The National Archives holds the service records of Australians who served in World War I and World War II in the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy.
Defence service records set out the essentials of a person’s service in the forces. They commonly contain biographical information supplied on enlistment, such as name, address, next of kin and age, as well as service information such as movements, postings, changes in rank, and brief mention of injuries or illness. Although most records contain these basic elements, they do vary in the amount of information they contain. Service records were used by the Department of Defence to administer the movements and pay of their personnel and they were not intended to be an everyday account of events in a serviceperson’s career. Remember that the Archives is only authorised to give access to records that are more than 30 years old.
The service records will tell you in which unit or ship a person served. More detailed information about these units, what they did and where, can often be found in unit records held by the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, or from published sources. Contact details for the War Memorial are as follows:
Australian War Memorial
GPO Box 345
Canberra ACT 2601
Tel: (02) 6243 4315
Email: info@awm.gov.au
Website: www.awm.gov.au
For histories of the battles, and which units were involved in them, check library sources such as the 12-volume Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 (Angus and Robertson, Sydney) or the 5-series set Australia in the War of 1939–45 (Australian War Memorial, Canberra).
Each photocopy of a WWI or WWII service record supplied by the National Archives includes an information sheet explaining some common acronyms that occur in the records. The Australian War Memorial may be able to assist with other abbreviations, or library sources may be useful. The Australian War Memorial has a comparative table of ranks for each service.
WWI service records do not contain photographs. The Australian War Memorial holds a collection of photographs from WWI, including some of individuals, which can be viewed on the Australian War Memorial website.
WWII Navy cards do not contain photographs. About half of the WWII Army records contain a photograph, as do most of the WWII RAAF records.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Honour Rolls held by the Australian War Memorial give details of the burial place of those killed in service or of memorials to the missing.
Inquiries about medal entitlements for service in the Australian forces should be directed to Defence Honours and Awards. Contact details are as follows:
Defence Honours and Awards
T–1–49
Department of Defence
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: 1800 111 321
Email: honoursandawards@defence.gov.au
Website: www.defence.gov.au/medals
Substantive inquiries must be in writing. For information about WWI Army medals, send a copy of the WWI service record with your enquiry.
For WWI, the only medical information that normally exists is the brief information contained on the service record. During WWII separate medical files were created. These records are now either with the Department of Defence or were passed to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Because of the personal information they contain they are not generally available under the Archives Act. If you have a special need for access to the information they contain, you will need to apply to the Department of Defence (where the information is likely to be for the war period only) or the Department of Veterans' Affairs (where there is likely to be war period information and post-war veteran’s information) for access under the Freedom of Information Act.
The RAAF usually created a 'casualty file' for members killed or severely wounded on service. These files are held by the Archives and a copy can be supplied for AU$25.
If you think the information in an Army service record is incorrect, contact the Department of Defence at Soldier Career Management Agency, GPO Box 393D, Melbourne, VIC 3001. For RAAF and Navy, contact RAAF or Navy Personnel at the Department of Defence, Queanbeyan Annex, Canberra ACT 2600.
If you are concerned that information from your record has been incorrectly recorded on the WWII nominal roll website, contact Nominal Rolls, Department of Veterans' Affairs, PO Box 21, Woden ACT 2606, telephone 1300 780 133.
Under the Archives Act we are required to release as much information as possible. If you have concerns about information that has been released contact:
Director, Access and Information Services
National Archives of Australia
PO Box 7425
Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610
Email: yourcomments@naa.gov.au
Digital copies of most records of Navy service (1911–70) and Army service records for WWI may be viewed on our RecordSearch online database. Photocopies of some service records may be ordered online using RecordSearch for AU$25 per file (AU$28 for overseas purchases). You can also order copies of service records by contacting:
National Archives of Australia
PO Box 7425
Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610
Tel: 1300 886 881
Fax: 1300 886 882
Email: ref@naa.gov.au
When requesting a record please include the details of the member you are researching – including full name, service and conflict, service number, and date of birth, enlistment and discharge (if known). We aim to respond to your request within 30 days, but our ability to respond will vary in times of heavy demand, such as Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and at Christmas.
For information about records of service in other conflicts see Fact Sheet 63 – Sources of information about military service.
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated November 2007