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What to expect when accessing records about you

What to expect when accessing records about you.

What to expect

Other Find & Connect resources

Family Tracing

This website doesn't hold anyone's personal records or contact details. The Find & Connect web resource is not able to provide assistance with family tracing and family reunions. On this page, you will find links to organisations that provide family tracing services, as well as some tips on how you can try to do some searching yourself.

If you want to try doing your own family tracing, here are some starting points on how you can look for information about a missing family member or friend.

Electoral rolls

The Australian Electoral Roll is an important resource for family tracing. Produced by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the electoral roll is a list of the names and addresses of everyone who is eligible and enrolled to vote in Australia.

In January 2011, the AEC updated its website with new rules about how the public can search the most current electoral roll, which is 'available for public inspection' in AEC offices. Please note:

You may only inspect the publicly available electoral roll for the purposes of:

  • Checking your own enrolment details, or
  • Making an objection to the enrolment of another elector.

That is, these new rules mean that you are no longer allowed to search for information about other people on the current electoral roll.

Follow this link for more information about viewing the electoral roll:

http://aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/About_Electoral_Roll/How_to_view_electoral_roll.htm

Given these restrictions on inspecting the current electoral roll, for family tracing you may have to consult historic electoral rolls. Past copies of electoral rolls (published annually) are available for public inspection in state and local libraries. Contact your local library or the state library in your capital city to see what electoral rolls are in their collection.

Historic electoral rolls can be very useful in tracking people over time and place. The Australian Electoral Rolls from 1903 to 1980 are available for viewing and searching through the 'Ancestry.com.au' website. This is not a free website. However, it is possible to access Ancestry.com.au for free in State Libraries in each capital city. Many local libraries also subscribe to this website.

White Pages

It might sound a little obvious, but it's always worth checking the phone book! The Australian White Pages has a website where you can search the Australia-wide directory:

http://www.whitepages.com.au/search/residential?subscriberName=&location

Births Deaths and Marriages

Every state and territory has a registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (or BDM), which is responsible for registering life events including births, deaths, marriages, changes of name, and adoptions. Here is a list of the registries around Australia:

http://australia.gov.au/topics/law-and-justice/births-deaths-and-marriages-registries

Most BDM offices have a website where you can search birth, death and marriage family history indexes, at no cost. You have to pay a fee to get a copy of a certificate from BDM.

Please be aware that the registries only have information for the state they are in, and they will not be able to search nationwide for you.

Family History and Family Tracing resources

The Salvation Army website has good information about 'do it yourself' family tracing:

http://salvos.org.au/familytracing/how-to-search/what-can-i-do-myself/

There are lots of websites with great advice about how to do family history research, which can be a great way to find out more about the lives of past family members. The National Archives of Australia website is a good place to start:

http://naa.gov.au/collection/family-history/

The State Library in your capital city is another place you can go to get help and advice about family history research and family tracing. Most State Libraries have a genealogy (family history) centre. At the State Library, you can get free access to websites like Ancestry.com, and search resources like Police Gazettes, post office directories, immigration and shipping records and a range of family history indexes.

State Library of South Australia

http://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/fhstarterguide

State Library of Queensland

http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/info/fh

Northern Territory Library

http://www.nretas.nt.gov.au/knowledge-and-history/northern-territory-library/family_history

State Library of Tasmania

http://www.linc.tas.gov.au/research/guides/familyhistory

State Library of Victoria

http://slv.vic.gov.au/explore/family-history-resources

State Library of Western Australia

http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/find/family_history

State Library of New South Wales

http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/family_history/

Social Networking – Facebook, Twitter etc

Increasingly, social networking sites like Facebook are the way that people stay in touch with their family and friends. These websites can also provide a way to search for and make contact with people.

If you are new to the world of social media, it is best to learn as much as you can about how sites like Facebook work, and to proceed with caution.

  • Remember that Facebook is a public space. Unless you use its messaging facility, what you post on your or somebody else's profile is visible to everyone. Think about your privacy as well as the privacy of the person you are trying to locate.
  • People all over the world use sites like Facebook. Make sure that you have the right person before making contact!

Family Tracing Organisations

Some of the organisations that support Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants offer assistance with family tracing and reunions. See Find & Connect's Support Groups and Services page for a list of national and state organisations.

Other organisations which offer family tracing are:

The Salvation Army Family Tracing Service

The Salvation Army run a family tracing service and they can help people to search for direct relatives. Please note – there are a number of conditions you will need to meet, including the ability to prove your relationship to the person you are searching for.

The website for the Salvos family tracing service is:

http://salvos.org.au/familytracing/about-us/contact-us/

Please note, you will need to contact the relevant office in the state you live in, regardless of where your relative may be located.

Link-Up

Link-Up services help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families under the past laws, practices and policies of Australian governments to undertake family tracing and family reunions with counselling support.

http://aiatsis.gov.au/fhu/linkup.html