Australia Record Finder

This table can help you decide which records to search. It is most helpful for research from 1800 to the present.

Step 1. Choose an ancestor you would like to know more about. What new information would you like to learn about that person?

Step 2. Look at the Record Selection Table below. It will tell you which are the best types of records for that information.

• In column 1 find the goal you selected.
• In column 2 find the types of records most likely to have the information you need.

Step 3. Read the FamilySearch Wiki articles about those types of records.

Step 4. Look in the FamilySearch Catalog and choose a specific record to search.

Step 5. Search the records. If you do not find the information you need, return to column 3 and try those records.

What you are looking for:	Try these records first:	Other useful records:
Age	Civil Registration, Church Records, Emigration and Immigration, Convict Records	Census, Cemeteries, Newspapers, Military Records, Occupations, Naturalization and Citizenship, ,Medical Records School Records
Birth date	Civil Registration, Church Records,School Records	Biography, Newspapers,Military Records, Occupations,Emigration and Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship, Cemeteries, Obituaries
Birthplace	Civil Registration, Church Records	Biography, Obituaries, Newspapers, Military Records, Occupations, Emigration and Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship, Medical Records, Convict Records, Cemeteries
Children	Civil Registration, Church Records, Biography, Genealogy, Emigration and Immigration	Newspapers, Obituaries, Probate Records, School Records,Court Records
Convict Records	Convict Records, Correctional Institutions, Emigration and Immigration, Census, Public Records	Court Records
Death	Civil Registration, Church Records,Newspapers, Cemeteries, Obituaries	Probate Records, Court Records, Land and Property,Military Records, Biography, Genealogy, Correctional Institutions, Convict Records, Medical Records
Divorce	Divorce records	Newspapers, Biography, Genealogy
Ethnicity	Native Races, Minorities
Family members	Church Records, Civil Registration, Biography, Genealogy, Emigration and Immigration	Newspapers, Probate Records, Obituaries, School Records, Court Records
Historical background	History, Historical Geography	Church History
Immigration date	Correctional Institutions, Naturalization and Citizenship, Emigration and Immigration, Convict Records	Biography,Census,Medical Records, School Records
Living relatives	Directories, Civil Registration	Societies, Newspapers, Periodicals, Genealogy, Probate Records, Voter Registers, Land and Property
Maiden name	Civil Registration, Church Records, Convict Records	Obituaries, Newspapers, Cemeteries, Biography, Genealogy, Naturalization and Citizenship, Land and Property, Occupations
Marriage	Church Records, Civil Registration, Convict Records	Newspapers, Biography, Genealogy, Periodicals, Cemeteries, Court Records, Convict Records
Occupation	Church Records, Directories, Civil Registration, Occupations, Probate Records, Convict Records	Court records, Newspapers, Emigration and Immigration, Obituaries, School Records
Parents	Church Records, Civil Registration, Biography, Genealogy, Emigration and Immigration	Newspapers, Probate Records, Obituaries, School Records, Court Records
Physical description	Military Records, Court Records, Correctional Institutions, Convict Records	Newspapers, Biography
Place-finding aids	Gazetteers, Directories, Maps	History, Land and Property, Periodicals
Place of residence	Convict Records, Church Records, Directories, Civil Registration, Voting Registers	Land and Property,Probate Records,Newspapers, Taxation
Record-finding aids	Archives and Libraries, Genealogy	Societies, Periodicals
Religion	Church records, Biography, Civil Registration	Cemeteries, Genealogy, History, Newspapers, Obituaries, Probate Records
Town, district, and state origins and boundaries	Gazetteers,Maps	History, Historical Geography