Passport Services

Passport Processing Times - We are advising Australians to plan for 6-8 weeks processing time (not including postage and transit times) when applying for a new passport. We do not expect this waiting time to reduce in the near future.

Australian citizens (including dual citizens) should plan well-ahead of their intended travel to ensure they have a valid passport.

This is owing to an increase in passport applications globally. You should factor this into your travel plans. Contact us at [email protected] if you have confirmed travel plans or need to travel urgently.

If you, your family or friends have travel planned in the next 12 months, check the current validity on your passport without delay and plan now to apply for or renew. The requirement of many countries (including transit points) is a minimum of 6 months validity on your passport from your return date. Planning ahead will help you avoid any delays to your travel.

From September 1, 2022, if you are eligible for an adult streamlined renewal (PC7, 1-page form), you have the option to lodge your passport renewal application by mail. More information, including eligibility, our detailed checklist and ‘how to apply’ can be found here.

More information on booking an appointment and preparing your application, including our detailed checklist for all other passport applications (PC8, 5-page form) can be found here.

Do both parents need to attend child application appointments? Both parents are required to attend appointments for all Child First passports, Emergency passports and all Child passport applications from neighbouring countries. We recommend both parents attend passport appointments for all Child Passport Renewal applications to avoid delays in processing times.

Incomplete applications (including missing documents and incorrectly executed parental consent) will not be accepted. You will be required to rebook an appointment. We recommend downloading and using the detailed checklists from our website.

Urgent/Confirmed Travel - If you have confirmed travel plans or need to travel urgently, it may be possible to have an Emergency Passport. Emergency Passports take 2 business days to process (once the application has been finalised). There is an additional Emergency Passport fee. More information can be found at APO Emergency Passports. Both parents are required to attend appointments for Emergency passport applications for children.

Passport applications from Neighbouring Countries - We will accept some passport applications from neighbouring countries. We are unable to post passports outside of Switzerland. Both parents are required to attend appointments for all child applications from neighbouring countries.

I've been affected by the Medibank Private/ahm, Optus or Medlab data breach. What should I do?

Medibank Private/ahm have advised the Australian Passport Office (APO) that no Australian Travel Document information was compromised in this breach.

Foreign passports for international students were compromised through this cyberattack. Medibank Private/ahm are contacting impacted customers directly.

If Medibank Private/ahm have advised you that your foreign passport information was compromised, you should contact the government that issued the passport for advice on what to do. This is also the case for all data breaches that impact foreign passport holders, including the recent breaches at Optus and Medlab.

More information:

Medibank/ahm impacted customers:

• Call Medibank on 134 148 (within Australia) or +61 3 9862 1095 (International) 
• Contact Medibank’s 24/7 Student Health and Support line (Medibank international students call 1800 887 283 and ahm international students call 1800 006 745)
• Visit Medibank Cyber Event Updates and Support page medibank.com.au/cybersecurity
• Go to ID Care’s dedicated Medibank and ahm breach response plan).
• See the Australian Cyber Security Centre's Medibank Private alert.

Optus impacted customers:

• Contact Optus customer service directly on 133 937 (within Australia), or +612 8082 5678 (International), or go to their Passport Information(link is external) webpage.
• Go to our Frequently Asked Questions on the Optus data breach and passport information
• See the Australian Cyber Security Centre's Optus data breach(link is external) alert.

Medlab impacted customers:

Contact Medlab customer service directly on +61 1800 433 980, or go to their data breach web page(link is external).