Family history comes with its own vocabulary, and Australian records add a few terms of their own. Here’s what they mean, in plain English.
Records and research
BDM: Short for births, deaths and marriages. Each Australian state and territory has its own BDM registry.
Index: A searchable list that points to a record, usually giving names, a year, a place and a registration number. An index confirms an event happened; it is not the full record.
Certificate: A certified copy of the full registration. It holds details the index leaves out, such as parents’ ages, birthplaces, occupations and witnesses.
Transcription: A typed copy of a record’s details, usually cheaper than a certificate. Family history transcription agents provide these for NSW records.
Registration district: The area where an event was registered. It isn’t always where the event happened: a birth on a remote property might be registered in the nearest town with a courthouse.
Informant: The person who gave the details for a registration, often a family member. A death certificate is only as accurate as the informant’s knowledge.
Primary source: A record made at or near the time of an event by someone with direct knowledge, such as a birth registration. Secondary source: One made later or second-hand, such as a family story or a published tree.
Parish register: A church’s own record of baptisms, marriages and burials. In NSW these are the main records before civil registration began in 1856.
Brick wall: The point where your research gets stuck and you can’t find the next generation back. Also called a dead end.
GEDCOM: The standard file format for family trees. It lets you move a tree between Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage and desktop software.
Names and relationships
Née: “Born as”. Used before a woman’s maiden name, as in “Louisa Lawson, née Albury”.
Anglicised name: A name changed to an English form, such as Larsen becoming Lawson. A very common cause of missing records.
First cousin once removed: Your first cousin’s child, or your parent’s first cousin. “Removed” means one generation apart.
Military
AIF: The Australian Imperial Force, the volunteer army raised for overseas service in WWI. The Second AIF was raised for the same purpose in WWII.
CMF: The Citizen Military Forces, Australia’s part-time militia. In WWII, CMF members could initially only serve in Australia and its territories.
Service number: A soldier’s unique number. In WWII, the first letter shows the state of enlistment and an X shows Second AIF service, as in VX259.
Attestation paper: The form a recruit filled in and signed when enlisting. It usually gives birthplace, age, occupation and next of kin.
Nominal roll: An official list of everyone who served in a conflict or unit. The DVA nominal rolls are a quick way to find a service number.
Next of kin: The relative a serviceman nominated to be contacted. Often a parent or wife, and a useful clue for confirming identity.
Arrivals
Assisted immigrant: Someone whose passage to Australia was paid for, wholly or partly, by a government scheme. Assisted immigrant lists often record age, occupation, birthplace and parents’ names.
Unassisted passenger: Someone who paid their own fare. These passengers usually appear in less detail, sometimes just a name and initial.
Naturalisation: The process of becoming a British subject (and later an Australian citizen). Naturalisation files can include a migrant’s arrival details and birthplace.
Newspapers and probate
Family notices: The births, marriages, deaths and funeral notices section of a newspaper. Searchable on Trove.
Probate: The legal process of proving a will. Probate files can name every surviving child and where they lived.
Intestate: Dying without a will. The court still appoints someone to administer the estate, which can create a useful record.
Where to find the records: see the Free Records Directory.