Description of series:
Function and contents

This series comprises documents known as 'RA' (Registered Alien)
documents (and associated forms and correspondence) which were used
to register aliens under the Aliens Act between 1948-1965. The Aliens
Act required that a Register of Aliens be established in each state
under the Department of Immigration. The Act stated that every alien
residing in, or entering the Commonwealth, must make application to
be registered, and that upon doing so, he/she will be issued with a
certificate of registration.

The majority of items in the series contain an RA 2 (Application for Registration by Alien Entering Australia) form.  However, a number of other items are made up of an RA 1 (Application for Registration Form) accompanied by an Incoming Passenger Arrival card.  There are some items which do not contain a form, but have only a file removal notice.  Where this is the case it is indicated in the title.

The RA 2's are blue sheets, usually stapled on to a stiffer backing 
sheet. The forms generally have the words "Application for Registration by Aliens entering Australia" across the top, followed by the personal particulars of each applicant. These include name; address; nationality; physical appearance; passport number and details of issue; occupation and family details. There is also a photograph of the applicant attached to the bottom left hand corner. Some items do not contain a photograph.  Where this is the case it is indicated in the title.

Accompanying correspondence includes notifications of marriage, change of name, address, occupation or employment and applications for issue of a new certificate to replace one lost or destroyed.

System of arrangement and control
The forms are arranged in alphabetical order by nationality and then by surname.  

Finding items in this series
Item titles have been constructed from information provided on the forms.  Included in the item titles are:
- nationality
- full name
- port of arrival
- name of ship or “aircraft” if by air
- date of arrival
- additional information if relevant
Previous surnames or aliases have been included if this information is available on the file.  Where an alien has a common name (surname and first names) shared by others, then the date of birth has been included to assist identification. If a search on name produces a large number of results you should try narrowing your search by date (or year) of birth, the name of the ship, or the date (or year) of arrival if known.

Additional information
The nationalities represented in this series are:

American
Albanian
Andorran
Argentinian
Armenian
Austrian
Belgian
Bolivian
Brazilian
Bulgarian
Chilean
Columbian
Costa Rican
Cuban
Czechoslovakian
Danish
Dutch
Estonian
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Honduran
Hungarian
Icelandic
Indonesian
Iranian
Iraqi
Israeli
Italian
Jordanian
Latvian
Lebanese
Lithuanian
Luxembourgish
Mexican
Monagesque
Moroccan
Norwegian
Palestinian
Panamanian
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Salvadorian
Spanish
Stateless
Swedish
Swiss
Syrian
Tunisian
Turkish
Ukrainian
Undetermined
United Arab Republic (UAR)
Uruguayan
Venezuelan
Yugoslavian

All archival description work on this consignment has now been completed and all items are on RecordSearch.

Administrative information

The following data was keyed from the paper documentation:
Form number:              CA 17
Creating department:      , Immigration, NSW, Citizenship (Aliens
                          Registration)
Transferring department:  , Immigration, New South Wales, Citizenship
                          (Aliens Registration)
Date of transfer:         17/10/1968
Archives file number:     RWS28/1/169