If you were proactive enough to renew your Australian passport towards the end of 2017, then consider yourself financially thrifty because you saved yourself a few dollars.
As 2017 came to an end and 2018 emerged, so too did new prices for the Australian passport, which increased by $5 on decade-long identification.
As of 1 January 2018, Aussies aged 16 years and over need to fork out $282 for a 10-year passport, a rise of $5 on the previous year, while children under 15 years and persons aged 75 and over, are required to pay $142, up $3.
Although this may sound like loose change (because it is), a good budgeter knows that every dollar counts. That, and the latest increase means Aussies are now paying $32 more for a 10-year passport compared to three years ago.
Should this inflation over the last three years continue into the next three years, we COULD end up paying around $314 for a 10-year passport by 2021.
The cost of an emergency passport overseas also climbed to $178, which is up from $111 in 2015.
Priority processing fee also climbed to $186, adult overseas surcharge is now $105 and child overseas surcharge is $53.
Meanwhile, late last year, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed the discontinuation of the 66-page frequent traveller passport due to “sharply” reduced demand.
In an online statement government agency explained that the decrease in frequent traveller passport requests is in line with the rise of electronic visas around the world and decreased use in border stamps.
Existing 66-page passports will remain valid until they expire, but users have been unable to apply for a new one since 30 November 2017. Instead, travellers will be required to pay the full free for a 10-year passport.
For those who finish their passport before the 10 years, will be able to pay for a 34-page ‘replacement passport’ that covers the remaining validity of the old passport.
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