It is important to understand that records about Indigenous people were created by a wide range of agencies, including:

• protection and welfare boards
• adoption agencies
• education and health departments
• police forces
• churches and missionaries
• anthropologists and a range of academics. 

They were created for a variety of reasons, such as the 'protection and care' of Aboriginal people, but most significantly they document how governments regulated the lives of Aboriginal people.

• Some of the records were specifically about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Some of the records were 'mainstream'.

Researching Indigenous family history means that you will look for both types of records. 

How do you get access to the records?