Speedy Travel Readiness — Australian Passport

In this story, I will only focus on road blockers and key points.

Australian Passport Application Checklist

Pre-application Preparations:

• Get a Passport Photo from Australia Post in Advance: It’s advisable to get the photo taken at an Australia Post location because they meet the photo quality standards set by the Australian Passport Office, reducing the risk of photo rejection.
• Make sure you have the funds required for the application fee. The latest information suggests a 10-year passport with priority processing costs $562. Always confirm the current fees on the Australian Passport Office’s official website. With priority processing you can collect passport next day else you may have to wait for 4–6 weeks.
• Get Australian reference passport handy in advance in soft copy format, you will need to add his/her details while filling out the application who should not be from your family.
• Use the code present on the back of Citizenship Document, if you’re using your citizenship document for identification.
• There’s no need to make an appointment at Australia Post to take photos or submit the application.

Children's Passport Extra things.

• Guarantors unrelated to you must sign children’s passport photo and also on the printed application form once you fill it out online. Read this — How to get a child passport | Australian Passport Office (passports.gov.au)

New Immigrant Citizens Extra Things

• If you are a new citizen, you can lodge passport application the next day of taking Oath ceremony, so you can have your draft application ready well before your citizenship ceremony.
• Don’t fall in rumour that you would need to wait for 3–4 days before you can submit.
• If you are looking for an Indian OCI after your Australian passport, it is best to do Australian passport processing on urgent basis. OCI can take 4 to 6 weeks and there is no fast processing of the same.
• You can have the draft application ready before having the Australian Citizenship document in hand. Put XXX on the place of citizenship number which you can change after attending ceremony.

Post-Application Submission:

• If you have submitted a normal application but later want to change it to urgent application, it is possible to do so. You can call them at 131 232 and pay them the difference to collect the next day. Urgent applications | Australian Passport Office (passports.gov.au)
• Consider In-Person Collection for Urgent Needs: If you need your passport quickly, don’t hesitate to choose the in-person collection option.
• In-Person Collection Locations in Melbourne:
  — Same-Day Collection: If you get notified that your passport is ready and you plan to collect it on the same day, the collection point is Level 2, Collins Square, 747 Collins Street, Docklands, Victoria 3008.
  — Subsequent Days: If you’re planning to collect your passport on a different day, be aware that the collection point may be at a different entrance. Take the lift at 707 Collins Street, go down to to Village Street, and you will see the entry of passport collection.