Celebrant (Australia) boats etc.) and at any time of the day or night. The celebrant is responsible for processing and lodging all legal paperwork to register the marriage in accordance with defined procedures. This gives the Australian Civil Marriage Celebrant more status than they enjoy in other western countries, but also additional legal responsibility. From 1975 a defined group of marriage and non-marriage celebrants declared themselves as Funeral Celebrants. Many celebrants who are currently awaiting appointment as marriage celebrants and who cannot yet perform marriage ceremonies are practising as general celebrants in the community. Authorised marriage celebrants also frequently offer general celebrant
Humanist celebrant has yet to authorise any celebrants. The charity Humanists UK (formerly the British Humanist Association) pioneered the practice of offering humanist ceremonies, and today organises a network of celebrants or officiants across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A similar network exists in Scotland, where, following a June 2005 ruling by the Registrar General, celebrants belonging to Humanist Society Scotland have been permitted to conduct legal wedding ceremonies. Humanists UK celebrants in Northern Ireland were given the same rights in 2017 following a court case supported by Humanists UK. In England and Wales the current legal position is that a humanist