Website Wednesday - National Archives of Australia

The National Archives of Australia is a rich source of information for family historians.

Many of the records in the collection are about people who:

• migrated to Australia
• served in our defence forces
• are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin
• were interned or investigated by the government
• applied for copyright, patents or trademarks

The best way to search is to think about how family members had contact with the government, then work out what types of records the NAA might have about them.

There are many ways your family might have had contact with the government.

• Migrating to Australia
• Becoming an Australian citizen
• Applying for a relative to visit from overseas
• Serving in the army, air force or navy
• Enrolling to vote
• Registering a patent or trademark
• Working for the government

You can search for family surnames using RecordSearch.  Once you have found what you are looking for, your RecordSearch item list will display an item description that shows an item's status. This will be either:

• open
• open with exception
• not yet examined, or
• closed

If the record you want is open, or open with exception, you can view it online through RecordSearch if a digital copy is available, order a digital copy or arrange to view the record in the research centre.

If the record you want is not yet examined, you will need to apply for access. To do this you will need to submit an access application online, or contact the NAA with the details of the record.

Closed records can only be accessed records that are in the open access period under the Archives Act.