Hi,
I know that "Certified Copy" is defined by INZ and NZQA, but unfortunately "Original Document" doesn't seem to be. This leaves me a little unsure.
EXAMPLE 1: I have acquired all the documents from my university's registry regarding my course syllabus, mark sheets etc and I have the original degree certificate. Now, the syllabus etc is allowed to be a "certified copy". The information sent to me by the university registry is photocopied information from their archive, with each page stamped with an official university stamp. To me, these documents are originals because they come from the original issueing authority. They're certainly not certified copies, becuase they haven't been stamped by someone with legal authority to do so, and it would make no sense to get a certified copy of something which may not considered to be an original!
EXAMPLE 2: The same applies with my Birth Certificate. My parents never got a full original birth certificate, so I got a full one from the UK Registry Office a few years ago. On the top it says "CERTIFIED COPY" and at the bottom it says "THIS IS NOT PROOF OF IDENTITY". Now, to me, this certificate (on official watermarked paper from the original source) is an "original" document. There is no other, it came from the original source and I haven't copied it. I then need to get a certified copy because i don't want to send my only "original". Given that it says "CERTIFIED COPY" on the top, would it count as an original to NZQA!? Would it count as proof of identity (as requested by the IQA guidance), even if it says "THIS IS NOT PROOF OF IDENTITY" at the bottom?
It gets more confusing with my wife's documents because they all have to be translated.. so we'll have certified copies of translations of certified copies of certified copies The mind boggles
It's important in my case because original documents are treated differently than copies (i.e. you get the originals back) and I don't want to lose any of what I consider to be originals.
I will send the docs, labelling them as original or certified copy, but I was just interested in the general views
And yes, I do have bigger things to worry about