Collection Information
In a few of the birth collections on Ancestry.com.au, you will find the indexes link to images of actual birth records. In other cases, there are indexes containing information which will help you request the full record. Viewing the actual record is beneficial as it often contains details not included in the index.
If you find your ancestor in an index, be sure to click on the database title and look at the description to learn how to request the actual record.
For Australian Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, you will need to contact the individual state registry offices:
- NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages
- Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
- ACT Births, Deaths and Marriages
- Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
- Northern Territory Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
- South Australia Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Office
- Tasmanian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
- Western Australia Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
With the England & Wales FREE BMD Birth, Marriage and Death indexes, you can order a copy of the original certificate directly through Ancestry.com.au – just look for the little shopping trolley image to the right of the search results.
Birth records can provide details about your family member’s birth and, for baptism records, religious affiliation. They typically contain the name, date and place of the event, parents’ names, ages, birthplaces, occupation, and residence.
Birth, baptism, and christening records are primary resources for family history research because they were typically created at or shortly after the birth, making the record more likely to be accurate. This collection includes indexes that can help you request the full record and, in some cases, actual images of the birth records.
Sample Images
Search Tips
- Look for ages and places of birth in census records to estimate birth dates and focus your search.
- Seek out the birth records for all family members. Information found on the records of siblings may include helpful details that aren’t found on your ancestor’s record.
- When you find a record in a birth index, always follow up and request the original record. The source information and description on the collection page will tell you where the records are held.
- If you’re looking for a common name, try adding the father and mother’s given names to narrow your search.
- Keep in mind that when civil registration first began, not everyone complied immediately and some births may not have been recorded. If the person lived beyond 1935, they may have filed a delayed birth registration in order to receive Social Security.
- If you can’t find a birth record, look for census records and directories that can place your ancestor in a particular place around the time of the birth. Then investigate churches in the area that might have recorded a baptism or christening.
- Once you find a matching record, save it to your family tree – that way you can provide evidence to back up the info in your family tree, easily share your discover with your family, and quickly find the historical record again later.