Overseas

Applying for a Child's passport

When you apply for an Australian passport for a child you must provide:

1. Original documents which confirm the child's identity and Australian citizenship

You will need to provide the child's full original Australian (or foreign) birth certificate. Where a foreign birth certificate is presented you must also provide an Australian citizenship certificate or a previous Australian passport issued to the child on or after 20 August 1986 with at least two years' validity. Birth extracts, commemorative certificates, photocopies or facsimile copies are not acceptable .

For applicants born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986: 

• proof of one parent's Australian citizenship or Australian permanent residency at the time of the child's birth.

Either:

• one parent's Australian birth certificate;
• one parent's Australian passport issued after 20 August 1986 and valid for two years;
• one parent's Australian citizenship certificate;
• one parent's Australian permanent resident status.

2. Consent from all persons with parental responsibility for the child

A passport may be issued to a child if the consent of all persons with parental responsibility for the child has been obtained. In addition, the Australian Passports Act 2005, Section 11 sets out other circumstances in which a passport may be issued without the consent of a person or persons with parental responsibility for the child. However, if the circumstances set out in Section 11 of the Act are not met, it is the responsibility of the lodging parent(s) to obtain all necessary consents. See Children and Parental Consent.

If you wish to make an application to the Approved Senior Officer for a waiver of consent, you will be required to complete a statement declaring that special circumstances exist and provide particulars of those circumstances. In most cases, the form B9 must be completed. However, in cases where the father is not named on the child's birth certificate, the form B8 has to be completed.

3. Change of name of child

You must bring originals of documents that explain any name changes the child has had since birth or since obtaining Australian citizenship. A passport is issued in the child's birth (or citizenship) name, unless another name has been registered with the Australian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the local equivalent authority in the child's country of permanent residency (if the child was born overseas), and you can provide the original of the change of name certificate (or local equivalent) or revised birth certificate. Anglicised names are not acceptable without a formal name change certificate. If there is no local system for registering a name change in your country of residence, contact your nearest overseas mission.

If the child's name has changed more than once, please provide details of the most recent name change on the form and provide documents for each name change.

If the child's parents' current names are different to those shown on the child's birth certificate, documents that explain the difference must be provided.