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Help & Advice
Our Help & Advice section will provide you with answers to some of findmypast.com.au's
most frequently asked questions. However, please feel free to email us at
support@findmypast.com.au if you need any further assistance.
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What kinds of records are available?
Findmypast.com.au currently provides online access to over 50 million records from
Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea.
The various record collections include: cemetery records, directories and almanacs,
electoral rolls, government and police gazettes and other government records, military
records, newspapers and periodicals, land records, religious records, regional and
general histories, and biographical records.
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Where do findmypast.com.au's records come from?
Findmypast.com.au is able to bring you unique record collections housed in one convenient
location through our partnerships with record holders and archives. You can learn
more about our partners here.
If you are interested in becoming one of findmypast.com.au's data partners, please
contact records@findmypast.com.au
for more information.
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Subscription options
Findmypast.com.au is free to search but you will need to purchase a subscription
to view the records. Your subscription will provide you with unlimited access to
all Australia and New Zealand collections. You can choose to pay for your subscription
as either a monthly payment of $7.95 (automatically charged until cancelled, spreading
the cost out across the year), or as a one off charge of $59.95 to benefit from
a lower overall cost. Sign up for a subscription to findmypast.com.au today through
our payment page.
If you have previously registered for our free trial or your subscription has lapsed,
you will need to sign in first to subscribe.
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Libraries, societies and other institutions
Subscriptions for libraries, societies and other institutions are available and
will provide your patrons or members with unlimited access to all Australia and
New Zealand collections available at findmypast.com.au for an entire year.
You can view the different plans available on our library and society
subscription page or alternatively contact
(02) 9836 3587.
- Account
Queries
Once signed in, you can find details about the type of subscription you currently
have and when it expires via the 'My Account' link at the top of the website. You
can also update your personal information within this section.
If you have any other questions about your account, please do get in touch by emailing
us at support@findmypast.com.au
- If you
already have a subscription to findmypast.co.uk
Findmypast.com.au is a standalone service offering access to family history records
from Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea. It is completely
separate from findmypast.co.uk
If you have a subscription to
findmypast.co.uk, you will continue to access the records included in your
subscription through the UK site. If you purchase a subscription through findmypast.com.au,
you will be able to access the records available through this site. If you wish
to use both findmypast.com.au and findmypast.co.uk, you will need to create an account
on each website and use these separate details to sign in.
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The most important search tip
You will get best search results if you start with a single name, place or
subject in the First or Last Name or keyword field. Focus your search by
selecting the Country/State or Records to Search.
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Beginning your search
There are many ways to search for your ancestors on findmypast.com.au.
Start by conducting a search for your ancestor's name or a place or subject (using
the keyword field) then narrow down your search by using the other search criteria:
Country, State, Matching Type and Record Category to Search.
To begin, use the search box on the homepage. Once you have typed your ancestor's
name or other search word in the box on the homepage, click the green Search button.
You can also start your search by clicking the Search Records button at the top
of the page. From here you can select the country and which records you'd like to
search. You can select View All Records for less specific results.
You will receive many more results by searching for just a single name or other
search word than if you add other information in other search fields.
Search tip: Remember that you may need to try more than one way to search
for your ancestor's name. They may be in some records with initials instead of a
first name. Spelling was not always standardised so remember to try the phonetic
spelling of your ancestor's name or other search word.
- Search
fields explained
- First name
The first name of the individual you are searching for.
- Last name
The last name of the individual you are searching for.
- Keyword field
Keyword field is the most flexible place to search from – as well as
searching the entire text of documents, it will search every field of our structured
databases. To perform the broadest possible search, place the information you are
searching for, including your ancestor's name, into this field.
- Matching type
Findmypast.com.au is unique in that it provides three different ways to search its
databases. The "Matching Type" option lets you select what type of search you would
like to do. The three options are Exact, Soundex and Double Metaphone.
Exact searches will return results that match the exact spelling that you
entered into the Name box. If you type the last name "Smith" you will only get results
that match "Smith." The results will not include spelling variations or mis-spellings.
Soundex searches will return search results that match the Soundex variations
for the name that you entered into the Name box. Soundex is a phonetic algorithm
that identifies words that sound alike but are spelled differently such as "Smyth"
and "Smith" or "Brown" and "Braun". Soundex was developed and patented in the early
1900s by Robert Russell and Margaret Odell.
Double Metaphone searches will return search results that match the Double
Metaphone spellings for the name that you searched. Double Metaphone was developed
in 2000 by Lawrence Philips and is the second generation of the Metaphone phonetic
algorithm. Double Metaphone is superior to Soundex because it understands the basic
rules of spelling for English, Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Greek, French, Italian,
Spanish, and Chinese. Double Metaphone tends to return more accurate and slightly
fewer name variation search results.
Search Tip: You can use a wildcard to increase your results. A wildcard can
be used by typing the first three letters of your ancestor's first name or last
name and adding an asterisk (*). So, for example, for John Smith you could type
in Joh* Smi*.
- Narrow the scope
of your search
When you provide the search engine with more than a single name or other search
word to search, you will receive fewer results. When you decrease the number of
search terms, you will get more results.
- Search
results
- Grouped by
category
Once you enter your search terms and click the Search button you will be provided
with a list of all relevant results. These results will be listed record categories;
Birth, Marriage and Death Records; Directories and Almanacs; Electoral Rolls and
Censuses; Family History and Biography; Family Trees; Genealogy Guides; Government
Records; Immigration Records; Maps, Atlases and Gazetteers; Military Records; Miscellaneous
Records and Reference; Newspapers and Periodicals; Probate, Land and Court Records;
Religious Records and Social, Regional and General History; and Book Results.
Only the first five databases are listed under each Category. Click on the "View
all..." to view more results.
- No records found
You may search for an ancestor only to find that the search engine has found no
records. This can be for a number of reasons. The search engine will look for records
with the exact words that you type (except with the Soundex and Double Metaphone
search). Your ancestor's name or other search word may appear in a record in any
number of combinations, including using initials or spelling the first or last name
differently.
In cases where you are unable to find records, try searching first of all with the
name or other search word in Keyword, the broadest of all search options.
Or in different ways, for example, searching for the last name or a first initial
and last name or a name in a name field and place in the Keyword field.
Start your search by providing the least amount of information, usually in the Keyword
field, first as this will give you the most results, even for names.
Don't forget that you can browse our databases by country, state, title and record
category and conduct a search from each individual database's search engine.
- Two kinds of
data - an important difference to know for searching
Our databases come from various content providers and these records are organised
either as structured databases or as "free form" data, mostly in the form of digitised
books and newspapers. Keeping this in mind, your search strategy can be different
depending on what type of database you are researching.
- Book &
newspaper image and text
The majority of content on findmypast.com.au is scanned books and newspaper images.
When searching through this type of "free form" data it is important to note that
the search engine does not differentiate whether a word is a surname or a locality
– all words are text to the search engine. Because of this you may miss relevant
results when you search by entering information in the place or name search boxes.
A keyword search is the best way to search these databases, even for names in many
cases.
- Structured databases
Structured databases have specific fields for given name, surname, and locality.
These types of databases can be searched by using the findmypast.com.au search engine.
Please note that in some cases names may not be in a name field, e.g. the full text
of an obituary may be in a text field of a structured database and therefore best
found by doing a Keyword search.
- Newsletter
Get the most out of findmypast.com.au and keep up to date with the latest record
additions by signing up to receive our free monthly newsletter. You can sign up
today through our newsletter page.
- Suggesting
content and giving feedback
If you have any questions, concerns, comments or suggestions about the records you'd
like to see on findmypast.com.au, please email us at
support@findmypast.com.au.
- Credit
Card:
You can subscribe online with VISA or MasterCard. We use the latest
encryption technology to guarantee the safety of your card details. Once you have
subscribed online, you will receive a payment receipt. Your subscription will be
instant.
- Cheque:
If you would prefer to pay by post, we are happy to accept a cheque. Please enclose
a cheque or money order made payable to Brightsolid Online Publishing Australasia Pty Ltd. Please write your email
address on the back of the cheque together with your name and address. Without this
information we cannot process your subscription. New Zealand & International
customers, please send an International money order or bank cheque in Australian
dollars only to the following address:
Findmypast.com.au, PO Box 101, Stanhope Gardens, NSW 2768.
You will be sent a receipt when your payment has been processed.
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