50 year closure on Marriages

[Andcarred]

Hi All,

Is anyone else concerned about the 50 year closure on Marriages.   I personally do not think it is long enough.   My marriage details have now appeared on the NSW BDM site and while this does not particularly worry me I know there are some of my friends who married around the same time who are quite concerned that this information has been made public.

It is quite common now for couples to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversaries so I query whether a 50 year closure period is satisfactory.   What do other RootChat members think?

Andcarred

[majm]

   NSW BDM has 50 year closure, but I think Vic BDM has a different process, I think, (not sure) that there's a lengthy number of years for the restriction, but also that both bride and groom need to be deceased.

We married in 1974, in NSW.   My older brother married in NSW too, and so too all my siblings, all my first cousins, my parents, my grandparents (and their respective siblings) my greats etc...   I know that I could spend some pennies and obtain the m.c. for my living relatives who married more than 50 years ago.   But on the other hand, I actually attended the weddings for my cousins, sometimes in the official party.  As they are living relatives if I want confirmation of their details I would simply ask them for those details.  If they are not family history buffs, then I would gently mention of course that their m.c. is publically available, anyone can purchase without id etc... and if I were to purchase I would give them a copy of that record/document.   

There is an increasing trend to tighten the already tight privacy rules/practices etc, so perhaps this is a sensible time to share a pdf file about Australia's privacy (Office of Australian Information Commission)

  https://www.oaic.gov.au/resources/agencies-and-organisations/guides/what-is-personal-information.pdf

https://www.oaic.gov.au/media-and-speeches/news/the-oaic-welcomes-the-appointment-of-angelene-falk-as-australian-information-commissioner-and-privacy-commissioner

What information is actually on a NSW marriage Certificate ?  from NSW BDM website: https://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/registry-records.aspx
Bridegroom's full name, occupation, place of residence, conjugal status, place and date of birth, age, father's name and mother's maiden name.

Bride's full name, occupation, place of residence, conjugal status, place and date of birth, age, father's name and mother's maiden name. Celebrant's name and witnesses.

So there's lots of personal/sensitive information there.

JM

ADD,  I have checked my copy of the NSW BDM registration of my marriage (needed to obtain certified copy for passport purposes) and the depth of detail gives not just my father's occupation, but by virtue of his occupation, it gives his employer details too...  Similarly for my husband, because of his occupation as described on the 1974 registration, it is obvious to any NSW family history buff who he worked for at that time.      privacy !  ummmm....

[Rosinish]

I think you will get a varied response to your question 

Personally, I think most people are only interested in the genealogy side (dates) i.e. not interested in 'personal lives' & probably wouldn't give a thought to the people still being alive & by that I mean, it wouldn't cross their minds 

You can actually get in touch with them to ask for your details to be removed if you so wish.

Annie

[majm]

....

You can actually get in touch with them to ask for your details to be removed if you so wish.

Annie

 

Annie,  I am not so sure that you can ask for your marriage cert details to be removed from the NSW BDM registry.  I am actually certain that the registry does not have authority to remove entries from its records. 

JM

[Ruskie]

I think 30 50 years is too soon Andcarred.

I am in Qld and our unrestricted availability is:
- births that took place more than 100 years ago
- marriages that took place more than 75 years ago
- deaths that took place more than 30 years ago.

Proof of ID is required to purchase certificates for more recent events. Several years ago I applied for my grandparent's marriage certificate knowing that I was a few weeks short of the 75 year cut off, but as they had unusual names and ages, and my surname is the same, I thought they might overlook this. No. I had to go to a JP with proof of relationship in order to re-apply for their marriage certificate.

I always thought it odd that you could purchase d/cs from 30 years ago. Death certificates contain just as much information as the other more restricted certificates - more in fact as they contain more personal information such as children's names, other marriages, and cause of death. If a person has left a will the d/c is contained in the file so is free to view by anyone at the Qld State Archives..

You should count yourself lucky though. My children were born in '92 and '95 in the UK and their births are on the free index on Ancestry. I'm not very happy in that knowledge. I don't know what proof, if any, is necessary for anyone to purchase these certificates.

[Andcarred]

Hi JM,

What is more concerning is I have just found a full copy of my parents marriage certificate as signed by them in the Church which is downloadable on Ancestry.   My main concern is that some Banks use mother's maiden name as security question.  I suppose I should be pleased I have not had to pay to get a full copy of this certificate but I do wonder how it came about.  Does Ancestry have permission from the Registry to do this?  I rather think not as the Registry would be missing out on the fee.

As far as only family historians being interested in these details, I feel hackers all over the world would love to get their hands on such sensitive information, just as the Police and other authorities love Facebook. 

Andcarred

 

[Rosinish]

Ruskie,

As far as I know, to order any cert. listed on BMDs on the indexes of GRO & SP you only have to request with the indexed ref. & pay the fee, no questions asked.

Annie

[majm]

 

Most of my NSW ancestors married C of E.  Those that married in Sydney Diocese ... yes all those marriages are easily findable via Ancestry.   I can definitely confirm that my parents marriage is there, and that I recognise their signatures ... not just the info there.  Same with both sets of Grandparents, I recognise their signatures too ...And aunties/uncles etc...   

My concern is not for family history buffs, but for the unscrupulous scammers who may well phone some of my older rellies and say "Hello Fred (or whatever),  this is Joe (or whatever) from next door to JM (or my real name) and JM says that you will be able to help support our local charity drive with a donation.  I wrote down the bank account details that JM gave me, but I want to check with you.  Can you please confirm your credit card number ...... (etc).... and your mother's maiden name .... so we can go online and organise your donation on JMs behalf....

It is something that NSW senior police officers express concern about regularly when addressing community forums in regional and rural NSW... 



JM

[Ruskie]

Hi JM,

What is more concerning is I have just found a full copy of my parents marriage certificate as signed by them in the Church which is downloadable on Ancestry.   My main concern is that some Banks use mother's maiden name as security question.  I suppose I should be pleased I have not had to pay to get a full copy of this certificate but I do wonder how it came about.  Does Ancestry have permission from the Registry to do this?  I rather think not as the Registry would be missing out on the fee.

As far as only family historians being interested in these details, I feel hackers all over the world would love to get their hands on such sensitive information, just as the Police and other authorities love Facebook. 

Andcarred

What collection is that under Andcarred?

I think Ancestry syphon information from many sources, some of it may be from private collections, or posted by a relative on another site which Ancestry have "done a deal" with maybe.

Is there any information about the source of the certificate?

You could contact Ancestry and request that it be removed. I did that once and it was surprisingly easy. They responded reasonably quickly and said they would remove it in their next "batch" which they did - so presumably they get many requests to remove this kind of material.