• Archival Collection

Commonwealth Child and Youth Migration Records

To access these records

Please contact General Enquiries, National Archives of Australia:

Postal Address: PO Box 4924, Kingston, ACT 2604

Phone: (02) 6212 3600

Email: archives@naa.gov.au

Website: https://www.naa.gov.au/help-your-research/ask-us-about-collection

Records Location

Details

The National Archives of Australia (NAA) holds many records which provide information of interest to former child migrants. The records relating to individual child and youth migrants are essentially those concerned with their entry into Australia rather than the day-to-day care once they had arrived. The NAA also holds a number of policy and administrative files which contain lists of names and other details of individual child or youth migrants. In some instances these may provide important material for genealogical research.

Access Conditions

Conditional Access – Care leavers (and their families) seeking information about their time in care, or wanting to access personal files can contact National Archives of Australia.

Records

The records include:

  • immigration case files (usually known as migrant selection documents). These files commence in 1947 and contain a form (LEM3) completed in London or Malta, medical certificate, and occasionally a school report. Some files contain a birth certificate or extract although these were sometimes handed to State child welfare departments. There is a file for most individuals.
  • ships passenger lists and ships nominal rolls. These files may also contain some particulars about the voyage, correspondence from and about passengers, news clippings and other items
  • naturalisation files.

Finding Aids

The Archives’ Research Guide – ‘Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia’ – provides details of the relevant records held by the National Archives of Australia – see Chapter 3.

In March 2010, the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) published ‘Child Migrants: Accessing records held by Commonwealth and State Archives’.

  • From

    1947

  • To

    1967

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