Our 5 Step guide
- Gather original documents and two passport photos.
- Ask someone to be a guarantor.
- Fill in your application.
- Lodge your application and pay the fee.
- We’ll tell you when your passport is ready.
Step 1: Gather original documents and two passport photos
For an adult, unless you qualify for a passport renewal, you will need:
- Your full birth certificate
- Evidence that you’re an Australian citizen
- Identity documents showing your photo, signature, and current residential address
- Documents that prove any change of name or change of gender.
- All applications must include two passport sized photos that comply with our photo guidelines.
For a child, you will need:
- The child’s full birth certificate
- Evidence that the child is an Australian citizen
- Documents that prove any change of name
- Any court orders and additional passport forms we require to establish who has parental responsibility for the child.
These details will be needed to complete the application. When you lodge the application, you must bring the original documents with you.
Step 2: Ask someone to be the guarantor
Unless you qualify for a passport renewal, you’ll need a guarantor.
Your guarantor must be:
- someone with a current Australian passport, or
- a person of any nationality who’s employed in an approved occupational group. To find out about approved occupational groups, check with the Australian diplomatic or consular mission where you’ll be lodging the application.
Your guarantor cannot be:
- any kind of relative, in a de facto relationship with you, or living at the same address as you.
A child’s guarantor cannot be:
- related in any way to the child or to a person who has parental responsibility for the child, or in a de facto relationship with the person who has parental responsibility or living at the same address as the child or a person with parental responsibility.
Additionally, for a child’s application, the guarantor must be an adult Australian citizen who has known the child for more than one year (or since the child was born if they are younger than one year old).
The application will require the details of your guarantor’s:
- full name, and
- telephone number, and
- either Australian Passport details, or
- professional details for overseas guarantors.
Your guarantor will also need to sign section 11 of the application form and endorse the back of a passport photo by writing ‘This is a true photo of [your full name]’ and signing in black pen.
Step 3: Fill in your application
When overseas, there are two ways to fill in an application form:
- Complete an application form online. Our system will generate an application form that you will need to print. It will tell you which documents you must bring when you lodge your printed application.
- Request a pre-filled application form from your closest Australian diplomatic or consular mission.
Consent is required for a child passport. Everyone who’s giving consent must sign section 15 of the form in front of a witness. If they can’t easily do that because they’re in different parts of the world, follow our instructions.
Passport renewal forms are available online or can be requested from your closest Australian diplomatic or consular mission.
Step 4: Lodge your application and pay the fee
You will need to lodge your completed application at an Australian diplomatic or consular mission.
Visit the Australian diplomatic or consular mission's website for local advice on lodging your application, including if you need to make an appointment.
You must bring your completed application form, your passport photos and the original documents requested on the application form.
If you’re applying for a child aged 16 or 17, the child must come with you when you lodge the application.
Please allow up to 6 weeks to receive your passport after you lodge your application.
A child passport application without consent from everyone who has parental responsibility takes much longer.
Step 5: We will tell you when your passport is ready
When your passport is ready, we’ll send you an email or SMS, depending on the contact details you provided.