Genealogy/Australia

Births, Deaths and Marriages in Australia

Births, deaths and marriages (BDMs) must be registered by law in Australia. Each State maintains its own archives and indexes. Most can be searched for free, however charges apply for access to copies of the certificates.

New South Wales

New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages has a rolling embargo period on information in the Family History indexes, and supplies:

Births – more than 100 years ago
Deaths – more than 30 years ago
Marriages – more than 50 years ago

NSW Civil registration began in 1856. Prior to this, early church baptismal, marriage and burial records are available, however they may not contain as much detailed information. The Family History Indexes are free to search.

Victoria

The Victorian Birth, Deaths and Marriages historic indexes supply:

Births - 1853 to 1908
Marriages - 1853 to 1942
Deaths - 1853 to 1985
Church baptisms, marriages and burials - 1836 to 1853.

Searches are charged as AUD$0.99 per page of results viewed (as at August 2010), up to a set limit. Credit card details are required before viewing results.

Queensland

The Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages historical index search includes:

Births up to and including 1914
Deaths up to and including 1964
Marriages up to including 1934

Free search.

South Australia

Family History South Australia] has a combination of free online indexes and links to other services available in libraries and archives. The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Office has no indexes on line, however indexes can be [purchased or may be accessed from some public libraries.

Western Australia

The Western Australian Births, Deaths and Marriages online indexes supply:

Birth indexes - 1841 to 1932
Death indexes - 1841 to 1971
Marriage indexes - 1841 to 1936.

Free search.

Tasmania

Tasmanian family history indexes are not available online, but may be ordered from the website or accessed from some public libraries.

Northern Territory

Indexes are not available online. The historic indexes can be purchased from bookshops specialising in genealogy, and may be access from some public libraries.

Newspapers

Newspapers can contain family announcements, court proceedings, and other information which will fill in details of your research. These are some sources of historic Australian newspaper articles:

Trove (free online service). The National Library of Australia provides fully scanned and indexed Australian newspapers online from 1803-1954. This is an ongoing project.

The National Library of Australia holds major city and regional newspapers, special interest papers and magazines, and a range of community papers.

State Libraries comprehensively hold newspapers and magazines published in their State. These may be available in hardcover or microform.
Many of these libraries, or libraries in their systems, provide access to online databases (remotely or within libraries) through their reader tickets systems.

Local Public Libraries may collect their local newspapers, and may offer a newspaper clipping service.

Societies

Genealogical/family history societies are non-profit member-based community organisations that provide assistance to members and the public in research and access to records. Each of the states and territories has at least one major society and often numbers of rural or special interest societies.

Genealogical Society of Victoria
Australian Institute of Genealogists
Society of Australian Genealogists
Tasmanian Family History Society
Queensland Family History Society
South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc
The Heraldry and Genealogy Society of Canberra Inc.
Western Australian Genealogical Society
Genealogical Society of Northern Territory
More comprehensive list at Family History and Historical Societies in Australia