Thought this would be worthy as a deal post. If not, please report to move to forums.
If you haven't renewed your passport and don't have time to go to post office by tomorrow, you can avoid the passport fee increase on 1st July by submitting your online application and they will honour the old fee for 28 days from application. The fee has to be paid at an Australia post outlet.
There is no mention on website by I called them to confirm.
Yeah I just went and there was a line and was like stuff it. So I called them and they confirmed they would honour the old fee
Bloody today tonight got every feaked out about the increase in fees.
I dont even need a passport, but no way Im play $400 for it!
$400 !?!
Is that the price of the 32-page passport from 1 July??
Wow.
I paid about $408 in 2017, for a 64-page passport, which the Government removed in 2018 or 2019 Federal Budget, to try to increase their 'revenue'.
(In 2017, the 32-page passport was about $290 , from memory).
@whyisave: is it number of pages important these days? since no one put stamp anymore, everting in system?
@Kas: May countries still do and want a free page. Running out of pages may deny entry to stopover places like Dubai. Then faced in a free zone hotel or rebook can quickly exceed the $400.
@Kas: Most countries stamp your passport. More and more countries are requiring visas now. Each visa requires 2 pages in your passport as they want a blank opposing page.
@Kas: Really depends on travel destinations, if you are travelling that much in S.E Asia for eg you can apply for an APEC Card which is a visa waiver and allows diplomatic queues on arrival. Still countries will stamp your passport.
I have already gone through my 32 page passport in 4 years, and I have no clue why they got rid of the 64 "frequent traveler" passport as business travelers will just buy it with zero questions asked.
@AircraftFreight: APEC Card is mainly for business. It's requirements aren't that easy to satisfy for personal use only. Each country in APEC then needs to Approve the application and some take a while (i.e. China).
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-austral…
It's a virtual card now (no more physical cards issued).
@amaslam: The issue is def needing each country to approve your security application. Mine took 11 months which isnt long but well worth it.
The old cards look like from 1965 and much prefer the digital card on the app.
@AircraftFreight: Australian criteria for issuing an APEC Business Travel Card is somewhat onerous unless you are a CEO or business owner.
@toasty: Its not just for CEOs or Business Owners. But you are very right, its only for business travel purposes and cannot be used for any personal international travel.
Employees who travel frequently for work with a letter by the CEO can be issued an APEC Card. Nearly everyone on my floor has one haha
@AircraftFreight: Because our governments are retards who prefer to hinder than make your life less complicated.
But getting a passport you don't need is also wasting money. They only last a few years.
@RTX9090Ti: Unless you're born in NZ and came here and never got one. They'll kick you out if you're naughty.
@Meconium: That applies to all non-citizens not just NZers. Well at least it used to until Labor decided that it was too mean to kick rapists and murderers out of the country, so they let them stay here on compassionate grounds so they can rape and murder some more.
Oh, is that why the line was out the door at my local post office the other day,
I just wanted to collect a missed parcel, line is usually long anyway but moves quickly, except of course when most of the line is passport applications. It was a long wait…
Just confirming, you called the post office and they said this?
Think the barcode generated on the printed form locks in the old fee, the barcode remains valid for 28 days and then expires. So print an application just in case if you end up deciding to pay for it.
I called passport office directly. They confirmed application online before Midnight 30th June will lock in old price
I went to the post office today and asked the guy, and he said the new price will apply from Monday, no matter if I lodged before. 🤷♀️
Would you trust post office guy or the CSR at the passport office?
This is what I just did yesterday.
Not sure an Australian passport has ever been a bargain.
Australians have one of the most expensive passports in the world in terms of cost for getting one.
It's pretty wild, Canada charges $160CAD and NZ charges $215NZD for a regular 10 year passport.
UK is 88.50 GBP.
That being said, it's always been expensive in Australia, including under nearly a decade of Liberal rule - so pretty one-eyed to try to cast this as a Labor problem.
Been expensive as long as I remember it.
Just saw the comment below about "Labour". LOL.
@Ham Dragon: Your scroll wheel must be broken - SpeedRunnerLink posted a separate comment below saying "f*#king Labour government."
EDIT - nice phantom edit. ;)
No, Canada charges $446CAD
@hahaer: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se…
It's $160CAD if applying in Canada (much as an Australian applying in Australia).
I'm not sure where your $446CAD fee comes from - even applying for a Canadian passport in Australia is $260CAD: https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/australia-austr…
If you want to apply for an Australian passport while overseas, the cost is closer to $500 (if applying from the US): https://usa.embassy.gov.au/passport-fees
I wonder how much trouble I’d get in if I got my uk passport and entered and exited the country using that.
@Levathian: You can find out when you try to enter on a UK passport. Since it won't have a visa (as you are an AU Citizen) that won't let you in. Then when you don't show your AU passport or use it to enter then I'm sure you will get a few questions (up to you if hilarity ensues).
UK Express service is far cheaper and much faster than Australia too. When I was home a while back I went into the passport office and paid about $50 for Express. They were very apologetic when they told me it would take longer than normal - 3 hours. Fine by me, I went and had a decent lunch. The Australian "Express" service is 2 business days and costs $252.
@banana365: Ah this is good to know, I have to renew my UK passport later this year (not looking forward to losing the lovely red colour!)
@banana365: Express service here is to lodge at GPO or express location before 12pm and pickup next morning from passports office.
@Ryan-H: You need to tell the Passport Office that, they seem to think it's two business days, but what would they know? https://www.passports.gov.au/UrgentApplications
But if Labour had any clue why would they do the same thing as the Libs and price jack it again?
Yeah, but the Aussie one has world-class security / counterfeit-prevention features. That’s the argument the gov will give you. You’re playing the ‘best’ passport…
You're really paying a handling fee. Its an inefficiency fee whereby as soon as an Aussie touches or handles something, you're gonna pay out of your arse for it.
To those that negged, I wasn’t defending the gov… I was outlining the argument the bureaucrats give to justify the high cost charged, you knobs! ;) LOL
$346 of after tax money. So assuming you are paying around 40% tax - the real cost of your passport is $484.
And it's for something required by the gov to exercise our very essential right to travel, also ensured by the gov.
How quickly we forget.
@pizzaguy: There was this thing that happened a few years ago that it's sensible not to bring up. Some of us still managed to GTFO this place and spend a few months in paradise.
Ah well, it is what it is. But no way I was going to pay them an extra fiddy
agree. When mine next needs renewing it'll probably be cheaper to buy citizenship and passport to some tax haven somewhere.
Eh there are more powerful passports that are cheaper.
Might cost you more to become citizen of that country for cheaper passport.
There are other passport that does more for cheaper.
Finland $72.58
Singapore $79.69
Germany (for over 24-year-olds)$115
Japan $175
Even NZ is only 193
Source https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/travel-insurance/feature…
I just paid $49 AUD (yes less than 50 bucks) for an EU Spanish passport.
Singapore bloody cheap for the most powerful passport in the world (allows visa free access to quite a few more countries than an Australian passport does, although its a little moot as most of the places that let Singaporeans in for free will let Aussies in too with an e-Visa or a Visa on Arrival).
Considering the benefits it gives you it's actually quite cheap.
It's just a form of ID, not much different from a licence. There is no reason it needs to cost $400 other than the highly inefficient public service…
I think our passport office is quiet efficient. I got 3 passports done and back in hand within a week. Although they are renewal. But most security check and etc would have already been done. It’s just the machine making the passport.
Because it’s monopoly they charge whatever they want, because they can!
I think our passport office is quiet efficient. I got 3 passports done and back in hand within a week.
I think a week to print out a piece of paper is highly inefficient to the point of being insane. We accept it because we are conditioned to accept bad service from the government, but there is no real reason that this couldn't be done in a few minutes.
eg as a comparison do you think that if Jeff Bezos ran a passport business it would take a week to print one? You would get one in 15 minutes and it would cost $50, or free if you have Prime! :)
it never was and will never be.
Someone calling it cheap if you travel every year, but honestly No Not at all
Not really worth it, around 15% increase in cost, if your passport still has more than 8 months validity you actually making a loss renewing it now.
But it is a deal for those who have 6 months left and plan to travel internationally end of the year. I don't understand your neg as there are opportunities for people to save money if they take up on this now rather than later.
The deal does not state for 6 months left and those having longer validity not need to get enticed to do it. I highly doubt hundreds upvoters here have expiring passport soon.
Departments are still run by the stooges the libs put in.
Takes awhile to really change government and labor is in no rush to move people on.
I think because a compromised public servant is easier to work with than a good one.
I can say comfortably that is absolutely not true.
They clean out shop fast, I know from experience.
It's silly to generalise. There are plenty of examples on both sides of jobs for the boys, but there are more examples of Labor honouring Coalition appointments than the other way around.
Departments are still run by the stooges the libs put in.
Lol is this what you tell yourself?
It's Labor
AND (profanity) Liberal government too
(profanity) them all !
Yes, all Aussies
But they speak very highly of you!
what is even the point of having an expiry date on a passport.
Next they will start issuing birth certificates with expiry dates.
It's for photo renewal purposes
Next they will start issuing birth certificates with expiry dates.
It expires the day you die
They do. Its just hidden from view.
Because technology changes, face, update photo, biometrics, nosejob, facejob, etc etc
Death certificate is the expiration date for birth certificate
The RFID tags the UK first used for their ten year passports were only warranted by their manufacturer (Philips I think) for five years. Bit of a goof.
Glad there is no renewal for death certificates !! phew!
I'm seeing so many great ideas for increased revenue in this thread. Renew your deceased family member's death certificate or face fines and increased tax burden when we automatically declare them alive again and start piling up taxes, levies and duties.
Don't hold your breath. Gov will work on it in no time.
Ask Julian Assange, he's back! (in pog form)
After the Australian Govt paid $A520k to charter a plane (Taylor Swift previously used) to fly him & the Milky Bar Krudd around the world to a red carpet reception - lets hope WikiLeaks can pay the Aussie taxpayers back
How long early passport can apply before expiry
Anytime. There is no restriction in Australia
Do they add up left over time in nee expiry
No
Nope, all sports come with a 'standard' expiration date. It's not like a phone recharge that adds up the leftover balance.
@hurr1cane: Passport money is to leave the country.
Maybe you could get this passport deal and consider moving somewhere else.
@hurr1cane: Lazy, complacent Aussies just whinge. We should have a backbone like the French and hold our elected leaders to account.
@Meconium: Dunno where I read it, but Aussies are one of the most likely people to just keep taking anal fistings and never take action
If my passport expires next May 2025, is it worth renewing now or not really?
Or line up at the post office for 3 hours like I did today ;P