Australia Births - What else you can try
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This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Australia Guided Research page.
Additional Online Resources
Additional Databases and Online Resources
- 1788-1922: Australia, Birth Index at Ancestry ($)
- 1790s-1981: Australia Birth Collections at FamilySearch - (List of collections) Australia Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981
- 1792-1981: Australia, Births and Baptisms at Ancestry ($); also at MyHeritage ($)
Substitute Records
Additional Records with Birth Information
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for birth events may not have been created at the time of the birth. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.
| Use these substitute records to locate birth information about your ancestor: | ||
| Why to search the records | ||
| Monumental or tombstone inscriptions and records created when a deceased individual was interred in a cemetery. May include the deceased individual's birth date or age. | ||
| Census records may give the age and birthplace of the recorded individuals, allowing researchers to discover birth places and calculate birth years. | ||
| Baptism records occasionally provide a birthdate. In addition, a death or burial record may include an age that can approximate a birthdate. To access church records, first determine the denomination. | ||
| May contain birth and death notices and even obituaries. Death notices and obituaries may list the deceased's birth date or age. | ||
| Military records may include the birth place and age of the individual, allowing researchers to calculate the approximate birth year. | ||
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Improve Searching
Tips for finding births
Successfully finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
- Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
- Search parents. Search for the parents, if known, as the child's first name may not be on the birth record.
- Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of birth.
- Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate birth date or parent's names if known.
- Date range. Expand the date range of the search by a few years.
- Search state/territory. Search using the state/territory name only instead of by town/city. using the state name only instead of by town/city.
Why the Record may not Exist
Known Record Gaps
Records Start
The dates of commencement of civil registration in each colony/state and territory are:
| State | Start Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tasmania | 1838 1-Dec | |
| South Australia | 1842 1-Jul | |
| Western Australia | 1841 9-Sep | |
| Victoria | 1853 1-Jul | |
| Queensland | 1856 1-Mar | ¶ Note 1 |
| New South Wales | 1856 1-Mar | |
| Northern Territory | 1870 24-Aug | ¶ Note 2 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1930 1-Jan | ¶ Note 3 |
- Note 1. Civil registration commenced in Queensland when it was still part of the Colony of New South Wales. The relevant records were transferred to the control of the new Colony of Queensland at its formation in 1859.
- Note 2. Civil registration began in the Northern Territory when it was administered from Adelaide. Responsibility was taken over by the Commonwealth from South Australia in 1911. The function was transferred to the Northern Territory Government in 1978 when internal self-government was granted.
- Note 3. Civil registration began in the Australian Capital Territory from the creation of the Territory. At first, the function was carried out by New South Wales until 1930 when the Commonwealth took over. In 1988, the function was transferred to the Government of the Australian Capital Territory when internal self-government was granted.
Records Destroyed
Some records may have been lost, destroyed, or damaged. More specific information is not known. Civil registration records are generally complete.