The College’s constitution enables the Board to bestow a Distinguished Fellowship on a Fellow of the College if in the opinion of the Board the Fellow: (a) has given outstanding service to the College; or (b) has made a significant contribution to the Australian, New Zealand or international notariats
Following appointment, the Distinguished Fellow is entitled to the post nominal designation”Dist.FANZCN”.
On 27 July 2012, in recognition of his outstanding service to the College and his significant contribution to the Australasian and international common law notariats, the Board of Governors conferred a Distinguished Fellowship on Professor Peter Zablud.
Professor Peter Zablud, AM., RFD, Dist.FANZCN
Executive Governor of the Board ANZCN
Appointed to office as a notary in 1990, Professor Peter Zablud conducts a substantial and respected notarial practice in Australia, based upon a high standard of service and a comprehensive knowledge of global notarial and authentication requirements.
Peter is the undoubted leader of the Australasian notariat. He is held in the highest regard throughout the Common Law world for his commitment to excellence and the advancement of the notariat and for his outstanding contribution to the education of prospective and practising notaries. He is an untiring campaigner for the establishment and maintenance of the highest possible standards of notarial practice.
He has written extensively about notarial practice. He is the author of A Notary’s Forms and Precedents and the authoritative text bookPrinciples of Notarial Practice which has been sold in 21 countries and is now approaching its second edition. His latest book is Notarizing for International Use – a Guide for American Notaries, Attorneys and Public Officials.
He is a past Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Notaries of Victoria and is a Councilor and Past-President of the Society. He was the first Australian individual member of the International Union of Notaries.
As Director of Notarial Studies at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia, Professor Zablud designed and is responsible for the presentation of the Professional Course in Notarial Practice – the pre-eminent qualification for notaries in Australia and one of the outstanding courses of education of its kind. He is responsible for the proposed new degree of Master of Notarial Science which, in the ordinary course, will be offered by the University from the first semester 2013.
As well as teaching at the University, Professor Zablud presents workshops and masterclasses for practising and prospective notaries throughout Australasia and in-house lectures and seminars for government and private organizations about the notariat and the authentication of documents. For a number of years, he has presented Papers and chaired sessions at conferences conducted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
Joseph Leo Lukaitis, AM RFD, FSNV, Dist.FANZCN
President of the Board of Governors ANZCN 2015-2019
Chairman of the Board of Governors ANZCN 2015-2019
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors ANZCN 2010-2015
On 18th November 2019, the Board of Governors conferred a Distinguished Fellowship on Joseph Lukaitis.
This honour was in recognition and appreciation of Joseph’s outstanding leadership of the College both as Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors over a ten year period.
Joseph Lukaitis was appointed to office as a notary in 1993. Since his appointment, Joseph has had a wide experience as a practising notary and has made a significant contribution to the teaching and mentoring of Victorian notaries.
He served as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries from 2010-2015. Joseph also acted as Chairman of the Board of Governors and President of the College from 2015-2019. He has organised four very successful international College conferences during this time.
He joined the Council of the Society of Notaries of Victoria in 2002, and served as Vice-President in 2008-2010. He was elected President in 2010 and continues to serve as a Council member.
During his Victorian Presidency, Joseph introduced an annual twilight seminar for continuing professional development of notaries. He also introduced the first mentoring programme for newly admitted notaries in Australia.
He is a lecturer in the professional course in notarial practice conducted at Victoria University and a regular presenter at notarial conferences and seminars. His special subject among others is “Identification for Notaries”. He has published numerous Practice Notes for the assistance of Australian and New Zealand notaries.
Joseph has represented Australia and New Zealand with Peter Zablud at special conferences of the Apostille Convention in The Hague on two occasions.