Australia Business Records and Commerce

Online Records
1919-1935 Victoria, Australia, Battle to Farm, 1919-1935 index and images - at Ancestry ($)

Business Directories

 * The Australasian federal directory of commerce, trades & professions at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1831 Australian almanack, for the year of our Lord 1831 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1835 Australian almanack and general directory, for the year of our Lord 1835, e-book.
 * 1869 Indian and colonial mercantile directory for 1869 at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1873 Australian handbook & almanac & shipper & importers directory, e-book.
 * 1888 The Australasian federal directory of commerce, trades & professions at FamilySearch, images.
 * 1893 The Australian handbook (incorporating New Zealand, Fiji, and New Guinea) shippers and importers' directory & business guide for 1893, e-book

Pastoral (Ranching) Directories

 * 1893-1899 Australasian federal pastoral directory List of stockowners [ranchers] in the colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.
 * 1913, 1923, 1925, 1931, 1954: Australia Pastoral Directories at Ancestry; index & images ($); Also at Findmypast ($)
 * 1954 List of stockowners in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Tasmania

Licenses

 * 1821-1938 Western Australia, Australia, Land Leases, Licences, Applications and Selected Images, 1821-1938 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1830-1899 New South Wales, Australia, Certificates for Publicans' Licences, 1830-1849, 1853-1899 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1837-1846 New South Wales, Australia, Depasturing Licenses, 1837-1846 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1900-1903 Queensland, Australia, Licensed Victuallers Index, 1900-1903 index - at Ancestry ($)

Police Gazettes (including license news)

 * 1854-1930 New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1855, 1864-1924 Victoria, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1855, 1864-1924 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1862-1947 South Australia, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1862-1947 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1867-1884 South Australia Government Gazettes 1867-1884 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1881-1945 Queensland, Australia, Police Gazette Index, 1881-1945 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1884-1933 Tasmania, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1884-1933 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1903-1910 Queensland, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1903-1910 - at Ancestry ($)

Business Occupations

 * 1857-1922 Web: Queensland, Australia, Occupational Indexes, 1857-1922 index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1882-1945 Queensland, Australia, Mining Accident Index, 1882-1945 index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1883-1900 Australasian medical directory and handbook images - at FamilySearch.
 * 1903-1977 Tasmania, Australia, Railway Employment Records, 1903-1977 index and images - at Ancestry ($)

Content of Business Records
Australia businesses and commercial companies seldom contain dates or places of birth, marriage, or death but they can have valuable genealogical information.
 * Pub owners, butchers, lumberjacks, auctioneers, or other professionals had to be licensed. Licenses were granted by the courts, and notices were then published in the Government Gazette. For further information about gazettes, read the Court Records article.
 * Lawyers at the time kept detailed records for their clients. Included in these records are:
 * probate material
 * adoption records
 * insurance papers
 * lawsuits, and other sources that may help you trace your ancestors.
 * Some bank ledgers in Australia give:
 * the name
 * occupation
 * residence
 * age
 * place of birth (by county and country)
 * year of immigration and name of ship
 * a physical description of depositors.

Finding Business Records
Many business records are deposited in Australian national archives, state archives, and other local repositories. For further information, read the Archives and Libraries article.

FamilySearch Library
Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: