Children aged 0-15 may be issued with a passport that is valid for up to 5 years, and children aged 16 or 17 may be issued with a passport that is valid for up to 10 years. A passport issued to a child remains valid until it expires or is cancelled. It can continue to be used for international travel and identification purposes after the child has turned 18.
Watch our 'How to apply for a child passport' video.
2 passport-sized photos of your child that meet our photo guidelines
documents proving any change of name for your child, you or the other parent
any court orders relating to your child
any additional passport forms we need to establish who has parental responsibility for the child, or to allow the child to have a passport for travel.
When you lodge your application, you must bring the original documents with you.
You’ll need a guarantor to confirm your child’s identity. The guarantor must sign section 11 of your application form and the back of one of your child’s passport photos. They must use a black pen and write, 'This is a true photo of [your child’s full name]'.
The guarantor must be an adult Australian citizen who has known your child for more than 12 months, or since they were born if the child is under one year of age.
They must also have a current Australian passport with at least 2 years' validity, or be listed on the Australian electoral roll at their current address for at least 12 months.
The guarantor must not be:
related to you or your child by birth or marriage
anyone who has parental responsibility or legal guardianship of your child
in a de facto or registered relationship with any person who has parental responsibility for your child
living at the same address as your child or anyone with parental responsibility for them
an Australian Passport Officer (including at overseas posts)
an Australia Post employee.
Your application must include the details of your child's guarantor, including their:
full name
date of birth
daytime phone number
Australian passport details or their address as it appears on the electoral roll.
There are 2 ways to complete a passport application form. You can fill in an online form or a paper form from a participating post office(Opens in a new tab/window).
3. Download and print the completed form. When printing, use:
A4 size paper
portrait orientation
black ink
'Fit to page/printable area' in your printer settings.
4. Gather your documents, including your completed application form, your child’s passport photos, and original identity documents.
Once you complete the online form, you need to print it and take it to a participating post office to lodge it. See Step 4.
Paper form
Pick up a blank paper form from a post office – the child passport application form is purple.
Fill in the form.
Gather your documents, including your completed application form, your child’s passport photos, and original identity documents.
Get parental consent
We encourage you to try and get consent from each person with parental responsibility for the child, where possible and safe to do so. A child passport application without full parental consent can take much longer to process.
You don’t need to get full parental consent if an Australian court order permits the child to:
have an Australian passport
travel internationally
live or spend time with a person who is outside Australia.
If you don’t have full parental consent or a relevant Australian court order, see Parental consent.
Everyone who's giving consent must complete sections 12 to 15 of the application form. If they can’t easily do that because they’re in other countries, follow our instructions. If your child is aged 10 or older, they must also sign the form.
Who can be a witness
All parental consent signatures must be witnessed by someone aged over 18.
The witness must not be:
related to you or your child by birth or marriage
a person with parental responsibility or legal guardianship for your child
in a de facto or registered relationship with any person who has parental responsibility for your child
living at the same address as your child or anyone with parental responsibility for them
an Australian Passport Officer (including at overseas posts)
an Australia Post employee.
The witness does not need to be an Australian citizen. They may (but do not need to):
act as a witness for more than one person giving consent
be the child's guarantor.
The witness must provide their daytime phone number so they can be contacted about the application if required.
Whether you complete an online or paper form, you need to lodge the application at a participating post office(Opens in a new tab/window). You also need to pay the fee.
Bring your completed application form, your child’s passport photos, and the original documents requested on the application form. You'll also need to bring photo identification (such as a driver licence) that shows your photo, signature and current address.
If your child is aged 16 or 17, they must come with you when you lodge the application.
If you can’t lodge the application in person because you’re physically unable to do so, contact us.
In exceptional circumstances, you may be eligible to lodge an application in Australia for a child who is currently outside of Australia. Before you lodge the application, you must contact us.
Routine processing
Once you’ve lodged your child's passport application, you can check its status using your application number.
Allow at least 6 weeks from lodging your application to get your child’s new passport.
Faster processing
If you need your child's passport quickly, you may be eligible for faster processing for an extra fee.
There are 2 options for faster processing:
Priority (2-day processing) service: we process your application within 2 business days of receiving it.
Fast Track (5-day processing) service: we process your application within 5 business days of receiving it.
Faster processing is only available if your application is complete and lodged with full parental consent.
Important: These timeframes don’t apply if your child passport application is lodged without full parental consent or a relevant Australian court order. Without full parental consent or a relevant court order, the process can take longer and your child’s passport may not be approved.
These timeframes also exclude postage and delivery times. For more information on faster processing and fees, see Urgent travel.
Delivery and collection
When your child’s passport is ready, we’ll send it to you by Registered Post. We'll email you when we send the passport. Once sent, your child's passport should arrive in about a week.
If you need your passport sooner, you can choose to pick it up from your nearest passport office.
