Summary heading

PP93/10 - Child migration selection documents - British children, form L.E.M. 3 (medical examination forms attached), lexicographical series 

Function and purpose

This series consists of various records related to and used for the selection of child British migrants by the Chief Migration Officer of Australia House in London under the Commonwealth Child Migration Scheme. The records of successful applicants were forwarded to the Immigration Department, Western Australian Branch if the migrant intended to settle in Western Australia.

The forms are completed by approved voluntary organisations in conjunction with the parents or guardians of the children concerned. At the commencement of the child migration scheme, a number of organisations, mainly Church of England or Catholic welfare groups and institutions, were approved by the Immigration Department to undertake a sponsor role for individual and groups of children.

The forms L.E.M. 3 are completed at the overseas post and forwarded to Australian Government’s Chief Migration Officer, London. X-ray reports and medical examinations are arranged and the completed forms are attached to L.E.M. 3 (form K and the radiologist’s report). Once this documentation is completed, the Chief Migration Officer arranges transportation for the migrant to Australia.

At the time of departure of the migrants the forms L.E.M. 3 and attachments are forwarded to the Commonwealth Migration Officer in the state of intended residence. A birth certificate and school report accompany the selection documents to Australia - in Western Australia these are handed over to the State Child Welfare Department for use in the performance of their legal functions as protectors of all children in institutions.

The forms are double sided and give the particulars of the child migrant – name, address, age, date and place of birth and education details. The child’s parents and/or guardians’ names and addresses are also included as well as their consent to their child/ward proceeding to Australia. The voluntary organisation involved is required to guarantee to repay passage money if migrant is deemed unsuitable and the form is assessed and approved by the Chief Migration Officer.

The medical examination form consists of a declaration by the intending migrant’s parent or guardian regarding their medical history, particularly whether they, or their family, have a history of tuberculosis, mental illness, trachoma and other serious medical conditions. Details of the medical examination are also included and the forms are certified by the medical examiner. The radiologist’s report, if included, consists of the Government Emigration Radiologist’s certification that an X-ray examination has been made and no abnormalities found.

Physical characteristics

The form L.E.M. 3 is a one page double-sided form which is completed by the child’s parent or guardian in conjunction with approved voluntary organisations and is certified by the signatures of the guardian and the representative of the organization in the United Kingdom. The form K – Medical Examination is also a one page double sided form which is completed at the time of the medical examination and certified by the signatures of the medical examiner and the intending migrant’s parent or guardian. For some items there is also a parent/guardian consent form and a radiologist’s report for the child migrant. 

System of arrangement and control

The migration selection forms were maintained in alphabetical order by surname of the intending migrant while in use within the agency. This has been preserved upon transfer to the Archives.  

Relationships with other records

This series is part of a larger group of records that document the permanent migration of individuals to Australia. This group includes medical examination forms, migrant selection documents, nominal rolls and passenger cards. See series links for individual series numbers.

Finding aids

As all records in this series have been entered into the RecordSearch database, a form relating to a particular person(s) can be retrieved by keyword search in RecordSearch (limiting search by Series No PP93/10).

Additional information

The following data was keyed from the paper documentation:

Form number:                           CA 17

Creating department:                 Immigration (W.A.) Branch Office, Records

Transferring department:           Immigration (W.A.) Branch Office, Registry

Date of transfer:                        29/09/1960

Archives file number:                 RWP28/1/23