How to consent to a child passport

Where do I sign?

There’s a place on the application form (sections 12 to 15) where you can sign to give your consent.

Each person's consent has to be witnessed.

Who can witness a consent?

The witness can’t be related to the child by birth or marriage or be in a de facto relationship with any person who has parental responsibility or lives at the same address.

The same person, or a different person, may witness the signature of each person giving consent.

The child's guarantor may witness the consent.

What if parents are in different locations?

If parents in different locations want to consent to a child passport, the quickest option is:

  • the parent who will lodge the application generates it online and emails it (in full or just the relevant page) to the other parent
  • the other parent prints out the form, makes sure that sections 12 to 14 are completed correctly, signs the consent in section 15, and emails a scan of that page to the first parent to submit with the rest of the application.

If that won’t work for you, then the parent who’s not going to lodge the application can ask for a child passport form at an Australia Post outlet or from an Australian diplomatic or consular mission overseas, complete sections 12, 13 and 15, and then either:

  • send a scan of that page to the person who’s lodging the application to include with the rest of the application paperwork, or
  • submit the consent in person at an Australia Post outlet, a capital city passport office (no appointment necessary) or an Australian diplomatic or consular mission overseas.

If you’re submitting a consent in person, you’ll need to bring ID.

How do I consent on behalf of a welfare agency?

If you’re giving consent to a passport on behalf of a child welfare or protective agency, our brochure: Guide to lodging travel document applications for children subject to welfare or protection order sets out everything you need to know.

What if the child is a ward of the Immigration Minister?

If you’re giving consent to a non-citizen travel document for a child who entered Australia as an unaccompanied humanitarian minor and is under the guardianship of the Minister for Immigration, you have to complete a

B3 - Child under the Guardianship of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (PDF 628.2 KB)

to give us full details.  More information is in our brochure:

Lodging Australian travel document applications for unaccompanied humanitarian minors - A guide for guardians

See also: