[Jan Fisher]

Australians love to travel, but one essential cost has now given us the unfortunate title of ‘most expensive in the world’.

It’s our passports, which as of July 1 have gone up by 15 per cent to $398.

“The increase to passport fees will support priority initiatives within the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio, including the government’s efforts to modernise Australia’s passport systems and services,” a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson previously said.

Well, that’s probably true. We have one of the most technologically advanced passports in the world, but 15 per cent is still a bit of a stretch.
In comparison, the NZ passport works out to be about $194.

Meanwhile, passports for the United Arab Emirates, India, and Hungary were the three cheapest at $27.13, $27.70 and $31.78, respectively.

News.com is reporting Aussies needing to fast-track their passport can do so for $100 with the document processed within five business days. This is on top of the $398 fee for the 10-year passport itself.

The new option was announced in May during the federal budget with the money Aussies forecast to spend on fast-tracking their passports expected to generate an additional $27.4 million revenue over the next five years.

My tip, don’t pay this unless you have to. We had our passports within a week when we had them renewed early last year.

[GrumpyGrandpa]

Albo and his mob said no extra taxes and this is just that, an additional tax on Australians!! I cannot believe that we have the most expensive passport in the world, but I suppose we need to generate enough to pay for the underworked, overpaid bureaucrats who run the system!!

[bendl]

And when you consider that the last 6 months of your passport is unusable because you have to renew your passport once you have less than 6 months left on it, it makes you wonder if we’re getting ripped off.

[Author]

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