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Basics on BDMs - Australia & NZ

Basics on Australian and New Zealand civil registration of births, deaths & marriages

Civil registration in Australia and New Zealand did not commence until some time after Great Britain. However, before that time many baptisms, christenings, marriages and burials were recorded in Church registers. Many of these registers have been incorporated into the indexes now available, but the coverage is not complete.

A number of those church events occurred outside the present geographic boundaries of the state index in which they are incorporated. For example, some events in Brisbane are recorded in the NSW indexes; some events in Adelaide in the Victorian indexes.

Certificates of "recent" events are normally provided only to the individual concerned, or next of kin. Certificates of older events can normally be obtained for family history purposes with a minimum of fuss. However, the rules can vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The requirements in this respect are normally set out on the relevant application form or web site.

The level of detail provided on certificates varies with the jurisdiction and time period involved. More detail is provided on separate pages in some cases - look for a "Certificate content" hyperlink under the name of the jurisdiction in the second table below.

Jurisdiction

Civil Registration
Commenced

Indexes on Microform

Indexes on CD or online

Births

Marriages

Deaths

Births

Marriages

Deaths

Australian Capital Territory
See NSW pre 1930

1 Jan 1930

Deaths 1930-73 are online.
Otherwise, indexes after 1930 are not public - apply to the Registrar General

New South Wales

1 Mar 1856

1788-1918

1856-1945

1856-1945

1788-1918
(only to 1907 online)

1788-1945
(online to 1957)

1788-1945
(online to 1977)

Northern Territory
See NSW 1856-1863
See SA 1863-1870

24 Aug 1870

1870-1918

1870-1913

1870-1913

Nil on CD or online

Nil on CD or online

Nil on CD or online

Queensland
See NSW pre 1856

1 Mar 1856

1829-1919

1829-1939

1829-1964

1829-1914

1829-1929

1829-1929

South Australia

1 Jun 1842

1842-1922

1842-1937

1842-1970

1842-1928
(nil online)

1842-1937
(nil online)

1842-1972
(nil online)

Tasmania

1 Dec 1838

1803-1905

1803-1919

1803-1919


1803-1899


1803-1899


1803-1899

Victoria

1 Jul 1853

1837-1920

1837-1930

1837-1980

1837-1920
(to 1907 online)

1837-1942
(also online)

1837-1985
(also online)

Western Australia

1 Sep 1841

1841-1905

1841-1965

1841-1980

1841-1905
(to 1932 online)

1841-1927
(to 1927 online)

1841-1953
(to 1953 online)

New Zealand

B, D - 1 Jan 1848
M - 1 Jan 1854

1848-1997

1854-1997

1848-1997

Nil on CD or online

Nil on CD or online

Nil on CD or online


NB: Years in bold text are before civil registration commenced and refer to index entries taken from church registers of baptisms, marriages and burials.

 

Jurisdiction

Contact Details

Forms

Price with full
reference

Australian Capital Territory

Certificate content

Registrar General
Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 225
Civic Square ACT 2608
www.rgo.act.gov.au/

Forms

$42.00

New South Wales
Certificate content
Parish etc codes
On-line indexes etc
(B to 1906; M 1956; D 1976)

Principal Registrar
Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 30
Sydney NSW 2001
www.bdm.nsw.gov.au

Births
Deaths
Marriages

$28.00

Northern Territory

Certificate content

Registrar General
Births, Deaths & Marriages
PO Box 3021
Darwin NT 0801
www.nt.gov.au/justice/bdm/

Forms

$37.30

Queensland

Certificate content

Registrar General's Office
PO Box 188
Albert Street
Brisbane QLD 4002
www.justice.qld.gov.au
See Note 2

Births
Deaths
Marriages

$36.20

South Australia

Certificate content

Principal Registrar
Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 1351
Adelaide SA 5001
www.ocba.sa.gov.au/bdm/

Form

$47.60

Tasmania

Certificate content

to 1899

1900-

Births
Deaths
Marriages

$37.24

Widely available on film -
no need to buy certificates
for family history purposes

Registrar General
Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 198
Hobart TAS 7001
www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm/

Victoria
Certificate content
On-line indexes etc
(B to 1924; D to 1985; M to 1942)

Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 4332
Melbourne VIC 3001
online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm/home

Births
Deaths
Marriages

$17.50

Western Australia

Certificate content
On-line indexes etc
(B to 1913; D, M to 1905)

Registrar-General's Office
PO Box 7720
Cloisters Square
Perth WA 6850
www.justice.wa.gov.au

Form

$44.00
or
$31.00
(>75 yrs ago)

New Zealand

Births Deaths & Marriages
PO Box 10-526
Wellington
New Zealand
www.dia.govt.nz

Form

1848-1874 - NZ$26
1875+ - NZ$20.00

Note 1: The table above provides links to online indexes for NSW & Victoria, and both provide online ordering as well - online delivery, too, in the case of Victoria. Some other registries allow online ordering of certificates, but do not have online indexes, and orders would therefore attract search fees in addition to the price shown above, unless you have the full reference from another source - for further detail see the respective home pages.
Note 2: Parents' details on Queensland birth certificates after 1889 are provided ONLY if specifically requested, and proof of identity may be required.