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Passport of the Commonwealth of Australia issued to Australian citizens

An Australian passport is a travel document issued by the Commonwealth of Australia to individuals holding any form of Australian nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requirements and serves as both a form of identification and proof of Australian citizenship. It also facilitates access to consular assistance from Australian embassies around the world. Passports are issued in accordance with the Australian Passports Act 2005 by the Australian Passport Office, an agency of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). As of July 2023, Australian citizens had visa free or visa on arrival access to 186 countries and territories, ranking the passport sixth in the world for travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index. Since 24 October 2005, Australia has issued only biometric passports, called ePassports, which have an embedded microchip that contains the same personal information that is on the colour photo page of the passport, including a digitised photograph. As all previous passports have now expired, all Australian passports are now biometric. SmartGates have been installed in Australian airports to allow Australian ePassport holders and ePassport holders of several other countries to clear immigration controls more rapidly, and facial recognition technology has been installed at immigration gates. Since 1988 over a million Australian passports have been issued annually, and it reached 1.4 million in 2007, and increasing towards a projected 3 million annually by 2021. As of May 2023, an Australian passport was regarded as "the most expensive travel document in the world", at a cost of AUD$325 per passport. As of late 2023, approximately 14.2 million Australian citizens (or just over 53% of the population) possessed a valid Australian passport.

Before 1901, Australia consisted of six separate British colonies. Passport usage was not common, and if required British or other national passports were used. In the 19th century, paroled convicts were issued a type of internal passport called "ticket of leave", which enabled them to move freely between the colonies. In 1901, the six colonies joined to form the Commonwealth of Australia, although Australians retained British nationality. It was only in 1912 that the first federal passport regulations were introduced, and the passports issued by the Australian government still bore the words "British Passport" on the cover until 1967. During World War I, the monitoring and identifying of those crossing international borders was regarded as critical to the security of Australia and its allies, and the War Precautions Act 1914 required all persons over 16 years of age, on leaving Australia, to possess some passport. Australian nationality came into existence on 26 January 1949 when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 came into force, and Australian passports began to distinguish between Australian citizens and other British subjects. British subjects, who were not Australian citizens, continued to be entitled to an Australian passport. The term "British subject" had a particular meaning in Australian nationality law. The term encompassed all citizens of countries included in the list contained in the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948. The list of countries was based on, but was not identical with, those countries (and their colonies) which were members of the Commonwealth from time to time. The list was amended from time to time as various former colonies became independent countries, but the list in the Act was not necessarily up to date as far as to constitute exactly a list of countries in the Commonwealth at any given time. This definition of "British subject" meant that, for the purposes of Australian nationality law, citizens of countries which had become republics, such as India, were classified as "British subjects". The words "British Passport" were removed from the covers of Australian passports in 1967. In 1981, the Commonwealth, Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian governments set up the Stewart Royal Commission to inquire into various drug trafficking and related criminal activities, but which spent much of its time examining how criminals were using and abusing the passport system for criminal purposes. The Commission published its final report in 1983, making recommendations on how to prevent such abuses, most of which were acted upon by the federal government. The report's recommendations included that applicants for a passport attend a Passport Office and that mailed applications cease; that passports be issued only to citizens, so that British subjects would cease to be entitled to a passport; that birth certificates not be accepted as a sufficient proof of identity; that passports cease to be issued through travel or other agents; and that all persons who change their name, whether by choice, marriage or adoption, be required to register the change with State Registrars of births, deaths and marriages. though existing passports held by non citizen British subjects continued to be valid until each expired. In 1980, large bound book registers were replaced by a computerised processing and registration system, called the Passport Issue and Control System (PICS). Since 1984, to speed up processing of incoming and outgoing passengers and data entry, Australia has been issuing passports with machine readable lines, to ICAO Document 9303 standard. Since 24 October 2005, Australia has issued only biometric passports, called ePassports, which have an embedded RFID microchip that contains the same personal information that is on the colour photo page of the passport, including a digitised photograph. Australia was only the fourth country in the world (after Malaysia, Thailand and Sweden) to introduce biometric passports. All Australian passports are now biometric, all pre 2006 passports having now expired. SmartGates have been installed in Australian airports to allow Australian ePassport holders, and ePassport holders of several other countries, to clear immigration controls more rapidly, and facial recognition technology has been installed at immigration gates
In 1964, 'G' series passport introduced, with the St Edward's Crown at the top of the cover, the word 'Australia' followed by the Australian Coat of Arms, and the words 'British Passport' at the bottom. In 1983, the department partnered with Australia Post to enable the issue of Australian passports at most Australia Post outlets. In late June 2014, 'P' series passports issued with innovative security features that make it even more difficult to forge. They have an Australian flag blue with gold embossed cover, printed using the same technologies as Australian banknotes. Visible security features include a new security laminate with the world's first colour floating image. From September 2022, 'R' series passports issued incorporate works by Indigenous artists, it has a high security photo page made of layered plastic, making the passport harder to forge and less susceptible to damage. The visa pages show 17 iconic Australian landscapes in spectacular true colour.

In limited circumstances, Australian citizens may be issued passports outside of the usual requirements. Such passports will always be issued in one of the above categories: ordinary, official or diplomatic. Other than for an emergency passport, their appearance is identical.

A concurrent passport is an additional passport issued to an individual who already holds a valid passport of the same category (ordinary, official or diplomatic). Issuance of these is very tightly controlled, and granted to enable travel in exceptional circumstances. or where significant delays will result in having to wait for the return of a passport following (unrelated) visa issuance. Other circumstances may be considered, requiring authorisation by more senior staff. They are identical to regular passports, but with shorter validity. They are valid for up to 12 months, and available from within Australia only. such as following a name change. These applicants may hold cardinal documents, such as a birth certificate, differing from their current identity, without sufficient documentation to corroborate the difference. On completion of a full application and satisfaction of the usual requirements, a LVP may be exchanged for an ordinary passport, free of charge.

The current series Australian passport is blue, with the Australian coat of arms emblazoned in at the top of the front cover. "AUSTRALIA" is written below the coat of arms and, below it, "PASSPORT" is written. Toward the bottom of the cover the international e passport symbol The standard passport contains 42 visa pages.

The passport is printed in English. French translation is found on the identity information.

The embedded chip stores the owner's digitised photograph, name, sex, date of birth, nationality, passport number, and the passport expiry date. This is the same information that appears on the printed information page of every passport. Facial recognition technology was introduced with the release of the ePassport to improve identity verification and reduce identity related fraud.

Australian citizens, aged 18 years or over who have an adult Australian passport that was valid for at least two years when issued, and was issued on or after 1 July 2000, in the current name, date of birth and sex or have a child Australian passport that was valid for at least two years when issued, and was issued on or after 1 July 2005, and that were 16 years or over at the time of issue may apply online for a renewal. If overseas, this may be done by contacting the nearest Australian diplomatic mission. Renewals are not available for lost or stolen passports, in which case an application for a new passport must be made.

Under the Australian Passports Act 2005, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has the power to refuse, cancel or suspend a passport on a number of grounds including national security or health. In addition, a court can order an accused in a criminal matter, or any other person, to surrender their passport, for example, as a condition of grant of bail or otherwise. In May 2017, the Turnbull government successfully reached a deal with Derryn Hinch's Justice Party to allow the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to revoke the passports of 20,000 convicted child sex offenders listed on Australia's national child offender register, of which about 3,200 offenders with lifetime reporting requirements were to be permanently denied the opportunity to obtain a passport and hence the ability to travel outside Australia for life. This was described as a "world first" passport ban policy intended to combat child sex tourism perpetuated by Australian citizens especially in developing countries.

Since 2004, Australia has participated in the Five Nations Passport Group, an international forum for cooperation between the passport issuing authorities in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States to "share best practices and discuss innovations related to the development of passport policies, products and practices".

An Australian passport does not, in itself, entitle the holder to enter another country. To enter another country, the traveller must comply with the visa and entry requirements of the other countries to be visited, which vary from country to country and may apply specifically to a particular passport type, the traveller's nationality, criminal history, or many other factors. As of February 2024, Australian citizens had visa free or visa on arrival access to 190 countries and territories, ranking the Australian passport fifth in the world in terms of travel freedom (tied with Greece, Malta, New Zealand and Switzerland) according to the Henley Passport Index.