From the first stroke of the New Year, every Australian passport application became slightly more expensive. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) applied its annual Consumer Price Index indexation at 12:01 a.m. on 1 January, lifting the cost of a standard 10-year adult passport by AUD 10 to AUD 422. Five-year documents issued to children and travellers aged 75 plus climbed by AUD 5 to AUD 213. Express processing still attracts a AUD 241 surcharge, pushing a two-day turnaround adult passport to AUD 663.
At AUD 422, Australia now issues the costliest standard passport in the world. Yet demand remains robust: DFAT produced more than 2.1 million passports in 2025 and is warning of the usual January surge in applications as travellers discover that six-month-validity rules threaten their 2026 itineraries.
![Australian passport fee rises to AUD 422 from 1 January 2026]()
Travellers feeling the pinch of higher fees might consider using VisaHQ’s streamlined online services to renew passports or secure necessary visas. The platform (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers step-by-step guidance, document verification, and courier options, helping individuals and corporate mobility managers avoid last-minute express surcharges and ensuring paperwork is processed smoothly.
For mobility managers the implications are practical and immediate. Employees whose passports expire within the next 12 months should renew now, not only to avoid higher fees on future express applications but also to guarantee appointment slots at over-subscribed Australia Post outlets. Companies that reimburse travel-document costs will need to update internal budgets and policy ceilings.
DFAT says the indexation keeps the passport program fully cost-recovered. Critics argue that the price rise is out of step with comparable nations and risks hitting lower-income Australians hardest, particularly those needing to travel at short notice for family emergencies. The government has commissioned a review into long-term passport service funding, due to report by mid-2026.
At AUD 422, Australia now issues the costliest standard passport in the world. Yet demand remains robust: DFAT produced more than 2.1 million passports in 2025 and is warning of the usual January surge in applications as travellers discover that six-month-validity rules threaten their 2026 itineraries.
Travellers feeling the pinch of higher fees might consider using VisaHQ’s streamlined online services to renew passports or secure necessary visas. The platform (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers step-by-step guidance, document verification, and courier options, helping individuals and corporate mobility managers avoid last-minute express surcharges and ensuring paperwork is processed smoothly.
For mobility managers the implications are practical and immediate. Employees whose passports expire within the next 12 months should renew now, not only to avoid higher fees on future express applications but also to guarantee appointment slots at over-subscribed Australia Post outlets. Companies that reimburse travel-document costs will need to update internal budgets and policy ceilings.
DFAT says the indexation keeps the passport program fully cost-recovered. Critics argue that the price rise is out of step with comparable nations and risks hitting lower-income Australians hardest, particularly those needing to travel at short notice for family emergencies. The government has commissioned a review into long-term passport service funding, due to report by mid-2026.
