visit, cannot be returned under the Hague Convention because India has not joined it.
Tax, the India-Australia treaty and sending money home
India and Australia have a comprehensive double taxation agreement, which allocates taxing rights and gives relief through foreign income tax offsets in Australia. Australian tax residents are taxed on worldwide income, so rent from a flat in Pune or a capital gain on a plot in Ludhiana appears on both the Indian and the Australian return. Indian tax deducted at source can usually be claimed as an offset in Australia, but the amounts and timing need to be reconciled with your Australian accountant.
On a sale of Indian property, the buyer deducts tax at non-resident rates, and you may need a lower deduction certificate to avoid over-deduction. Proceeds in an NRO account can be remitted to Australia up to USD 1 million per financial year with Forms 15CA and 15CB. Inheritances from parents in India are not taxed as income in India, though Australian rules can apply to later gains on inherited assets. We handle the Indian side and coordinate with your adviser in Australia.
Australian family orders and the Indian courts
Australia is not a reciprocating territory under section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure, so a money judgment from an Australian court cannot be executed in India as if it were an Indian decree. The judgment creditor must file a suit in India on the judgment, and the defendant can raise the defences in section 13.
Family orders face a separate hurdle. Australian divorce under the Family Law Act 1975 rests on twelve months of separation, a no-fault ground that is not available in the same form under the Hindu Marriage Act. Following the Supreme Court's reasoning in Y. Narasimha Rao v. Y. Venkata Lakshmi (1991), such a decree may not be treated as dissolving an Indian marriage unless the other spouse took part and the ground matches Indian law. Parenting orders from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia are persuasive but not binding in India, and because India is not a party to the Hague Child Abduction Convention, a parent cannot use the Convention to bring a child back from India. Our international child custody page explains the options.
Working with an Indian lawyer from Australia
Australia is ahead of India, which makes scheduling easier than it is for clients in the Americas. Perth is two and a half hours ahead all year; Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are four and a half hours ahead in winter and five and a half in summer; Brisbane does not change its clocks. An 8 pm call in Melbourne in winter is 3.30 pm in India, within court and office hours.
Indian courts now hear many matters by video, and family courts often record statements of spouses abroad remotely, so one trip, or none, is often enough. Courier from Australia to Mohali usually takes five to eight working days. If a spouse has filed a complaint in India, check for a Look Out Circular before you fly, and consider anticipatory bail first. Clients who later move to New Zealand can see our New Zealand page.
More services for clients in Australia
Each of these has its own page written for clients in Australia, covering how documents are signed there and what happens in India.
- Property Disputes
- Title Search & Due Diligence
- Mutation & Transfer
- Partition of Family Property
- Encroachment & Illegal Possession
- Builder Delay & RERA
- Tenant Eviction
- Repatriation of Funds
- NRI Income Tax & DTAA
- Legal Advisory for NRI Investors
- Shareholder Disputes & NCLT
- Accident Compensation Claims
- Criminal Defence & Look Out Circulars
- Divorce for NRIs
All services for clients in Australia
NRI Property Law
- Property Disputes
- Encroachment & Illegal Possession
- Partition of Family Property
- Buying & Selling Property
- Title Search & Due Diligence
- Tenant Eviction
- Builder Delay & RERA
Inheritance & Documents
Cross-Border Family Law
- Divorce for NRIs
- International Child Custody
- Maintenance & Alimony
- Marriage Registration
- 498A & Dowry Case Defence
- OCI Card Issues
Doing Business in India
- Company Setup for Foreigners
- Indian Subsidiary Setup
- Branch & Liaison Office
- FDI & FEMA Compliance
- Trademark Protection in India
- Commercial Contracts
- Employment Law for Foreign Employers
- GST for Foreign Businesses
- Investing in Indian Startups
- Legal Advisory for NRI Investors
Disputes & Enforcement
- International Arbitration
- Enforcing Foreign Judgments
- Money Recovery from India
- Shareholder Disputes & NCLT
- Accident Compensation Claims
- Cyber & Investment Fraud
- Criminal Defence & Look Out Circulars
Cross-Border Tax & Money
Indian missions in Australia
The High Commission in Canberra and the Consulates General in the larger state capitals handle passports, OCI services and consular attestation, partly through an outsourced service provider.
- High Commission of India, Canberra
- Consulate General of India, Sydney
- Consulate General of India, Melbourne
- Consulate General of India, Perth
Frequently asked questions
Can a Justice of the Peace witness my power of attorney for India?
Not for this purpose. DFAT apostilles documents signed before an Australian notary public, not documents witnessed by a JP, so sign before a notary unless you are using the High Commission or a Consulate.
Does an Australian court judgment work in India?
Not directly. Australia is not a reciprocating territory, so a fresh suit is filed in India on the judgment. The Indian court checks jurisdiction, natural justice and the other section 13 grounds before giving effect to it.
Is my Australian divorce valid in India?
It depends on how and where you married and whether your spouse took part. A no-fault Australian divorce against a spouse who never appeared may not be recognised in India, and a fresh Indian divorce is sometimes the safer course.
I am an Australian citizen with an OCI card. Can I buy a flat in India?
Yes. OCI cardholders can buy residential and commercial property in India, but not agricultural land, plantations or farmhouses. You can inherit any type of property.
Can I claim Indian tax against my Australian tax?
Generally yes. Under the India-Australia tax treaty, Indian tax paid on Indian income can usually be claimed as a foreign income tax offset in Australia, subject to Australian rules.
Do I need to travel to India for a succession certificate?
Usually not. The petition is filed through your lawyer, and heirs in Australia sign their consents and affidavits before a notary with a DFAT apostille.
What happens if my spouse has filed a complaint against me in India?
Take advice before you travel. We check for a Look Out Circular, seek anticipatory bail if needed and, in suitable cases, apply to the High Court to quash the complaint.
How do I send original documents from Australia?
Use a tracked international courier to our Mohali office after we have reviewed a scan. Keep a certified copy in Australia in case the original is delayed.