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Western Australia - Archival Series

Children's Court Register (1908 - 1973)

From
1908
To
1973

The Children's Court Register gives a record of the cases held in the Perth Children's Court, which was set up as part of the State Children Act 1907. This legistation made the government child welfare departments responsible for keeping records about children who had appeared before the Courts. The register lists the names and other information about children who had cases held in the Children's Court between 1908 and 1973, except for the years 1909-13 which are missing.

Details

Access Conditions

Access to these records is restricted and confidentiality is protected by Child Protection and Family Services. If you believe the Department may hold records about you, or about a family member, you are encouraged to apply. Access is governed by the Freedom of Information Act 1992 and CPFS has a form on their website which you must use to apply for records.

Records

These Children's Court registers were originally recorded in 21 volumes. They are now held on microfilm by Child Protection and Family Support. There are no records for the period 8 April 1909 to 21 February 1913 because the original registers were not able to be found at the time of microfilming.

The Children's Court registers contain the following details for the children and young people who went before the court, though some entries will have more background information than others:

  • Family name
  • Given names
  • Age
  • Date of birth
  • Date of committal
  • Court
  • Magistrate
  • Charge
  • Judgement
  • Term
  • Particulars of parents - names, address, occupations, earnings; remarks on circumstances
  • Subsequent location (generally, this will just note if the young person is under supervision, on probation, and/or sent to an institution)

Prepared by: Debra Rosser