Key Points
- The Australian passport is one of the world's most "powerful", according to the Henley Passport Index.
- An adult passport costs $325 and lasts for 10 years, with a new "R series" rolling out in 2023.
- One of the key features of the passport is its extensive security measures.
If you are an Australian citizen that needs a new passport, be prepared to pay a premium for it.
The Australian passport is one of when it comes to accessing visa-free travel. It was ranked in joint eighth in the latest Henley Passport Index, with Australians able to visit 185 countries without a visa.
The Australian passport is also one of the most expensive. Canadian, Greek and Maltese passports all allow the same amount of visa-free travel as the Australian passport, but cost significantly less for citizens of those countries to get their hands on the travel document.
Canadians can expect to pay CAD$160 ($172) for their passports, while the Maltese pay between €70 and €80 ($107 to $122) and Greeks pay €84.40 ($130).
To compare Australia to a close neighbour, New Zealanders pay NZD$199 ($180) for their passports.
Credit: SBS News
Why is the Australian passport so expensive?
The price of Australian passports could be attributed to security measures, according to David Beirman, adjunct fellow in Management and Tourism at the University of Technology Sydney.
He pointed out that other countries, such as the US, UK and Canada, also have security features in their passports.
“That doesn’t really explain fully why our passports are so pricey,” Dr Beirman said.
There are also additional costs of labour and printing, as well as the massive demand for travel post-COVID restrictions easing. More than 2.6 million Australian passports were issued in 2022.
Dr Beirman also said there is a “revenue-raising element” to the price of passports.
“I think probably the reason is … a lot more to do with the fact that this is pretty good revenue,” he said.
Travel document fees are automatically indexed for inflation on 1 January every year, in line with the Australian Passports (Application Fees) Determination 2015. The revenue raised from passport fees goes into the federal government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.
What security measures does the Australian passport have?
The Australian Passport Office issues passports under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and has officially begun rolling out the R series passport, which includes new features to secure it against identity theft and counterfeiting.
According to the APO, the R series passport is “even more secure” than the P series passport, which has been on offer since 2014.
As well as the identity theft and counterfeiting protections, its photo page is made from “tough, high-security, layered plastic”.
Other security features include ultraviolet elements, as well as a colour-changing wattle on the security features page.
The Australian Passport Office said on Thursday the “1 millionth new ‘R Series’ Australian passport rolled off the production line this week”.
