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Community and Personal Histories team

Contact us

Photo of two young women looking at some family history records

Do you need help finding out about your mob?

Call the Community and Personal Histories team on 1800 650 230.

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, the Community and Personal Histories team may be able to help you find out:

  • where your family comes from
  • who your family are
  • how you are connected to a certain place

Using government records to research your family history

Past Queensland governments had a lot of control over Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' lives. This was because of the Aboriginals and Protection and the Restriction of Sale of Opium Act 1897 and other 'protection' Acts.

This control meant the government recorded a lot of information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples until the mid 1980s. Today these records can help you find out about your family connections and traditional homelands.

The Community and Personal Histories team can help you use these records for research into your family and/or community history. The records may also help with other information, such as proving your birth date.

Protecting your privacy

Some of the government's records have highly personal and sensitive information about individual people and families. To protect the privacy of individuals you might need to get permission from other family members to look at records.

If you don't need permission from anyone else, you'll still need to complete an Application for Release of Restricted Personal Information form. Filling in this form will allow staff to look up information about you.

All your business with Community and Personal Histories team will be kept private and getting help from them is free.

More information

For more information about tracing your family history contact:

Unit
Community and Personal Histories Team,
Reconciliation and Reconnections
Address
Level 6 75 William Street, Brisbane, Qld 4001
Phone
1800 650 230
(toll-free within Australia)*
07 3404 3622
Fax:
07 3239 3464

* Calls from mobile phones are charged at applicable rates.

Find other family history contacts that can help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people trace their family history.

Last reviewed: 21 January 2009