What do wombats and Australian passports have in common? A hidden side visible under ultraviolet (UV) light.
Scientists have discovered that some of Australia's most iconic animals glow under UV light.
The platypus, wombat, echidna and Tasmanian devil are just a few native species that reveal a hidden glow.
This surprising feature also appears in Australian passports.
The Australian Passport Office has used UV technology to help protect passports for decades. Hidden within the visa pages of passports are images of native Australian animals that can only be seen under UV light.
A few hidden passport facts:
- Hidden animal images are printed using specialised UV-reactive inks.
- The images are invisible in normal light and only appear under UV light.
- These features help protect Australian passports from fraud and counterfeiting.
- Australian passports have featured hidden native animals since the early 1980s.
Just like some of Australia’s native animals, your passport also contains hidden features that can only be seen under UV light.
