Why certifying a physical document and then scanning it, or e-stamping a digital document after it was issued, actually invalidates the document instead of proving its authenticity.
CONTEXT: Articles on this website are generally for training providers who train short courses (skills programs and unit standards), who train OHS related topics, who are private companies, who offer quality, and who are ethical in their training practices.
DATES: Dates matter, please see the date of each article you read. Dates matter because these are often developing situations.
Government bodies should just accept original digital documents, or scans of physical originals without insisting that they be invalidated first.
Physical certified documents bear physical authentication marks, such as ink stamps, embossed seals, and handwritten signatures. These elements confirm that an authorised person has verified the document. When scanned, these features become a mere image, stripping them of their original authenticity.
When the document started as an digital document (which most of them do in an increasingly paperless world), any tampering with it at all will strip it of its authenticity, including, digitally stamping it with a certification mark.
If attempting to physically certify an electronic document, you have essentially double-uncertified it in the process of physically certifying it. Once, when it was printed and the digital document became physical, and again, when the physical certification was scanned so it could be uploaded to a Sharepoint folder or emailed.
This makes certification of both digital and physical copies (if then scanned again) pointless. In fact, it is not pointless, it is counter-productive because it undermines the goal of proving authenticity.
2. Physical Certification Applies Only to the Physical Copy
The certification process applies specifically to the paper document that was reviewed and stamped. The act of scanning creates a separate, uncertified copy that is not legally recognised.
If a document was originally issued as a digital file (e.g., a PDF from a bank, university, or government agency), the original digital file is the authentic file. Many official documents already have built-in digital verification methods, such as codes, QR codes, or embedded signatures, making a scanned version unnecessary and redundant (and again, counter-productive in proving authenticity).
Commissioners of oaths usually do not date their certification of a document because their verification is not meant to change over time. The certification confirms that the document was a true copy at the time of verification and remains so indefinitely. Any suggestion that the certification might “expire” or change over time implies that the certification itself is somehow compromised, which is not true.
It is both incorrect and disingenuous for a government department to request a “scanned certified copy” if a physical document for upload to a system like QCTO’s SharePoint, or request a document be digitally stamped after it was issued by its originator. Both of these acts invalidate the document.
