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Did you know even minor damage to your passport can ruin your holiday before it starts?

Different airlines and countries have certain requirements for the condition of your passport. They may stop you from boarding your flight or entering your destination country.

Be travel ready and check the condition of your passport. Make sure it’s free from damage like:

• small tears or rips
• marks, stains or discoloration
• souvenir stamps, written marks or lines
• altered or missing pages.

If you’re not sure about the condition of your passport, call us on 131 232 or contact your nearest Australian diplomatic or consular mission. We may need to see your passport to assess it.

You should also check your passport is current and valid for at least 6 months from when you plan your trip to end. Some countries won’t let you enter if your passport is expiring soon. For more information, see Smartraveller.

For advice and tips on taking care of your passport, see using and protecting your passport.

If you’ve recently applied for a passport, you’ll be getting the new R Series passport.

This new passport is a little different to previous Australian passports. When you first open your passport, you will now see a polycarbonate photo page. This is a tough, high-security, layered plastic.

Be careful to not bend the passport too far back or you could damage the stitching that holds the passport together.

As you flip through the pages, you’ll notice the visa pages feature iconic Australian landmarks. Under ultraviolet light, the sky in each image becomes a unique nightscape, and a local species of native fauna appears.

There are many features of the R Series passport you can read online. You can also watch a video to learn more.  

There have been some recent news stories reporting Australians will soon be able to lodge their passport applications online with myGov.

The myGov user Audit report highlighted using myGov for a broader range of online services, including processing Australian passport applications.

However, the approach and timeframe for a future move to online passport renewals hasn’t been determined yet. There is currently no option to lodge passport applications via myGov.

So, if you need to renew your passport soon, the best way to do this is to start your application online via our AusPassport portal. Then print off your ‘Passport application checklist’ and lodge it at your nearest participating Australia Post outlet, together with two passport photos and any other supporting documents.

Since 1 July 2022, over 2.7 million Australians have gotten passports.

That’s already an all-time record, with still just under two months yet to go this financial year!

This figure outstrips our previous financial year record of 2.1 million passports, set in 2018-19.

It reflects the strong passport demand we have seen in recent months, which is expected to continue for the remainder of 2023.

The good news is passport processing times are back to what they were before COVID-19, despite the high ongoing demand.  

But processing times are expected to fluctuate during the year, particularly in the lead up to peak travel times.   

That’s why you should plan well ahead and allow at least six weeks to apply for or renew your passport if you’re looking to travel this year.

For more advice, or to start your application online, go to: www.passports.gov.au.

You may have heard some people are getting their new passports quickly. Some within just a few days of lodging their application.

So, if wait times have dropped, why should you still allow at least six weeks?

There are a few good reasons.

First, demand for passports is at an all-time high. Last year, 2.6 million Australians got a passport. That’s nearly half a million more than our previous record.

There's also still over two million Australians who’ve put off getting a new passport since COVID. These people are likely to apply in future, on top of normal demand.

This means passport application numbers and wait times may fluctuate a lot this year, particularly ahead of peak travel times.

Second, while most passport applications are currently processed well within six weeks, some do take longer. This includes first-time adult and child passports.

So, our advice is to give yourself at least six weeks to get a passport.