1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Australian Passports Act 2005.
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Bill homepage (APH)This Act may be cited as the Australian Passports Act 2005.
Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information | ||
|---|---|---|
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provision(s) | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table | The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 18 February 2005 |
2. Sections 3 to 58 | A single day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of the provision(s) do not commence within the period of 9 months beginning on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that period. | 1 July 2005 (see F2005L01517) |
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.
Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.
The principal object of this Act is to provide for the issue and administration of Australian passports, to be used as evidence of identity and citizenship by Australian citizens who are travelling internationally.
This Act extends to the external Territories.
This Act extends, unless the contrary intention appears:
to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia; and
to all persons, irrespective of their nationality or citizenship.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
ASIO means the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
Australia, when used in a geographical sense, includes the external Territories.
Australian passport means a passport issued under this Act.
Australian passports must be issued in forms approved by the Minister (see subsection 53(2)). These forms may include diplomatic, official and emergency passports.
Australian travel document means an Australian passport or a travel‑related document.
child means a person who is under 18 and who has never been married.
competent authority means a competent authority for the purposes of section 12, 13, 14 or 16.
conduct has the same meaning as in the Criminal Code.
contactless integrated circuit, in relation to an Australian travel document, includes a chip and an antenna embedded in the document.
document includes:
any paper or other material on which there is writing; or
any paper or other material on which there are marks, figures, symbols or perforations that are:
capable of being given a meaning by persons qualified to interpret them; or
capable of being responded to by a computer, a machine or an electronic device; or
any article or material from which information is capable of being reproduced with or without the aid of any other article or device; or
a photograph.
Paragraph (c)—a disk, tape or chip is an example of an article from which information is capable of being reproduced.
Document Verification Service has the same meaning as DVS has in the Identity Verification Services Act 2023.
engage in conduct has the same meaning as in the Criminal Code.
Face Verification Service has the same meaning as FVS has in the Identity Verification Services Act 2023.
Minister’s determination means an instrument made by the Minister for the purposes of this Act under section 57.
officer means any of the following:
an APS employee in the Department;
a member of the diplomatic staff of an Australian mission, being a person who is a member of the diplomatic staff of the mission within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations;
a consular officer of an Australian consulate, being a person who is a consular officer (but not an honorary consular officer) within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations;
an officer of Customs within the meaning of the Customs Act 1901;
a member or a special member of the Australian Federal Police;
an officer of the police force of a State or Territory;
a person, or a person who is one of a class of persons, authorised in writing by the Minister under section 52.
The text of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1968 No. 3. In 2005 this was available in the Australian Treaties Library of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessible through that Department’s website.
The text of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1973 No. 7. In 2005 this was available in the Australian Treaties Library of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessible through that Department’s website.
personal information has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
refusal/cancellation request has the meaning given in section 18.
travel‑related document means a document issued under section 9.
For the purposes of this Act, if an overseas child order within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 is registered in accordance with regulations made under section 70G of that Act, the order has the same force and effect as if it were an order of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) made in accordance with that Act.
An Australian citizen is entitled, on application to the Minister, to be issued with an Australian passport by the Minister.
An Australian citizen’s entitlement to be issued with an Australian passport is affected by section 8 and by Division 2.
An application for an Australian passport must be:
made in the form approved by the Minister; and
accompanied by the applicable fee (if any).
Before issuing an Australian passport to a person, the Minister must be satisfied:
that the person is an Australian citizen; and
of the identity of the person.
See sections 42 and 43 for details about how the Minister satisfies himself or herself of an Australian passport applicant’s citizenship and identity.
The Minister may issue a person with a document of a kind specified in a Minister’s determination, being a document issued for the purposes of travel.
A travel‑related document may be issued to a person:
on application by, or on behalf of, a person and in the circumstances specified in a Minister’s determination; or
on the Minister’s own initiative, if the Minister is satisfied that such a document is required:
to remove, deport or extradite the person from Australia; or
to facilitate the deportation of the person to Australia; or
to extradite the person to Australia; or
if the person is a prisoner—to effect the transfer of the person.
Subsections (1) and (1A) are subject to section 10 and are affected by Division 2.
An application for a travel‑related document must be:
made in the form approved by the Minister; and
accompanied by the applicable fee (if any).
Before issuing a travel‑related document to a person, the Minister must be satisfied of the identity of the person.
The Minister must not issue an Australian travel document to a child unless:
each person who has parental responsibility for the child consents to the child having an Australian travel document; or
an order of a court of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory permits:
the child to have an Australian travel document; or
the child to travel internationally; or
the child to live or spend time with another person who is outside Australia.
Subsection (1) does not prevent the Minister from issuing an Australian travel document to a child if:
circumstances specified in a Minister’s determination as special circumstances exist; or
the Minister is satisfied that the child’s welfare (physical or psychological) would be adversely affected if the child were not able to travel internationally; or
the Minister is satisfied that:
the child urgently needs to travel internationally because of a family crisis; and
if there is a person who has parental responsibility for the child and who has not consented to the child having an Australian travel document—it is not possible to contact that person within a reasonable period; or
in the case of a child who is outside Australia—the child departed Australia less than 12 months before the application for the Australian travel document was made and the Minister considers that an Australian travel document should be issued to enable the child’s return to Australia.
If the Minister refuses to issue an Australian travel document to a child, the Minister may declare that he or she is refusing to exercise the discretion under subsection (2) because the matter should be dealt with by a court.
For the purposes of this section, a person has parental responsibility for a child if, and only if:
the person:
is the child’s parent (including a person who is presumed to be the child’s parent because of a presumption (other than in section 69Q) in Subdivision D of Division 12 of Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975); and
has not ceased to have parental responsibility for the child because of an order made under the Family Law Act 1975; or
the person:
is the child’s parent (including a person who is presumed to be the child’s parent because of a presumption (other than in section 189) in Subdivision 3 of Division 11 of Part 5 of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA)); and
has not ceased to have parental responsibility for the child because of an order made under that Act; or
under a parenting order:
the child is to live with the person; or
the person has parental responsibility for the child; or
the person has guardianship or custody of, or has parental responsibility for, the child under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.
The presumptions in the Family Law Act 1975 and the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) include a presumption arising from a court finding that a person is the child’s parent, and a presumption arising from a man executing an instrument under law acknowledging that he is the father of the child.
If a competent authority believes on reasonable grounds that:
a person is the subject of an arrest warrant issued in Australia in respect of an indictable offence against a law of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory; or
a person (including a person who is in prison) is prevented from travelling internationally by force of:
an order of a court of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory; or
a condition of parole, or of a recognisance, surety, bail bond or licence for early release from prison, granted under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory; or
a law of the Commonwealth, or an order or other direction (however described) under a law of the Commonwealth;
the competent authority may make a refusal/cancellation request in relation to the person.
See also Subdivision D.
A competent authority may make a refusal/cancellation request in relation to the person if the person is:
an Australian citizen; and
a reportable offender.
If a competent authority makes a request under subsection (1) or (1A), the Minister must not issue an Australian passport to the person but may issue a travel‑related document to the person.
In this section:
competent authority, in relation to a circumstance mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) or (1A)(b), means:
a person who has responsibility for, or powers, functions or duties in relation to, that circumstance under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory (other than a person who is specified in a Minister’s determination as not being a competent authority in relation to the circumstance); or
a person specified in a Minister’s determination as a competent authority in relation to the circumstance.
prevented from travelling internationally includes:
required to remain in Australia; and
required to surrender an Australian travel document; and
not permitted to apply for an Australian travel document; and
not permitted to obtain an Australian travel document.
reportable offender means a person:
whose name is entered on a child protection offender register (however described) of a State or Territory; and
who has reporting obligations (however described) in connection with that entry on the register.
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