Which Australian War Records Are Available Online

One of the most common questions people ask when they start researching a family member's military service is simple: can I actually see the records from home, or do I need to go to Canberra? The good news is that millions of Australian war records have been digitised and are available online, completely free. The less good news is that they're spread across multiple websites, and it's not always obvious which site holds what.

This guide maps out exactly what's available online, where to find it, what's free, and what still requires a visit or a request. If you've already got a service number, you can start searching right now. If you don't, start with What Is a Service Number and How to Find One.

National Archives of Australia - individual service records

The NAA holds the personal service records for every person who served in Australia's armed forces from Federation in 1901. These are the primary records: the attestation form, the service and casualty form, discharge papers, correspondence, and sometimes photographs. Everything is searchable through RecordSearch.

What's fully digitised and free

• WWI Army service records (Series B2455) - All First AIF personnel dossiers from 1914-1920. Fully digitised. Free to view and download. This is the complete set.
• WWI Navy service cards (1911-1970) - Digitised and free to view online.
• WWII Army service records (Series B883 and B884) - As of 30 June 2024, approximately 1,058,000 records have been digitised - that's 99% of the total. B883 covers the 2nd AIF, B884 covers the Citizen Military Forces. Free to view and download.
• WWII RAAF service records (Series A9300 and A9301) - Officers' and other ranks' personnel files. Digitised as part of the WWII Digitisation Project. Free to view.

What's partially digitised

• WWII Navy service records - Many have been digitised, but the Navy collection isn't as comprehensively covered as the Army and RAAF series. Check RecordSearch for your specific record.
• Repatriation Department case files - These include returned soldiers' hospital, medical, and pension files. The NAA holds them in state repositories and some have been digitised, but most haven't. You can request copies or view them in person.

What's not available online

• Post-WWII service records - Records for Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, and later conflicts are generally held by the Department of Defence, not the NAA. Former serving members or next of kin can request their records from Defence directly. Everyone else needs to submit a "Defence service after World War II" enquiry through the NAA.
• "Not yet examined" records - Some records in RecordSearch haven't been cleared for public access. You'll need to submit an access application, which can take up to 90 business days.

For a full walkthrough of how to search RecordSearch, see How to Request War Records from the National Archives of Australia.

Australian War Memorial - rolls, diaries, and research files

The AWM doesn't hold individual service records (those are at the NAA), but it holds a wealth of complementary material that puts a service record into context. Much of it is available online through the AWM Collections Search.

Available online and free

• WWI Embarkation Roll - Approximately 330,000 AIF personnel recorded as they departed Australia. Includes age, occupation, address, next of kin, troopship name, and date of embarkation. Fully digitised and searchable.
• WWI Nominal Roll - An alphabetic list of about 324,000 AIF members who served overseas. Shows whether they returned, were killed in action, died of wounds, or were discharged.
• Roll of Honour - Names of all service members who died during or as a result of service. Many entries include digitised Roll of Honour circulars with additional personal details.
• Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau files (WWI) - Approximately 32,000 digitised case files for soldiers reported wounded or missing after July 1916. These are extraordinary documents - they contain eyewitness accounts, physical descriptions, burial details, and correspondence between the Bureau and families. Searchable under the AWM "People" tab.
• Honours and awards database - Details of awards including citations, searchable online.
• Photographs - The AWM's Collections Search includes a huge collection of digitised photographs from all conflicts.
• Selected unit war diaries - The AWM has digitised war diaries from the First World War (AWM4 series), selected headquarters and infantry units from the Second World War, and diaries from the Korean War. These record daily unit activities, locations, operations, and casualties.

Not yet digitised (in-person only)

• Many WWII unit war diaries - Not all have been digitised. Those that haven't are available on microfilm in the Research Centre in Canberra.
• RAAF formation and unit records (AWM64) - Available on microfilm in the Research Centre. The NAA holds a duplicate series (A9186), many of which have been digitised and are searchable on RecordSearch.
• Navy Reports of Proceedings (AWM78) - Summaries of ship activities. The AWM is progressively digitising these, with many now available online, but coverage isn't complete.

Department of Veterans' Affairs - nominal rolls

DVA publishes free online Nominal Rolls at nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au for four conflicts:

• World War II - Over one million personnel across RAN (~50,600), Army (~845,000), RAAF (~218,300), and Merchant Navy (~3,500)
• Korean War - Over 18,000 personnel
• Vietnam War
• First Gulf War

Each roll provides a snapshot: service number, rank, unit, dates of enlistment and discharge, place of birth, and whether the person was a prisoner of war. The WWII roll also lets you print a commemorative certificate. These are the fastest way to find a service number if you don't already have one.

Other online sources worth knowing about

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

If your ancestor was killed in service during WWI or WWII, the CWGC maintains records of 1.7 million graves and memorials across 150 countries. Search at cwgc.org. Records include the person's name, rank, unit, date of death, and cemetery or memorial location - often with photographs of the site.

Trove (National Library of Australia)

Trove at trove.nla.gov.au holds over 26 million digitised newspaper pages from across Australia. These are invaluable for finding wartime mentions of your ancestor: enlistment notices, casualty lists, obituaries, homecoming reports, and Red Cross fundraising events that mention people by name. Search by name and date range for best results.

AIF Project (WWI)

The AIF Project, maintained by UNSW Canberra, is a searchable database of 330,000 men and women who served overseas in the First AIF. It draws from multiple sources and can be a good starting point for WWI research.

Defence Honours and Awards

The Department of Defence maintains a searchable database of honours and awards at defence.gov.au/honours-awards. It covers awards issued from WWI to the present day across all three services.

Commercial genealogy platforms

Some Australian military records are available through paid platforms like Ancestry and Findmypast. However, the core collections - service records at the NAA, nominal rolls at DVA, embarkation rolls at the AWM - are all available free on their government websites. A paid subscription isn't necessary for the primary records.

At-a-glance: What's online and where

You've found the records - now what?

The records are there. They're free. They're waiting. But once you've downloaded a 20-page service record full of handwritten abbreviations, crossed-out lines, and military shorthand from 80 years ago, the real challenge begins. What does "TOS 2/14 Bn ex gruber reo" actually mean? What happened at the places mentioned on the service and casualty form?

That's the gap Decode My Digger fills. It takes those digitised images you've just found on RecordSearch and turns them into a plain-language narrative: every abbreviation decoded, every date mapped to real events, every unit movement explained. The result is a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet and a formatted Word document your whole family can read.

Frequently asked questions

Are Australian WWI service records available online for free?

Yes. All WWI Army service records (Series B2455) have been fully digitised by the National Archives and are free to view online through RecordSearch. Navy service cards for 1911-1970 have also been digitised. You don't need to register or pay anything to view them.

Are Australian WWII service records available online?

Yes, the vast majority are. As of 30 June 2024, the NAA has digitised approximately 1,058,000 Second World War service records - 99% of the total. This includes Army records from Series B883 and B884, plus RAAF files. The remaining 1% are available on request, free of charge.

Where can I find Australian unit war diaries online?

The Australian War Memorial has digitised selected unit war diaries for WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. Not all diaries have been digitised - those that haven't are available in person at the AWM Research Centre. The NAA also holds duplicate RAAF unit records (Series A9186), many of which are online.

What Australian war records aren't available online?

Post-WWII service records (Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, and later) are held by the Department of Defence and aren't on RecordSearch. Some AWM collections including many WWII unit war diaries and Navy Reports of Proceedings haven't been fully digitised. Repatriation case files at the NAA are also mostly not digitised, though they can be requested.

Do I need a paid subscription to access Australian war records?

No. The core collections - service records at the NAA, nominal rolls at DVA, embarkation rolls and war diaries at the AWM - are all available free of charge on their respective government websites. Commercial genealogy platforms like Ancestry and Findmypast carry some Australian military records, but you don't need a paid subscription for the primary sources.