Coalition says passport ‘profit’ estimates show fee hikes are a Labor ‘tax grab’

Labor has been accused of ‘gross profiteering’ through pushing up passport fees, with the federal government on track to rake in almost $1 billion annually from Australian travellers.

Labor has been accused of “gross profiteering” through pushing up passport fees, with the federal government on track to rake in almost $1 billion annually from Australian travellers.

The Coalition says passport price hikes this year were a blatant “tax grab” by the Albanese Government, which is expected to make a $529 million profit from $924.5m estimated revenue from fees in 2024-25, according to new figures released in a Senate Question on Notice.

Passports prices ordinarily increase on January 1 each year in line with inflation, but in the federal budget this year Labor unveiled a significant price rise that came into effect on July 1.

Now a ten-year adult passport costs $398, which is a $90 increase from when Labor first took office in 2022.

The cost of replacing a passport has gone up $57 in two years to $250, while priority processing has jumped $65 to $290.

A 10-year Australian adult passport now costs $398.

Australia has the second-most expensive 10-year adult passport among comparable countries, behind only Mexico, and more than $100 more expensive than the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Italy, according to analysis by Compare the Market.

Despite paying a higher price for their passports, Australian travellers do not get as much value as their international counterparts.

Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham says passport fee hikes are a “tax grab”. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Henley Power Passport Index, which ranks countries based on the size of their economy and visa-free access, found Australia is behind nations like France, Germany, Singapore and New Zealand.

Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said while cost recovery was “important and acceptable”, the Albanese Government was instead “engaging in gross profiteering through the pushing up of passport fees”.

“This over the top revenue raising on a government issued document is just another demonstration of how Australians are being made to pay for the Albanese Government’s out of control spending,” he said.

Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts says Labor is cleaning up the Liberals’ passport “mess”. Picture:AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Mr Birmingham said under Labor, Australians were paying “record sums for the privilege of a passport that should be a basic entitlement not an expensive luxury”.

“Australians know things are out of whack when the price of their passport is now rivalling the cost of return tickets to Bali or Fiji,” he said.

“What the Albanese Government labelled as a ‘modest’ increase to passport fees is now seen for the backdoor tax grab that it is.

Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts said the Liberals had left the Australian passport office “drowning in a completely foreseeable backlog of applications” and Labor was working to “fix the mess”.

“The revenue raised from the measure will contribute to priority Government initiatives including within the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio,” he said.

“This includes the Government’s efforts to modernise Australia’s passport systems and services.”

Originally published as Coalition says passport ‘profit’ estimates show fee hikes are a Labor ‘tax grab’