Internees are those prisoners of war or enemy aliens who are obliged to reside within prescibed 'camps', generally unable to leave until the termination of the related conflict or war.
During World War II internment in Australia was subject to the National Security Regulations. There were many camps Australia-wide where not only aliens were interned but also overseas internees and prisoners of war who were transferred to Australia.
The Archives holds many records relating specifically to internment and internees, aliens and prisoners of war. These include individual case files and more general titles which may refer to individuals. It was not uncommon for internees to be moved from one camp to another, even to another state. Thus records that relate to individual internees may be difficult to identify, and may exist in the collections of more than one office of the Archives.
This fact sheet identifies records held in Canberra of WW II internees, aliens and prisoners of war. Records in other offices can be identified from the Archives' publication Finding Families: The Guide to the National Archives of Australia for Genealogists or the RecordSearch database.
 | Correspondence files | 1931–39 | A369 | ||
| Prisoner of war files | 1939–45 | A7919 | ||
| Copies of war proclamations | 1939–40 | A393 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1916–53 | A367 | ||
| Correspondence files of the CIS | 1916–60 | A8911 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1941–49 | A373 | ||
| General correspondence | 1939–49 | A11797 | ||
| Correspondence files, war series | 1939–49 | A472 | ||
| Military courts prisoner of war trials | 1943–46 | CP337/1 | ||
| Correspondence files, secret and confidential series | 1926–39 | A1606 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1939–47 | A1608 | ||
| Correspondence files (restricted immigration) | 1939–50 | A433 | ||
| Correspondence files (non-British European migrants) | 1939–50 | A434 | ||
| Correspondence files (alien registration) | 1946–50 | A437 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1927–42 | A981 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1943–44 | A989 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1945 | A1066 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1946–50 | A1067 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1924–40 | A664 | ||
| Classified correspondence files | 1935–58 | A816 | ||
| Report on the Directorate of Prisoners and War Internees | 1939–51 | A7711 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1940–57 | A663 | ||
| Classified correspondence files | 1941–63 | A1308 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1942–62 | A649 | ||
| Correspondence files | 1942–45 | A376 | ||
| Rt Hon. John Joseph Ambrose Curtin PC | – | CP+258 | ||
| Prime Minister's Department | – | CA+12 | ||
| Folders of miscellaneous correspondence | 1941–45 | M1415 | ||
| Folders of correspondence on 'Special Subjects' | 1941–45 | M1416 | ||
You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) fromRecordSearch, 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 about the Archives' holdings relating to internee, alien and prisoner of war records consult the following fact sheets:
Fact Sheet 58 – WW I internee, alien and prisoner of war records held in Canberra
Fact Sheet 106 – WW I internee, alien and prisoner of war records held in Adelaide
Fact Sheet 171 – WW I internee, alien and prisoner of war records held in Sydney
Fact Sheet 101 – WW II internee, alien and prisoner of war records held in Sydney
Fact Sheet 107 – WW II internee, alien and prisoner of war records held in Adelaide
Fact Sheet 180 – Wartime internee, alien and prisoner of war records held in Perth
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated October 2004