Australian passport application: documents, photos and your referee
For a new adult Australian passport, prepare citizenship evidence, original identity documents, two compliant photos and an eligible referee or guarantor. Completing the form online still requires you to print it and lodge it at a participating Australia Post outlet.
First check the Australian Passport Office adult passport page to see whether you qualify for renewal. This guide covers preparing a new adult application within Australia. Overseas applications and children's applications follow their own instructions.
Choose your application route
| Route | Prepare before lodging |
|---|---|
| New application using the online form | Printed completed form, photos, originals and referee details |
| New application using a paper form | Completed paper form, photos, originals and a guarantor's signatures |
| Eligible renewal | Follow the renewal checklist rather than collecting everything for a new application |
Make two separate checklists: records to bring and information to enter. A scan can help you read a registration number while filling in the form, but it does not replace a required original at lodgement.
Match identity and citizenship evidence to your circumstances
The identity-document guide sets out the acceptable combinations. Australian-born applicants need their full, original Australian birth certificate and other documents showing their current photo, address and signature. Overseas-born adults should follow the citizenship-certificate and place-of-birth requirements.
For other identity evidence, the preferred combination is one Category A document, such as an Australian driver licence, and one Category B document, such as a Medicare card. Add a Category C document showing your current address if neither provides it. Alternative combinations exist; use the official table if your wallet does not match the preferred route.
The citizenship rules depend on when and where you were born. For people born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986, a birth certificate alone does not settle the requirement. Check the accepted passport, citizenship-certificate or family-document route before ordering relatives' certificates. The Australian birth-certificate guide helps you find the relevant registry.
Lay out the records and compare names. If they differ, collect the official documents linking them. Follow the translation requirements for non-English evidence. Resolve a mismatch with the issuer or Passport Office; changing the text in a scan does not change the record.
Prepare printed passport photos
The photo requirements call for two colour prints less than six months old. They must be 35 to 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high, with the chin-to-crown height between 32 and 36 mm.
Use a provider familiar with Australian requirements. The office recommends professional providers and requires dye-sublimation prints on heavy glossy paper. An inkjet print or a PDF of your portrait is not the requested photo format.
Check the background, lighting and facial-expression rules before accepting the prints. Retouching is prohibited. Keep passport portraits separate from scans of the passport's identity page: they serve different jobs, even if both files contain your face.
Check your referee or guarantor before entering their details
The referee and guarantor guide distinguishes the two roles. An online-form referee may be contacted to confirm your identity and signs nothing. A paper-form guarantor signs the required form section and the back of one photo using the prescribed wording.
The person must be an adult Australian citizen who has known you for over 12 months. They also need a current Australian passport with at least two years' validity, or at least 12 months on the electoral roll at their current address. Family members, partners, people at your address, Australia Post employees and Australian Passport Officers are excluded.
Ask the person to agree and confirm their contact details. Collect only what the form requires, rather than asking them to send a scan of their own passport.
Assemble the lodgement pack
- Reopen the completed form and compare it with the originals before printing.
- Follow the portal's printing instructions. Keep its downloaded file unchanged for reference.
- Place the required original records and photos beside the printed form. A certified photocopy is still a copy when the instructions require an original.
- Use the official adult-passport page for current fees, lodgement arrangements and processing options.
- Keep the application number and receipt apart from the issued passport. Allow at least six weeks from lodgement under the routine guidance.
When the passport arrives, label any personal scan with the new document's details. Store issuer-supplied application files unchanged; create a separate working copy if you need to annotate your own checklist.
Before you leave for lodgement
- The correct new-application or renewal route is selected.
- Identity and citizenship evidence match the official checklist.
- The photo prints meet Australian requirements.
- The referee has agreed, or the guarantor has completed the required signatures.
- Originals, completed form and payment arrangements are ready.
Questions about Australian passport applications
Can I finish the whole application online in Australia?
The online form must still be printed and lodged at a participating post office with the required documents and photos.
Does a renewal need a referee or guarantor?
An eligible passport renewal does not need a referee or guarantor. Check renewal eligibility before following the new-application checklist.
Can a scan stored on my phone replace my birth certificate?
A stored scan is a personal reference copy. Where the passport checklist requires a full, original birth certificate, bring that original document.