Australian passport

Australian passport

The front cover of a contemporary Australian ePassport (with chip )
Date first issued 24 October 2005 (biometric passport)
June 2014 (current version)
Issued by  Australia
Type of document Passport
Purpose Identification
Eligibility requirements Australian citizens
Expiration 10 years after issuance for adults and children aged 16+
10 or 5 years for adults aged 75 and over
5 years for children until the age of 16
Cost Adult:
Ordinary: A$277
Frequent traveller: A$407
Aged 75 or over (5 year passport): A$139
Child:
Under age of 16: A$139
Aged 16 or 17: A$277
[1][2]

Australian passports are travel documents issued to Australian citizens under Australian Passports Act 2005 by the Australian Passport Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both in Australia and overseas, which enable the passport bearer to travel internationally. Australian citizens are allowed to hold passports from other countries.[3] 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.[4]

The 100 point check personal identification system applies to new applicants for an Australian passport,[5] and an Australian passport can in turn be used as an identification document of the passport holder (worth 70 points in the 100 point check scheme). The scheme's requirements do not apply to a renewal of a passport.

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 color photo page of the passport, including a digitized photograph. 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.[6]

History

Before 1901, Australia consisted of six separate British colonies. Passports usage was not common, and if required British or other national passports were used. In 1901, the six colonies joined to form the Commonwealth of Australia, but Australian passports did not exist. 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.[7] Passports issued by Australia were issued only to "British subjects" and were described as "British Passports".

Australian nationality came into existence on 26 January 1949 when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 came into force, and the words British Passport on the cover of Australian passports were replaced by Australian Passport. 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 Australian 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".

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,[8] making recommendations on how to prevent such abuses, most of which were acted upon by the government.[9] 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 cease to be entitled to a passport; that birth certificates not to be accepted as a sufficient proof of identity; that passports cease to be issued to travel or other agents; that all persons who change their names, whether by choice, marriage or adoption, be required to register the change with State Registrars of births, deaths and marriages.[9] The legal category of British subject was abolished in 1984 by the Australian Citizenship Amendment Act 1984, and Australian passports began to be issued exclusively to Australian citizens,[10] though existing passports held by non-citizens 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).[11][12] 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 color photo page of the passport, including a digitized photograph. 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[6] to capture and save a biometric profile of passport holders as well as to compare against the immigration database and watchlist. Australia does not use fingerprinting of incoming passengers, as is done by some other countries.

  1. 'B' series passports — issued (within Australia only) to British subjects who were not Australian citizens.
  2. 'C' series passports — issued to Australian citizens.

Types of passports

Emergency passport
Emergency passport
Official passport
Official passport
Diplomatic passport
Diplomatic passport
Different types of passports

The embedded chip stores the owner's digitised photograph, name, gender, 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.

Physical appearance

The current 'P' series Australian passports are Australian-flag blue, with the Australian coat of arms emblazoned in gold in the centre of the front cover. The word "Passport" and the international e-passport symbol () are inscribed below the coat of arms, and "AUSTRALIA" above. The standard passport contains 42 (pps 17 & 18 unusable as they contain the contactless IC) visa pages, but it can be issued in a 74-page format upon request for an additional fee.

Identity Information Page

Australia N series ePassport information page

The Australian passport includes the following data:

The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone.

Passport note

The passports contain a note from Australia that is addressed to the authorities of all other states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of Australia and requesting that he or she be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. The note inside Australian passports states:

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, being the representative in Australia of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, requests all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer, an Australian Citizen, to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him or her every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need.

Languages

The passport is printed in English. French translation is found on the identity information, observations, chip centre and notice pages.

Features

Renewal

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.

Refusal to issue passport

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.[21] 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.

Visa requirements

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 1 January 2017, Australian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 170 countries and territories, ranking the Australian passport 7th in terms of travel freedom (tied with South Korean passport) according to the Henley visa restrictions index.

Foreign travel statistics

According to the statistics these are the numbers of Australian visitors to various countries per annum in 2015 (unless otherwise noted):

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Data for 2014
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Data for 2016
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Counting only guests in tourist accommodation establishments.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Data for 2013
  5. 1 2 Data for 2011
  6. 1 2 3 Data for arrivals by air only.
  7. Data for 2012
  8. 1 2 3 Data for 2009
  9. Data for arrivals by air only.
  10. Total number includes tourists, business travelers, students, exchange visitors, temporary workers and families, diplomats and other representatives and all other classes of nonimmigrant admissions (I-94).

Declared area offence

Australian law makes it an offence for Australians to enter, or remain in, certain regions designated as 'declared areas'.[136] The Government may declare an area (but not a whole country) if it considers terrorists are operating in that area. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment, however it is a defence if a person can show they entered or remained for legitimate purposes prescribed in regulations. As at June 2015 declared areas include:

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Passports of Australia.

References

Citations

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Sources

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