Membership Guidelines

1. name, address, phone & email etc.
2. Categories being applied for.
3. Agreeing to Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct.

The following will be required:

1. Business Registration required: ABN or NZBN to be provided.
2. Marketing / Advertising – Provide links to your business website and/or social media. (Links to personal social media is not required). And/Or upload copies of print advertising or business listing in directories.
3. Have a business structure (Australia or New Zealand) and show business skills sufficient to run own business – suggest a copy of an invoice you have sent to a client (note: rates may be blocked out), plus a summary of skills from prior work experience and/or business related courses etc.
4. Awareness of contractual obligations ie: copy of client agreement and/or your terms & conditions, needs to have a statement confirming what client has asked for. Click here for an example
5. Probate Genealogist ONLY – Professional Indemnity insurance is mandatory. This is in accordance with Rule 8 (e) iv of the Association’s Rules:

iv. can show current evidence of their Professional Indemnity Insurance, or that of their employer by providing a copy of a Certificate of Currency at the time they apply for membership and when they pay their annual membership subscription.

The following will be required:

1. brief overview of your career, this may include relevant work prior to working in the genealogical field as well as genealogical related work, any published articles etc. Include how long you have been providing paid research.

2. Evidence of any recognised genealogical qualifications (in the form of a digital image of the relevant certificate or other confirmation from the awarding body). Recognised genealogical studies may be a Diploma in Family Historical Studies, Historical Studies or other similar or related fields. An awarding body may be a Genealogical Society, University, TAFE etc.

Communication Skills / Client Reports as reflected in the correspondence, client reports and manuscripts that must be provided for assessment. All reports & communications for assessment must be original work, this is, you must have written and complied the report, it cannot be the result of AI.

The sample documents supplied in this section are from different AAGRA accredited members and reflect the various formats they each use. Applicants should supply their own work which may have the same, similar or different format. The purpose of providing samples is to give the applicants examples that illustrated the types of information we typically assess, but we expect you to submit your own original work that reflects your personal approach and professional judgement.

Documents that are required vary depending upon the membership category being applied for, see below:

i) Record Agents to provide:

• Two Client Reports – include the correspondence with the client, clients agreement or acceptance of terms & conditions and research reports with supporting documents supplied to the client. Reports must show ability to source and obtain both archival and online records. Sample Report here

ii). Genealogists to provide:

• Two Client Reports – include the correspondence with the client, clients agreement or acceptance of terms & conditions, research reports with supporting documents the client. Reports must show ability to source and obtain both archival and online records. Sample Report here

• One completed manuscript of a family history, and/or copies of published family histories or genealogies.

• Evidence of accepted genealogical charting that has been reported in one of the clients report or in a manuscript or published family history.

iii) Probate Genealogists to provide:

• Two Client Reports – include the correspondence with the client, clients agreement or acceptance of terms & conditions, research reports with supporting documents that was sent to the client. It must show both archival and online records. One of the reports must be an “Intestacy Report”, the second report should relate to a different probate objective eg: “Unnamed class in a Will” report, a report to answer a specific legal question, a requisitions from the court report or other related probate brief. Sample Report Here

• Evidence of accepted genealogical charting that has been reported in one of the clients reports.

A ) Demonstrate clear communication skills –

i) Clear Communications with client

ii) Avoid jargon

Score 10/10

B) Reports to contain the following:

i) Initial statement of information provided by the client

ii) Concise statement of client’s objectives

iii) Inclusion of images of relevant documents

iv) Summary of information of relevant documents

v) Genealogical chart (if applying for the Genealogist or Probate Genealogist categories)

vi) Conclusion (analysis of findings, including negative results/list of sources consulted)

Score 30/30

C) Overall Presentation

i) Well laid out

ii) Good Structure and Style

iii) Clear reporting

iv) Accurate typescript

Score 20/20

In the reports supplied in section 4, the applicant must:

1. Demonstrate the use of a wide range of sources, including archival resources, and repositories (where relevant)
2. Demonstrate an ability to analyse sources
3. Demonstrate accurate and consistent citation endnotes/footnotes. (You may use any consistent approach, for an example see the SAG Referencing Guidelines)
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between indexes, transcripts, actual records
5. Demonstrate an understanding of primary and secondary sources
6. Demonstrate an understanding of copyright by using relevant citations, attributions and/or obtaining relevant permissions.

   Score 20/20

   TOTAL SCORE 100/100

   Acceptance to the relevant application category is a score of at least 50% for each of the sections above, plus an overall score of at least 75/100. Plus Probate Genealogists must have Professional Indemnity Insurance.