Fact sheet 136 – Army service records

The National Archives holds many records relating to Army service personnel. Records include personnel records, attestation sheets, National Service records, some wills and pay history cards. The table below sets out where the most significant records about Army service are located.

Boer War service recordsLocation

Attestation papers (Commonwealth forces) (1901–02)

Colonial contingents (Queensland and Tasmania) records including some service rolls, some pay lists and ledgers, and some records of the issue of medals and clasps

Digital copies may be viewed on the RecordSearch online database.

Records are held by the National Archives offices in Canberra (mainly for Queensland contingents) and Hobart (for Tasmanian contingents). Contact:

National Reference Service
National Archives of Australia
PO Box 7425
Canberra BC ACT 2610

Tel: 1300 886 881
Fax: 1300 886 882
Email: ref@naa.gov.au

See also Fact Sheet 67 – Boer War records

World Wars I and II service recordsLocation

WWI service (1914–18)
WWII service (2nd AIF and CMF) (1939–45)

Digital copies of WWI records (B2455) may be viewed on the RecordSearch database.

Copies of WWI and WWII records may be purchased online using RecordSearch or by contacting the National Reference Service (contact details above).

Records of Army service after World War IILocation

Includes records of service for more recent campaigns such as Korea, Malaya and Vietnam

Records are still held by the Department of Defence (as series B2458). However, records over 30 years old are available through the National Archives. Contact the National Reference Service at the address provided above.

Former members who have questions about their own service record should contact the Soldier Career Management Agency (SCMA):

Soldier Career Management Agency
GPO Box 393 D
MELBOURNE VIC 3001

Online databases on the Department of Veteran’s Affairs website list all who served in the Korean war and Vietnam War.

Army personnel records held in Melbourne

The National Archives office in Melbourne holds a range of additional records relating to Army personnel service. Many of these are listed below. The records listed under the heading ‘Australia’ cover enlistments for the whole of Australia, while those listed under ‘Victoria’ and ‘Victoria and New South Wales’ refer to enlistments from those States only.
Australia
SeriesArmy Militia records, dossiers of Permanent Military Forces (PMF) and Militia personnel1901–40B4717 
SeriesArmy Militia records, attestation documents of PMF and Militia personnel1901–40B4747 
SeriesPersonal records of service of members of the Imperial Services who served in Australia in WWI1914–18MT1487/1 
SeriesWills of the deceased members of the Military Forces WWI1914–18MT297/14 
SeriesMunitions workers dossiers WWI1914–19MT1139/1 
SeriesTroopship passenger rolls WWI (arranged by ship)1914–22MT1384/1 
SeriesRegisters of issued medals and badges WWI and WWII1914–45MT1384/2 
SeriesUnit nominal rolls WWI1914–22MT1384/3 
SeriesApplications to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force1915–18MT1486/1 
SeriesNational Service personal dossiers1952–60MT1128/1 
Victoria
SeriesWills of the deceased members of the Military Forces WWII1939–45MT441/4 
SeriesPay files1939–63MT1247/1 
SeriesPay ledger and history cards and allotment ledger cards WWII1940–49MT415/1 
Victoria and New South Wales
SeriesPay history cards1914–18MT297/1 

Pay records

Pay records (sometimes files, but more commonly pay history cards) were maintained by the respective Army Military District, which, generally, are divided along State boundaries. Records will normally be held by the National Archives office in the State in which the member enlisted or served. Most records held relate to WWI or WWII service.

Pay records for Victorian and New South Wales enlistments are referred to in the table above. The fact sheets below refer to other holdings of pay records:

For more information

You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) from RecordSearch, the Archives database. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject.

RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au.

For further information on Army records see:

Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au

updated September 2006