NEWS:

• Some marriage certificates were showing as ‘non-compliant’ and were not being delivered – this problem has been identified and fixed – the permanent fix will be in the live system – probably this week.
• Given name variations missing – now working in the online system.  NOTE: this didn’t work in these Digger CDs – Pioneer 1st release, Federation, Edwardian and Between the Wars.  Online it now works for all events and periods.  Example – search for Hy and get Hy and Henry; search for Henry and get Hy and Henry.
• BONUS! Burial Location.  Data previously compiled for a CD / DVD to be sold as the Burials Index will now be added to Death Record results searched online.  This is a LOW priority enhancement and there is NO TIMEFRAME on when it will be implemented but it will absolutely be worth waiting for!  Great news for ALL family history researchers.

Some more progress – updated list.

If you have identified issues not included in this list, please Contact VAFHO using our Contact Us form.

If you have PAID for certificates and not received them, please Contact VAFHO using our Contact Us form and include details of your order: certificate(s), date, payment info etc.  Relevant details will be forwarded to the Registry.

Alternatively users can Contact the Registry directly using their Contact Us form(s) or phone number.

The following data and functionality have been identified as missing or an issue or fixed.

VAFHO have also classified items we believe to be HIGH or LOW (but still required) priority.

Items now working correctly are shown in bold and red – interim solutions have also been provided:

GENERIC

• Search for event by Registration Number and Year only works if a name is also entered – no names should be required for this search – Now working correctly
• Death search – More Search Options – Father’s family name search doesn’t work – Working – this is because the Father’s family and and given names were concatenated (linked together) into the Father’s given name field.  To search for father, enter Family Name or Given Name in the given name field.  Father’s family name has not been a search option for other events.
• <Unknown Family Name> on birth and death records is redundant and misleading – LOW priority.
• Data shown on Search Results screen is not shown on Records detail screen – LOW priority.
• Some users are experiencing difficulty doing any searches – try this option:
  • https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history
  • Click on the BDM logo at the top left of the screen and go through the Family History search links again.  I.T. people are still looking at this error – difficult to pin down as it appears to be random.  The error will sometimes present as a pink line referring to {{errorCode}}

• Given name variations missing – previously you could search for John and get Jno; George and get Geo; Thomas and get Thos; Jas and get James and vice versa etc. – in the interim you should search for both the full and the abbreviated given name.  A list of recognised given name abbreviations has been provided.  Now working correctly.
• PLACE OF EVENT (where it does appear) shows as PLACE, Australia – if Australia must be included it should also include Victoria.  It’s obvious that it’s Victoria as you’re searching Victorian BDMs BUT adding just Australia can add to the confusion – LOW priority.
• BACK button (when viewing a record) takes you back to PAGE 1 regardless of which page you came from – LOW priority.
• Previously records viewed in Detail were shaded when you returned to results screen – helped know which ones had been viewed – NOW working correctly.
• Some orders for Marriage Certificates have not been received by users – the problem causing this error has now been identified and the fix is in progress.  Users who have paid for but not received a Marriage Certificate will receive an email with a download link in coming days.  These are currently being addressed from oldest to newest orders.  The permanent fix for these will be implemented – probably this week.
• Some orders for Birth and Death Certificates have not been received by users – the problem causing this error is still being worked on and will follow the same procedure as the Marriages – users will receive emails with download links.  HIGH priority.  SEE PERMANENT FIXES below.
• No Receipt / Invoice being emailed to users.  Users can print a full Receipt / Invoice using the PRINT button on the order confirmation screen.  There is no process for returning to the Receipt / Invoice screen so make sure you PRINT it at the time – this will be looked at as a future enhancement.  LOW priority.

BIRTHS

• Mother (Parent 1) doesn’t show GIVEN NAME(S) – GIVEN NAME(S) NOW SHOWING. 

MARRIAGES

• BOTH marriage entries are being shown in Reverse – Spouse 1 with Spouse 2 then Spouse 2 with Spouse 1 – this doubles the number of entries you are required to search – LOW priority.
• PLACE OF BIRTH is missing for all entries for both spouses – HIGH priority.
• PLACE OF MARRIAGE was progressively being added to Marriage entries, currently missing – LOW priority.

DEATHS

• Missing AGE – impossible to identify which certificate to order when there is no indication of age of deceased – now showing for all records.
• Missing PLACE OF BIRTH from earliest until part way through 1880 was show on previous search and Digger – now showing for deaths up to c.1880 and deaths from c1936 onwards.  This is ALL the data that was in the previous online version.  Additional data will be part of an ongoing data capture project.
• Mother (Parent 1) doesn’t show given name – GIVEN NAME(S) NOW SHOWING.
• NAME OF SPOUSE – was progressively being added to Death entries – now showing for deaths mainly in 1870s and 1880s.  This is ALL the data that was in the previous online version.  Additional data will be part of an ongoing data capture project.
• Add PLACE OF BURIAL to search results screen – LOW priority.

PERMANENT FIXES

VAFHO has agreed that permanent fixes / corrections by Information Technology staff at the Registry should follow standard procedures.  This means that solutions can take some time to appear in the live production system but also limits additional errors impacting users.  These steps are:

• Identify the error
• Agree on the solution
• Implement the solution in the test system
• Test and sign off on the solution
• Implement the solution in the production system
• Test the production system
• Solution to go live.

As you can see, progress is being made – follow this blog to keep up-to-date with future progress.