There may sometimes be problems along the way in discovering the information you need. We have identified some of these below and suggested some ways of solving them.

What if there is no birth mother's birth certificate?

The results of birth, marriage or death certificate searches may be inconclusive and not give you the information you want. Searches of the electoral rolls may not give you any answers either. Possible reasons for this are:

• Birth mother was born in another State.
  Action: Apply to Births, Deaths and Marriages Registries in other States. See Births, deaths and marriages registries.
• Birth mother was born in another country.
  Action: consult International Social Services. See Searching for birth relatives resources.
• Her family name is spelt incorrectly.
  Action: Apply for a birth record search under a different spelling (eg "Shore" rather than "Shaw").
• The name has been Anglicized and likely to be part of the original name (eg 'Poulos' from 'Theopoulos').
  Action: Request a further search under what you think the original name might be.
• The family name is feminised. For example in some European and Middle Eastern countries there are masculine and feminine forms of a family name.
  Action: Consult someone familiar with the language and customs of the country concerned.
• Her birth was never registered.
  Action: Apply for a marriage search.
• Her name has been changed in some other way, for example, a defacto partner's name.
  Action: Consult the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry regarding legal changes of name.

What if there is no marriage certificate?

• Person has never married.
  Action: Check the electoral rolls under the name given on the birth certificate.
• Person might have married in another State.
  Action: Search registries in other States. See Births, deaths and marriages registries.
• Person may have married in another country.
  Action: Consult International Social Service and/or other private or community search agencies. See Searching for birth relatives resources.

What if there is no death certificate?

• Person is not deceased.
  Action: Further searches as appropriate.
• Person has died in another State or near a State border.
  Action: Apply to registries in other States. See Births, deaths and marriages registries.
• Person has died in another country.
  Action: Consult International Social Service. See Searching for birth relatives resources.
• Person died at sea.
  Action: Apply to the registry in the nearest State.
• Person died in war.
  Action: Contact the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
• If you have the name, age and date of death.
  Action: Apply to the South Australian Coroner’s Office for information. Look at death notices in the “Advertiser” or local paper for the date, for names of next of kin or the funeral director.

What if electoral roll search results are inconclusive?

• Name not on roll – never registered or too young to register.
  Action: Check for relatives of same family name at same address.
• Unable to enrol to vote – if sentenced to imprisonment for a particular time on certain charges a person can’t register.
  Action: Further searches elsewhere, as appropriate.
• Not naturalised or Australian born.
  Action: Could be registered on council or shire rolls as a ratepayer. Check with local council.
• If female and married, may not be registered under married name.
  Action: Search under maiden name or any other name used, if known.

What about using private detectives?

Some people have enlisted the help of private detectives. We suggest that before you do this you discuss your problem with us or Post Adoption Support& Service.

What about an advertisement?

You may wish to consider placing an advertisement in a magazine or newspaper. Be careful with the wording. If you are searching for a birth mother, her family may not be aware that she relinquished a child. Similarly an adopted person may not be aware they are adopted. A suitable advertisement may read:

I wish to find (name of person), aged (number of years old), or born in (year of birth, never birth date). Last knew her in (place of birth), and wish to renew contact. Please contact…

You should use a post office box as the contact address.

Using mediation

Most people make their own contact. However, sometimes, you may not feel comfortable doing this yourself or you may not be able to organise a meeting with the other person. In such cases, we or the Post Adoption Support Service may be able to help you to make contact. Our office is also available as a meeting place for contacts.