Australian Passport

Australian passport
The front cover of a contemporary Australian ePassport (with chip )
Date first issued	24 October 2005 (biometric passport) June 2014 (current version)
Issued by	Australia
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Australian citizens
Expiration	10 years after issuance for adults and children aged 16+ 10 or 5 years for adults aged 75 and over 5 years for children until the age of 16
Cost	Adult: Ordinary: A$277 Frequent traveller: A$407 Aged 75 or over (5 year passport): A$139 Child: Under age of 16: A$139 Aged 16 or 17: A$277

Australian passports are travel documents issued to Australian citizens under Australian Passports Act 2005 by the Australian Passport Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, both in Australia and overseas, which enable the passport bearer to travel internationally. Australian citizens are allowed to hold passports from other countries. Since 1988 over a million Australian passports have been issued annually, and it reached 1.4 million in 2007, and increasing towards a projected 3 million annually by 2021.

The 100 point check personal identification system applies to new applicants for an Australian passport, and an Australian passport can in turn be used as an identification document of the passport holder (worth 70 points in the 100 point check scheme). The scheme's requirements do not apply to a renewal of a passport.

Since 24 October 2005 Australia has issued only biometric passports, called ePassports, which have an embedded microchip that contains the same personal information that is on the color photo page of the passport, including a digitized photograph. SmartGates have been installed in Australian airports to allow Australian ePassport holders and ePassport holders of several other countries to clear immigration controls more rapidly, and facial recognition technology has been installed at immigration gates.

Before 1901, Australia consisted of six separate British colonies. Passports usage was not common, and if required British or other national passports were used. In 1901, the six colonies joined to form the Commonwealth of Australia, but Australian passports did not exist. During World War I, the monitoring and identifying of those crossing international borders was regarded as critical to the security of Australia and its allies, and the War Precautions Act 1914 required all persons over 16 years of age, on leaving Australia, to possess some passport. Passports issued by Australia were issued only to "British subjects" and were described as "British Passports".