Australia Obituary Search
For Australian obituary research, search My Tributes for recent death and funeral notices, use the Ryerson Index to identify newspaper citations, and turn to Trove for digitized historical newspapers. State, city and newspaper title are important because coverage varies widely, and an index result may still require a separate library or newspaper search.
Editorial review: Obituary Search · Last reviewed September 15, 2026
Search these sourcesRecent obituaries and death notices
Start here when the death or publication was within the last 30 years.
My Tributes
FreeAustralian death, funeral and tribute notices from participating publications.
- Coverage
- Recent Australian death, funeral and tribute notices
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Ryerson Index
FreeAn index to death notices and obituaries published in Australian newspapers.
- Coverage
- Australian newspaper notices indexed from 1803 onward
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Legacy.com
FreeRecent newspaper and funeral-home obituaries from participating publishers and funeral providers.
- Coverage
- Primarily recent notices; coverage varies by publisher
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Historical newspapers and archives
Use place and a date range to narrow title-specific collections.
Ryerson Index
FreeAn index to death notices and obituaries published in Australian newspapers.
- Coverage
- Australian newspaper notices indexed from 1803 onward
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Trove Newspapers
FreeDigitized Australian newspapers and gazettes maintained by the National Library of Australia.
- Coverage
- Digitized Australian newspapers from 1803; later coverage varies
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Newspapers.com
Paid or trialDigitized newspapers useful when a name, location and approximate publication date are known.
- Coverage
- Digitized newspapers; dates vary by title
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
FamilySearch
Free accountHistorical obituary collections, civil records and family-history indexes from many countries.
- Coverage
- Historical collections; dates vary by collection
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Find a Grave
FreeCommunity-contributed cemetery memorials with burial details, photographs and short biographies from many countries.
- Coverage
- Worldwide memorials; dates and detail vary
- Last reviewed
- September 15, 2026
Search by region
Add the state and locality, then check metropolitan and regional papers that served the area. The publication place can differ from the place of death or burial.
Free and paid access
Trove and the Ryerson Index are free. Some current notices are free to search, while commercial newspaper archives may charge for full-page access.
If the name search fails
Use surname initials, broaden the publication window and search death notice, funeral notice and tribute separately. A Ryerson citation can help locate the original newspaper through a library.