Request a message of congratulations

If you or someone you love has a birthday or anniversary coming up, you may be eligible for personal congratulations from your local Federal and State Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister, Governor-General or the Queen.

Am I eligible?

Birthdays

If you are turning 90 or older, you can receive a message of congratulations from the Prime Minister and your local Member of Parliament.

If you are turning 100 or older you can receive a message of congratulations from the Queen and the Governor-General in addition to the Prime Minister and your local Member of Parliament.

On request, the Prime Minister and the Governor-General can write again in any subsequent year and the Queen can write again for any subsequent birthday ending in '5' or '0'.

Anniversaries

If you are celebrating 50 years of marriage, you can receive a Message of Congratulations from the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and your local Member of Parliament.

If you are celebrating 60 years of marriage, you can receive a Message of Congratulations from the Queen. On request, the Queen can write again for any subsequent five-year anniversary.

How to request a message

You can request a message for yourself or on behalf of someone else as long as the person to be congratulated lives in the Newcastle electorate. Just fill in the form to the right, or call my office on 4926 1555.

Evidence Requirements

You will need to provide supporting documentation like birth certificates or marriage certificates to verify the date of the birthday or anniversary to sharon.claydon.mp@aph.gov.au or by post or in person at 427 Hunter Street, Newcastle.

Evidence required

marriage certificate (for wedding anniversaries)
Childs birth certificate if parent(s) full names and date of birth are documented (for wedding anniversaries)
birth certificate (for birthdays)
passport including an expired passport (for birthdays)
driver’s licence including an expired driver’s licence (for birthdays)
proof of age card or similar documentation (for birthdays)
statutory declaration from any person with the relevant knowledge, declaring:
- wedding anniversaries - the full names and full date of marriage of the couple, or
- birthdays - the full name and full date of birth of the individual.
Statutory declaration forms are available at any post office, or online from the Attorney-General's Department.

If you aren't able to provide a birth certificate, marriage certificate or other documentation verifying the celebrated date, you can fill in a Statutory Declaration, which are available at any post office or from my office.

Forwarded Requests

Where appropriate, your request to the Prime Minister will be passed on to the Governor-General and The Queen so you only have to make one application. It will also be sent to your State member to arrange a message from the State Premier.

When to arrange the message

You can make arrangements for anniversary messages up to two months before the celebration, but to ensure your message arrives in time, please apply at least six weeks before the special day.

You can also request a belated message up to one month after the birthday or wedding anniversary has passed.

Where will the message be delivered?

Congratulations messages can be delivered directly to the recipient or you can have it sent to another address if you want it to be a surprise.