Australian Passport Huge Price Hike

Lguesthero on 13/12/2023 - 14:25
Last edited 15/12/2023 - 11:24 by 1 other user

Australian Passport is already the most expensive passport in the world at $325 AUD for an adult ten year passport (for first time and renewal).

Next year it's going to be close to $400 AUD. What do you guys really think about this steep price increase?

Is it really worth it for $400 AUD for a passport when New Zealand Passport is only $206 NZD which is just half the price of an Australian Passport with entry to more visa free travel countries?

Cost of renewing Australian passports to surge to almost $400

Price hike: Australian passports to cost almost $400 next year

Australian passports to cost 15 per cent more in 2024

Does your passport need to be renewed? It will cost you more next year

Australian passport is most expensive in the world to update

This is the most expensive passport in the world

The actual price next year will not be $375. It will be $325 + CPI Increase + $50 Increase.

This is extremely insane price for a passport when all other countries like NZ, USA, UK, Canada, etc. passports costs much less than Australian passport with entry to more visa free travel countries.

World's Most Expensive Passports (all in US dollars)

Australia $230
Mexico $170
Switzerland $140
Italy $135
United States $130
New Zealand $128
Chile $127
Canada $125
Japan $115
Turkey $110

All above passports are valid for 10 years.

HOW DO THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL PASSPORTS COMPARE?

Singapore Access to 193 countries (ranked 1st) - S$70 ($78)*

Japan Access to 192 countries (2nd) - ¥16,000 ($168)*

Finland Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - €50 ($82)*

France Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - €86 ($140)*

Germany Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - €60 ($98)*

Italy Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - €116 ($190)*

South Korea Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - KRW 50,000 ($58)*

Spain Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - €30 ($49)*

Sweden Access to 191 countries (equal 3rd) - 400 SEK ($58)*

Austria Access to 190 countries (equal 4th) - €75,90 ($124)*

Australia Access to 188 countries (equal 6th) - $325*

*Fees based on a 10-year validity period.

Travel Passport

Comments

            • BinnyC on 14/12/2023 - 20:55

              @JimmyF: It is this thinking only where everyone is taking advantage of.

              There might not be a need to increase the price but because everything else is increasing, it is justified and people will have no choice than to pay.

              Inflation rate they say is 6% but will increase the price massively $50 plus 15%

              • JimmyF on 14/12/2023 - 21:57
                -1

                @BinnyC:

                There might not be a need to increase the price but because everything else is increasing, it is justified and people will have no choice than to pay.

                I'm sure all those gov workers and custom officers have been asking for a payrise like everyone else.

                Just because its a gov product, doesn't meant its 'free' to them.

              • Igaf on 16/12/2023 - 11:01
                +1

                @BinnyC: When boiled down the increase is $5/yr over normal. Doesn't seem a particularly onerous increase to me,

                Whether the Au passport is value compared to others is a different and complex question, certainly worth discussion.

          • Igaf on 16/12/2023 - 10:19

            @RockyRaccoon:

            Interesting a number of those who dont see it as an issue have ACT or Canberra as their locale….

            Small straw poll I'd suggest, but I can guess the inference. For your benefit, anecdotally Canberrans are "typically" higher educated (that's fact rather than anecdote) and more progressive.

            This sentence is interesting: If people economize and travel less they still pay the same amount for the passport What are you suggesting exactly? A sliding scale of fees based on passport use or income (not forgetting that plenty of millionaires have low incomes)? Implementing anything like that would be horrendously expensive, and the cost borne by ALL taxpayers.

        • juki on 16/12/2023 - 10:33

          holidays period, i was looking at organising a trip here and there in Australia for some oldies, its -more- expensive than going overseas - i could just about send them back to europe for those prices

          • JimmyF on 16/12/2023 - 12:12
            +2

            @juki:

            organising a trip here and there in Australia for some oldies, its -more- expensive than going overseas

            Its generally always been more costly to holiday in Australia than overseas!

            In winter its cheaper to fly to Thailand and stay at a resort than some crumby Gold Coast apartment. The flights are about the same as well! Its just crazy.

            Which is why I find it funny that people are having a meltdown over a upto $100 increase on the renewal for a product that last 10 years.

            In one trip to Thailand over Winter vs staying in Australia, the 'savings' from that trip alone would cover the passport for all of us and still leave money on the table.

            • juki on 16/12/2023 - 18:37

              @JimmyF: yeah its not like any of these oldies can still go camping or sleep drunk on a park bench (i dont think i can do that anymore either). I dont see the point of having a meltdown, there isnt much we can do, and you ought to look at the visa prices ouhlalala (when i was young it was beyond my "life savings" and i live like a monk)

    • dogboy on 13/12/2023 - 14:57
      -4

      Your logic is infallible. Holidays cost a lot so it is fine for the thing required to take a holiday to cost a lot more also. Bloody hell…

      • JimmyF on 13/12/2023 - 15:00
        +7

        So a product that lasts 10 years, went up $50AUD or about 15% but by your logic as holidays cost a lot, passports should be free?!

        Honestly complaining about a $50 price rise in 2023/2024 for a product you buy once every 10 years while EVERYTHING is having record inflation and rises, is laughable.

        If this is the make and break for you going on your overseas holiday, then you shouldn't be going or have one less cocktail at the airport and you'll be back on budget.

        • Jimothy Wongingtons on 13/12/2023 - 15:17

          have one less cocktail at the airport and you'll be back on budget.

          or eat 1 x lunch of ramen noodle at the hotel rather than going out and you might even be more than up $50. Assuming at least 2 adults dining.

        • dogboy on 13/12/2023 - 15:57
          +9

          When trying to argue logic, probably best not to create assumptions and use the data which has been presented. You are assuming I think passports should be free because I called into question your logic that the price increase is fair? Where the hell did you get that from??? Do you often make up arguments in your head that never happened?

          Complaining about a $50 price increase when we already have the most expensive passport in the world is the issue here. How are you unable to process that?

          When did I say $50 is make or break for a holiday as well? Maybe you shouldn't let your imaginary arguments take control of your logic and just talk to the facts instead.

          • guesthero on 13/12/2023 - 16:14
            +2

            @dogboy: this is exactly what I want to say. The actual price next year will not be $375. It will be $325 + $50 + CPI Increase. thanks.

            • JimmyF on 13/12/2023 - 16:47
              -2

              @guesthero:

              this is exactly what I want to say. The actual price next year will not be $375. It will be $325 + $50 + CPI Increase. thanks

              Well its not…. If you read the article you linked to, passports will go up by the CPI before the $50 price increase.

              It will be $325 + CPI increase 1st January then from 1st July passports will go up $50.

              So yeah the increase is $50, the CPI increase was happening regardless as it does.

              • Igaf on 16/12/2023 - 23:51

                @JimmyF: Dead right. $5/yr increase over normal. Is it value/"fair", esp compared to other countries? Dunno, too complex for me. Like (some) insurance, the minute you need consular services it becomes invaluable.

          • JimmyF on 13/12/2023 - 16:49
            -2

            @dogboy:

            Complaining about a $50 price increase when we already have the most expensive passport in the world is the issue here. How are you unable to process that?

            It costs what it costs. You or I have zero control it, just like we have zero control over the airline ticket prices. So have one or two less cocktail on any of the overseas holidays over the next 10 years to cover it and just move on with life.

            When did I say $50 is make or break for a holiday as well? Maybe you shouldn't let your imaginary arguments take control of your logic and just talk to the facts instead.

            Well you are carrying on like it is a make or break type of arrangement.

            No one is forcing you to get a passport and go overseas. Don't like the costs, don't get one.

          • martinezjpo1 on 14/12/2023 - 12:03

            @dogboy: We also have one of if not the highest minimum wages in the world. That should probably be taken into consideration, especially when comparing to countries like Turkey with the economy unfortunately crumbling.

    • jv on 13/12/2023 - 18:26

      So $325 to $375?

      15% price hike is much higher than inflation…

  • capslock on 13/12/2023 - 14:43
    +10

    Just take your holidays in Australia and spend Aussie prices on your transport, accommodation, food and attractions.

    Meanwhile I'll be spending a quarter of that on my luxury Southeast Asian holiday. The savings will cover the cost of my passport many times over.

    • pharkurnell on 13/12/2023 - 14:51
      +5

      Have you priced holidays in AU in recent times and compared with what the same price can do overseas? Extortion comes to mind.

      Check these laughable prices, and compare with overseas including airfares, accom etc.
      https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/the-ghan/ghan-journeys-…

      • dogboy on 13/12/2023 - 15:00

        Tell em they are dreamin! Those prices are absolutely ridiculous.

      • samyall on 14/12/2023 - 08:08

        I'd love to do the Ghan or Indian Pacific but have resigned myself to the fact its a later life holiday only accessible after many years of Ozbargaining.

        • pharkurnell on 14/12/2023 - 10:47
          +4

          Go and watch it on Youtube… Theres dozens of vids showing you exactly how boring it would be… and IM a railfan…

          Theres a stick…… 30mins later… theres a kangaroo… 30 mins later… your asleep.

    • rumblytangara on 13/12/2023 - 15:38
      +3

      Just take your holidays in Australia and spend Aussie prices on your transport, accommodation, food and attractions.

      And see pretty much exactly the same stuff and same people as you'd see at home anyway.

      • smartazz104 on 13/12/2023 - 19:00

        Then take your holiday away from the suburbs.

  • iforgotmysocks on 13/12/2023 - 14:44
    +6

    Next year it's gonna be close to $400 AUD.

    By that logic it’s also close to $350.

    • zonra on 13/12/2023 - 15:14
      +4

      OP could’ve at least mentioned the actual price of $375 maybe once, rather than repeating the “almost” price ($400) over and over. Pretty baity.

        • iforgotmysocks on 13/12/2023 - 15:35
          +8

          I accept your apology

        • JimmyF on 13/12/2023 - 16:51
          +3

          The actual price will not be $375. It will be $325 + $50 + CPI Increase.

          No it won't be, its $325 + CPI + $50 increase. But don't let facts get in the way.

      • Brianqpr on 15/12/2023 - 11:56

        Already $325, CPI increase will take it close to $350 and another $50 after that I believe. So it won't be far off $400 which is crazy.

  • Flying Ace on 13/12/2023 - 14:53
    +10

    But the government argues the cost is well worth it over the decade, costing the average Australian less than $40 per year – even with the increase.

    So can we pay the passport over 10 years? If not this point is stupid. Personally I'd be quite happy to pay $40 a year for a passport.

  • donbot on 13/12/2023 - 15:23
    +3

    Thats a bloody outrage it is! I'm going to take this all the way to the prime minister…….ANDY!!!

    • unhuman on 13/12/2023 - 18:56

      You need support from ugly Bob lol

  • Cheaplikethebird on 13/12/2023 - 15:41
    +1

    I mean if you gotta up costs somewhere at least passports target those who you assume can afford it.

  • theycallmeXYZ on 13/12/2023 - 15:46
    -6

    Labour do make it difficult to find the detail when they increase taxes and levies etc, but an Aussie passport will cost a hefty ~$398 after the two price increases that Labour will implement.
    1-January-2024 passport price will increase by CPI (when HECS was increased by CPI it increased by 7.1%)
    1-July-2024 passport price will increase by 15%
    If you know your maths, passport price will be higher than $350 and $375

    BTW, today Labour also fiddled with the car tax which will result in tax increases for some new cars from 2025
    I'm sure there are other tax increases that we won't know about for some time

    • JimmyF on 13/12/2023 - 16:51
      +8

      Labour do make it difficult to find the detail

      LOL Thats not labour, that is just the fed gov my friend. Libs had been the same

      1-January-2024 passport price will increase by CPI (when HECS was increased by CPI it increased by 7.1%)
      1-July-2024 passport price will increase by 15%

      These are two different things…. 1 Jan is the CPI increase that happens to a lot of fees/taxes/gov related products like public transport ticket prices will also increase by the CPI.

      1 July is the real increase, a $50 increase at that.

    • ThithLord on 14/12/2023 - 10:24
      +4

      Labor

      • yama131 on 14/12/2023 - 13:41
        +3

        its not labor vs liberal.
        its THEM vs US.
        When will you peasants wake up and realise this?

  • Gdsamp on 13/12/2023 - 16:01
    +2

    Albo's Australia

    • Saruname on 13/12/2023 - 17:08
      +6

      Nothing is easy under Albanesy

      • smartazz104 on 13/12/2023 - 19:01
        +9

        Good boy, now roll over.

      • Baysew on 13/12/2023 - 20:16
        +7

        Didn't Scotty from marketing come up with that one?

        • Eeples on 15/12/2023 - 00:05

          Well Scotty was from everywhere it seems… health minister, treasurer, finance minister and home affairs minister.

          But Sshhhhh… don’t tell anyone.

      • Brianqpr on 15/12/2023 - 11:57

        Including spelling it seems.

  • Cluster on 13/12/2023 - 16:19
    +14

    I don't see how the government wants to get inflation under control while at the same time raising its own prices for services at a rate faster than inflation.

    • JimmyF on 13/12/2023 - 16:55
      +2

      Hmmmm I would be happy if my $325 grocery shop from 1 year ago only cost me $375 now instead of the $475 or so it does!

    • Subfusion15 on 13/12/2023 - 17:41

      These services (passport) are not included in the calc for CPI thus they would argue that it would not impact inflation

  • Empharand on 13/12/2023 - 18:10
    +7

    Ooooooooooooof, looks like we have the most expensive Passport Cost in the World according to the following article.

    Have to pay for those Submarines somehow I guess?

  • Drakesy on 13/12/2023 - 18:16
    +4

    Just take your business elsewhere!

    oh wait…

  • jv on 13/12/2023 - 18:27
    -2

    Next year it's going to be close to $400 AUD

    Thank Albo…

  • jamestownfx on 13/12/2023 - 18:38
    +9

    Would like to be reimbursed for all the time the borders were closed and we couldn't even use our passports…

  • lookingforadeal7 on 13/12/2023 - 18:50
    +2

    If it was up to them they wouldn't even allow you to fly, travel restrictions coming to a country near you soon.

    • Randolph Duke on 13/12/2023 - 19:17

      When you live in your 5 minute city you won't even need to travel!!

  • CowFrogHorse on 13/12/2023 - 19:09
    -5

    If you are complaining about $100AUD how can you actually afford the holiday which im going to guess is far more than $100AUD ?

    • RMBC on 14/12/2023 - 09:49
      +6

      Weird take on a bargain website; just because one can afford something doesn't mean it isn't expensive, overly priced, poor value for money or a rip off

      • CowFrogHorse on 14/12/2023 - 10:11
        -2

        rip off ?

        strange way to measure value….

        Maybe the rip off is your holiday ?

        • Bypass on 14/12/2023 - 12:26

          Say a family with 2 kids >15yrs go away, thats $1600

          • CowFrogHorse on 14/12/2023 - 14:14
            -2

            @Bypass: How much is your holiday ?

            How much are the tickets ?

            If you are crying about the passport cost maybe you shouldnt go.

            Bad stuff can happen overseas that could cost far more than the passport cost.

            • rumblytangara on 16/12/2023 - 16:22

              @CowFrogHorse:

              Bad stuff can happen overseas that could cost far more than the passport cost.

              Sounds like someone has never heard of travel insurance. Which even comes included with some credit cards.

  • valuer on 13/12/2023 - 19:10
    +14

    <This is extremely insane price for a passport when all other countries like NZ, USA, UK, Canada passports costs much less than Australian passport with entry to more visa free travel countries.

    Very valid point. But it seems that the govt knows that a large part of its target market are ready to bend over, and think that they are being clever doing so.

    They'll probably do more now.

  • gromit on 13/12/2023 - 19:19

    Personally seems reasonable, less than $50 a year. As long as it is being used to cover the costs of passports and international airport services I am all good with it. Remember we also require some of the strictest customs services in the world to try and protect the country and we also have some of the highest wages in the world for public servants, it all adds to the cost.

    • Flying Ace on 13/12/2023 - 20:19
      +2

      Could you let me know how I can pay for my passport for less than $50 a year? I can only see the lump-sum payment option.

  • Ponsonby on 13/12/2023 - 19:43
    -7

    Don't forget the consular services that Australian citizens have access to when they get into difficulties overseas (often through no fault of themselves) - its seems fair that your passport fee pays for these too rather than having them paid by all Australians including those who do not travel overseas.

    • hashtagbargain on 13/12/2023 - 20:02
      +10

      As though nz only gives you half the consular support. Smaller country, higher wages, visa free access to more countries still charges half of Aus.

    • rumblytangara on 13/12/2023 - 20:05
      +14

      Don't forget the consular services that Australian citizens have access to when they get into difficulties overseas (often through no fault of themselves) - its seems fair that your passport fee pays for these too rather than having them paid by all Australians including those who do not travel overseas.

      You… somehow seem to think that Western nations with lower passport costs… don't have consular services? Or are you saying that Aussies are more likely to get smashed on holiday and end up being arrested?

      Seriously… where is the logic there? It just seems to be totally absent.

      • Ponsonby on 13/12/2023 - 20:08
        -3

        Different countries make different decisions about what to subsidise from general taxation. Perhaps NZ taxpayers who don't travel overseas don't mind paying for those who do.

        • hashtagbargain on 13/12/2023 - 20:10
          +3

          Consular support isn’t nearly as expensive as you imagine it to be.

        • rumblytangara on 13/12/2023 - 20:15
          +7

          What a totally random argument pulled out of apparently nowhere.

          Just as a personal observation, of the literally hundreds of people I know well who travel frequently (I used to be based in a much busier air hub than Sydney) the number of people who ever got into trouble overseas and required assistance has been… zero. Observation period would be ~30 years.

          Oh, that's not true. Over that 30 year period, I can think of one friend who had a consular officer turn up at his trial for an hour and did nothing besides observe. That was a US Foreign Service rep though.

          I do have to wonder if you have much experience travelling, know many frequent travellers, or have ever known people in the consular services of any country. Because your argument seems very naive. A very large chunk (from talking US Foreign Service staff, probably more than half) of activity at consulates deals with non-citizens- visa applications, trade, business facilitation.

          The vast bulk of services for citizens appears to be passport renewals and document notarisation. Hardly the stuff of fantastic expense (though certainly the housing and allowances are very nice).

          • t25 on 13/12/2023 - 20:50
            +6

            @rumblytangara: Try getting documents notarised at the Australian embassy in Singapore and they charge like a wounded bull. At this stage, they are just making excuses and double dipping.

            • rumblytangara on 13/12/2023 - 21:59
              +5

              @t25: I'd totally forgotten about the punitive charges on those services. Just looked them up again.

              AU passport overseas cost $465.

              Witnessing or certifying costs $50. per document

              All services have to be booked online, weeks in advance. It's not like they have excess staff being paid to sit around on the off chance that a citizen wanders in.

              Yeah, no idea what point Ponsoby was trying to make about user-pay models, because any citizen going to an Australian consulate for run of the mill services is paying monopolistic prices already.

          • rumblytangara on 13/12/2023 - 22:10
            +3

            @rumblytangara: Follow up to this. From what I have seen of US Foreign Service spending just for the worker drones, their costs for transport and accommodation, worldwide staff rotations, intensive language training and crazy levels of security (owning entire buildings vs just a floor in an office tower, lots of security guards) must be multiples of the per person cost that the Australian counterpart.

            But of course, the US government is famous for it's generously liberal approach to subsiding services for citizens overseas, and is famous for being streamlined and cost efficient, which is why the US passport is costs less than the Australian one. <— This Is Sarcasm.

          • Ponsonby on 13/12/2023 - 22:55

            @rumblytangara: Bali bombings? Tsunami evacuations Thailand and elsewhere? Gaza?

            • rumblytangara on 14/12/2023 - 00:17
              +1

              @Ponsonby: You think Australia has more citizens in these places than other Western nations that have lower passport costs?

              Well, maybe Bali because it's close and it's well known for drunk Aussies. But certainly not the others.

              Don't suppose you're capable of addressing any of the other points?

              Getting the strong impression that you haven't really travelled much- you got a passport at all, or are you firmly locally bound and are you unhappy to be 'subsidising' other people travelling (and generally never touching consular services).

              I mean, seriously. Two of the four events you mentioned were over a decade ago. Bali was literally more than two decades ago.

              • Ponsonby on 14/12/2023 - 13:28

                @rumblytangara: Not sure of the relevance to the discussion but I am a frequent overseas traveller (>100 journeys over 4 decades) but fortunate to have never needed consular services other than travellers' information on the DFAT website.

                As to more recent consular events than the Bali bombings and the Asian tsunami, while I am not in the business, I can recall numerous smaller scale disasters and emergencies in the Pacific and elsewhere where Australians have been assisted and evacuated at public expense. As mentioned, Gaza is the most recent.

                A quick look at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website now provides some context for discussion:
                - in 2022-23, passport fees raised $853m, consular fees just $16m
                - in 2022-23, costs specifically attributed in the accounts to passport services were $424m and to consular services $143m - other parts of the accounts show a lot of overheads (e.g security) that have not been attributed so it is not obvious what the complete total is.
                Even so, it seems very likely that especially with the recent fee increase, passport fees will exceed the cost of passport processing and consular services. The point is that in exchange for the passport fee, Australians travelling overseas overall get more value from the public purse than the passport document itself.

                • rumblytangara on 15/12/2023 - 10:56
                  +2

                  @Ponsonby: From what you have written, my takeaway is that issuing passports… is a good little earner for the the government.

                  Which it should not be. Passports should not be considered a for-profit product. This hits lower income people especially hard, people who need to pay a massive upfront charge for a product that they are only going to use once. It's also going to discourage many younger people from travelling. It's a great way to breed insularity amongst the population of an already isolated nation.

                  The topic of consular services remains largely irrelevant to this whole issue.

  • fullmetal on 13/12/2023 - 20:00

    Australian's maths $400 for 10 years, $40 a year, its only about 11 cents a day.

    • hashtagbargain on 13/12/2023 - 20:03
      +9

      It could be just 5.5c a day for a nz passport or even cheaper for a Canadian passport.

      As long as folks don’t mind paying, they won’t mind collecting.

    • superuser on 13/12/2023 - 20:05
      +5

      But you don't use your passport unless you travel overseas everyday 🙄.

      • fullmetal on 13/12/2023 - 20:18

        Passport can be use for identification, use it instead of your driver lic to get your money worth 😊

    • rumblytangara on 13/12/2023 - 22:02
      +3

      How often do you think the average passport holder is making overseas trips to make this 11 cents a day value for money- every week?

      Loads of people don't even go overseas once in five or ten years. And the first time they do, they get hit with a whopping great charge for a document that they might not use again that decade.

    • illusion99 on 15/12/2023 - 07:14

      Lol sounds like girl maths

  • smpantsonfire on 13/12/2023 - 20:51
    +8

    I think, that $375 for renewing a passport is robbery.

    Fair enough first time applications with (more) Labour and Investigation necessary, but for a repeat? A bit rich.

    I don’t have to renew mine for a while, but I did just get my DE passport for a nice price of $132

  • Ghost47 on 13/12/2023 - 22:40
    +1

    Gotta recoup the money given to Gerry Harvey somehow.

  • gccmelb on 14/12/2023 - 02:05
    +3

    In 2000 it was $126 IIRC.

    After 9/11 it jumped by double because of that allegedly expensive biometric shit.

  • USER DC on 14/12/2023 - 02:22

    haha gotta make Hacktus and all pay for it, No wonder why the government gonna increase cost to issue IDs. Cause government took a big hit too (because of Hacktus, medibank that time)

  • darkdinkum on 14/12/2023 - 02:47
    +1

    Looks like the Aussie passport is out of the picture for Jason Bourne.

  • Parentheses on 14/12/2023 - 03:12
    +4

    The idea of indexing the cost of a passport based on the number of countries it gets you access to without a visa is beyond silly. The cost of a passport is based on ensuring other people can't fake it.

    NZ has a teeny tiny fraction of the economic immigration that Australia does (in fact many people from NZ come here for money) - so it makes perfect sense that their passports would be cheaper. As for the UK, US, CA - they all have borders that might as well be a free for all, so there isn't much point closing the gate after the horse has bolted, though the UK is trying since Brexit (though recentish complete f'ups of their passport service has made paying more a bit of a political poop potato).

    People mistaking government services for commercial services is one of this country's single biggest problems. It's why our postal services, utilities and telecomms, roads etc. all suck donkey's.

    • Ghost47 on 14/12/2023 - 16:12

      Good comment, but how does it make sense when Mexico and Switzerland have the second and third most expensive passports in the world? Is the economic migration to Mexico and Switzerland as high as ours, or are there loads of people out there trying to fake Mexican and Swiss passports?

      After a bit more Googling it seems Mexico and Switzerland aren't second, we come after Liechtenstein and before Turkey, Venezuela and Congo.

      • Parentheses on 14/12/2023 - 21:39

        For Switzerland and Liechtenstein the answer is probably that people can afford it. There are motivations for all of the other countries to say to places like the US 'hey look you can be sure our people are who we say they are'.

        It's not a commercial transaction though, so the idea that the price is rational rather than arbitrary is largely going to be incorrect. x% of the passport production is going to be subsidised, or it's going to subsidise something else, cause profit motive (thankfully) doesn't apply.

        Can you imagine a company like Telstra or the Commonwealth Bank being spun up for passports? AusPass or some bs. Passports would be on a tiered subscription basis as soon as you could blink.

  • Lunarboogie on 14/12/2023 - 07:38
    -3

    Suck it up peeps. We pay more for everything here so why are folk grumbling over this. We'll do our heads in if we agonise over every price hike. I just chalk it up to living in the best country on Earth. There is a price to that privilege.

    • Flying Ace on 14/12/2023 - 08:10
      +3

      I'm so jealous that you have lived in every other country to be able to make that statement!

  • IM-Cheap on 14/12/2023 - 08:01
    +7

    Its overpriced for sure considering how poor the service is.

  • pn09 on 14/12/2023 - 08:09
    -8

    Personally I think that if you can afford to go overseas then you can afford $400 for a document for 10 years.

    Yes - it seems high compared to what it used to be but then everything is getting more expensive. Electricity, groceries, etc. - we whine about that (when someone who wants some attention/clickbait posts their partial Colesworth bill and claims a regular shop cost them $150 … and the rants start in the comments sections of wherever they post it), and I still see people still lining up every day to buy discretionary things which are also going up like coffees, cakes, snacks, etc.

    I also don't understand the whole "it's cheaper in Canada/<another country>" …. chalk this passport fee up as a negative for Australia, add in all the other negatives and positives for Australia then and work out if you want to go to one of these other countries as a citizen. Also unless you're a citizen of one of these countries it is irrelevant how much their passports cost.

    Personally I still think there is no other country I'd rather live in than Australia - despite the fact that we appear over time to becoming more and more "glass is half empty / why doesn't the world/my country / my PM / anyone else do more for me".

    To hell with the right to free speech that so many keyboard warriors go on about … they just want to fully exercise their right to bloody complain!

    To paraphrase one of the right wing nutjobs (and I will wash my hands after typing this) …. if you don't like it here then bugger off to somewhere else

    Note: you will need to get an Australian passport as part of your exit to whichever land of milk and honey you choose ;-)

    • rumblytangara on 14/12/2023 - 12:18
      +3

      Personally I think that if you can afford to go overseas then you can afford $400 for a document for 10 years.

      If there was a 2 or 5 year option people who didn't need a 10 year passport (which I suspect is the majority of people) that was much cheaper, then this would be a much better argument.

  • jrvb42 on 14/12/2023 - 08:57
    +9

    This is clearly to compensate us for the 2 years we were not allowed to use our existing 10 year passports.
    Very decent of Passports Australia and the Department of Home Affairs.
    Oh, wait… a price increase you say? Not a refund?

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