Commonwealth Child and Youth Migration Records

The National Archives of Australia (NAA) holds many records which provide information of interest to former child migrants. The records relating to individual child and youth migrants are essentially those concerned with their entry into Australia rather than the day-to-day care once they had arrived. The NAA also holds a number of policy and administrative files which contain lists of names and other details of individual child or youth migrants. In some instances these may provide important material for genealogical research.

Access Conditions

Conditional Access – Former child migrants (and their families) seeking information about their time in care, or wanting to access personal files can contact National Archives of Australia.

Records

The records include:

• Immigration case files (usually known as migrant selection documents). These files commence in 1947 and contain a form (LEM3) completed in London or Malta, medical certificate, and occasionally a school report. Some files contain a birth certificate or extract although these were sometimes handed to State child welfare departments. Some records contain more details than others.
• Ship passenger lists and nominal rolls. These files may also contain some particulars about the voyage, correspondence from and about passengers, news clippings and other items
• naturalisation files.
• Reports on and enquiries into Institutions
• Records of correspondence with sending agencies in Britain, including Fairbridge, Anglican and Roman Catholic agencies
• Records relating to the Children’s Overseas Reception Board scheme (evacuee children from wartime Britain)

Finding Aids

The NAA Research Guide – Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia – provides details of the relevant records held by the National Archives of Australia – see Chapter 3.

In March 2010, the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) published Child Migrants: Accessing records held by Commonwealth and State Archives (this link opens a PDF).