{"id":"C2005A00006","name":"Australian Passports (Application Fees) Act 2005","slug":"australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"6 of 2005","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7838,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2005A00006-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Passports (Application Fees) Act 2005","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAustralian Passports (Application Fees) Act 2005\n\n \n\nNo. 6, 2005\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose, as taxes, fees in relation to Australian passports and other travel documents, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definitions\n\n4 Imposition of application fees\n\n5 Matters relating to amount of application fees\n\n6 Indexation of maximum application fee\n\n7 Person liable for application fee\n\n8 Minister’s determinations\n\n9 Regulations\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nAustralian Passports (Application Fees) Act 2005\n\nNo. 6, 2005\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose, as taxes, fees in relation to Australian passports and other travel documents, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 18 February 2005]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n##### 1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Australian Passports (Application Fees) Act 2005.\n\n##### 2  Commencement\n\n (1) 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.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provision(s) Commencement Date/Details\n- 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\n- 2. Sections 3 to 9 At the same time as sections 3 to 58 of the Australian Passports Act 2005 commence. 1 July 2005\n\n\nNote: 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.\n\n (2) 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.\n\n##### 3  Definitions\n\n (1) In this Act:\n\napplication fee means a fee imposed by section 4.\n\nMinister’s determination means an instrument made by the Minister for the purposes of this Act under section 8.\n\n (2) Other expressions used in this Act that are defined in the Australian Passports Act 2005 have the same meaning as they have in that Act.\n\n##### 4  Imposition of application fees\n\n (1) A Minister’s determination may specify fees in respect of applications for Australian passports.\n\n (2) A Minister’s determination may specify fees in respect of applications for travel‑related documents.\n\n (3) A Minister’s determination may specify fees in respect of applications for endorsements on Australian travel documents.\n\n (4) A Minister’s determination may specify fees in respect of applications for the making of observations on Australian travel documents.\n\n (5) The fees specified in determinations made for the purposes of this section are imposed, and are so imposed as taxes.\n\n##### 5  Matters relating to amount of application fees\n\n (1) A determination made for the purposes of section 4 may specify different application fees for different circumstances.\n\n (2) The maximum amount of an application fee for an application made in a financial year is:\n\n (a) for the financial year in which sections 3 to 9 of this Act commence—$1,000; or\n\n (b) for a later financial year—the amount worked out in accordance with section 6.\n\n (3) An application fee need not bear any relationship to the cost of issuing an Australian travel document or endorsing or making an observation on an Australian travel document.\n\n##### 6  Indexation of maximum application fee\n\n (1) The amount for the purposes of paragraph 5(2)(b) is worked out by multiplying the indexation factor for the financial year by the maximum amount of an application fee for an application made in the previous financial year.\n\n (2) If the indexation factor for the financial year is 1 or less, the maximum amount of an application fee for an application made in the financial year is the maximum amount for an application made in the previous financial year.\n\n (3) In this section:\n\nindexation factor for the financial year is the amount worked out, to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more), by using the formula:\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\nwhere:\n\nindex number is the All Groups Consumer Price Index number (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) first published by the Australian Statistician for the quarter.\n\n##### 7  Person liable for application fee\n\n (1) A person who applies for an Australian travel document is liable to pay the application fee in respect of that application, at the time the application is made.\n\n (2) A person who applies for an endorsement on the person’s Australian travel document is liable to pay the application fee in respect of that application, at the time the application is made.\n\n (3) A person who applies for an observation to be made on the person’s Australian travel document is liable to pay the application fee in respect of that application, at the time the application is made.\n\n##### 8  Minister’s determinations\n\n  The Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify any of the matters that this Act provides may be specified in a Minister’s determination.\n\n##### 9  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 2 December 2004\n\nSenate on 9 December 2004]\n\n(231/04)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is narrowly drafted to do one thing: authorise and set the framework for application fees for passports and related travel documents. It creates powers for the Minister to specify fee levels and categories, sets an initial statutory maximum, and prescribes CPI indexation for future maximums. Those elements are coherent with the Act’s original, stated purpose of imposing fees as taxes; the text does not show a material expansion of scope beyond that purpose. The provision that fees need not relate to issuing costs (s 5(3)) broadens pricing discretion compared with a pure cost‑recovery model, but that feature appears in the Act as enacted and therefore does not represent a subsequent scope change."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act: 9 sections only (including commencement and interpretation).","Small number of defined terms in this Act itself: 2 explicit definitions in s 3 (\"application fee\", \"Minister’s determination\").","Cross‑reference complexity: multiple references to the Australian Passports Act 2005 for other defined expressions (s 3(2)).","Delegation of substantive pricing detail to Minister’s determinations (legislative instruments) — introduces secondary instruments and potential procedural complexity (s 8).","Indexation formula in s 6 uses the All Groups CPI with numeric rounding rules (technical arithmetic and rounding to 3 decimals).","Maximum fee cap mechanism: special initial $1,000 cap then CPI‑based increases (s 5(2)–(3)).","Legal characterization of fees as taxes (s 4(5)) adds treatment implications across other laws/institutions."],"plain_english_summary":"The Act authorises the Minister to set “application fees” (treated as taxes) for Australian passports and related travel documents by legislative instrument, allowing different fees by circumstance and a $1,000 initial ceiling that is CPI‑indexed thereafter. Applicants are liable to pay on application, and fees need not reflect issuing costs. It concentrates pricing discretion in the executive, affects passport applicants and administering agencies, and enables fee‑setting for policy or revenue objectives rather than strict cost recovery."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of imposing fees for passport applications and related travel documents. The scope has not expanded beyond this core function."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 9 operative sections","Minimal defined terms (only 2 explicit definitions in section 3, plus borrowed definitions from another Act)","Simple conditional logic limited to the indexation formula in section 6","Single cross-reference to the Australian Passports Act 2005 for definitions","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Straightforward delegation of fee-setting power to Ministerial determination"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis law creates a legal framework for charging fees when Australians apply for passports and related travel documents. It treats these fees as taxes, which is important because it means the money goes into general government revenue rather than being directly tied to the cost of processing your application.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Anyone applying for an Australian passport** — you must pay the fee when you submit your application\n- **People needing endorsements on their passport** (official stamps or notations added to the document)\n- **People needing observations on their passport** (official notes recorded by the passport office)\n- **People applying for other travel-related documents** (such as emergency travel documents)\n\n**Key features:**\n\n- **Fees are set by the Minister** through a formal determination (a type of official government decision), not fixed in the Act itself\n- **Caps on fees:** The maximum fee starts at $1,000 and increases each year with inflation (using the Consumer Price Index)\n- **No cost recovery requirement:** The government explicitly does *not* have to match fees to the actual cost of making your passport\n- **Different fees for different situations:** The Minister can set different prices for different types of applications or circumstances\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law ensures the government can charge for passports while keeping those charges within legal bounds. The \"tax\" classification matters because it affects how the money can be used and how the fees are legally justified. The inflation-adjustment mechanism means passport costs can rise automatically without needing new laws each year."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005","history":"/api/acts/australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-passports-application-fees-act-2005/documents"}}