Australian travel document is defined as an Australian passport or a travel‑related document (s 6(1)). An Australian passport is a passport issued under the Act. The note to the definition confirms that passports must be issued in forms approved by the Minister, which may include diplomatic, official and emergency passports (see also s 53(2)). A travel‑related document is a document issued under s 9, being a document of a kind specified in a Minister’s determination, issued for the purposes of travel. Travel‑related documents are not passports; they may be issued to non‑citizens and, in certain circumstances, on the Minister’s own initiative for removal, deportation, extradition or prisoner transfer (s 9(1A)(b)).
Australian citizen is not defined in the Act but is the class of persons entitled to an Australian passport under s 7(1). The entitlement is subject to the Minister being satisfied of the person’s citizenship and identity (s 8) and to the refusal grounds in Division 2.
Child has a specific meaning: a person who is under 18 and who has never been married (s 6(1)). This definition is critical for the parental‑consent provisions in s 11, because a married person under 18 is not a “child” for the purposes of that section and therefore does not benefit from the protections requiring consent or court order.
Competent authority is defined in relation to each of the refusal/cancellation grounds in ss 12, 13, 14 and 16. The definition varies depending on the ground. For example, for Australian law enforcement matters (s 12), a competent authority is a person who has responsibility for, or powers, functions or duties in relation to the relevant circumstance under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory, or a person specified in a Minister’s determination. For matters relating to potential harmful conduct (s 14), the definition includes officers within the meaning of paras (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of officer, employees of the Commonwealth specified in a Minister’s determination, non‑corporate Commonwealth entities so specified, and any person specified.
Refusal/cancellation request is defined in s 18. It is a request made to the Minister under ss 12(1), 12(1A), 13(1), 14(1) or 16(1) by a competent authority, asking the Minister to refuse to issue an Australian travel document to a person, or to cancel an Australian travel document already issued, or both. Such a request can be made whether or not the person has applied for a document, and, if made under a provision other than s 12(1A), whether or not the person is an Australian citizen (s 18(2)).
Minister’s determination means an instrument made by the Minister under s 57 for the purposes of the Act. These determinations are legislative instruments and are used extensively throughout the Act to specify matters such as kinds of documents, circumstances for issue, methods of identity verification and classes of competent authorities.
Officer means an APS employee in the Department, a member of the diplomatic staff of an Australian mission, a consular officer (but not honorary), an officer of Customs under the Customs Act 1901, a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police, an officer of a State or Territory police force, or a person authorised in writing by the Minister under s 52 (s 6(1)). This broad definition grants a wide range of officials the power to demand surrender of documents and to exercise other enforcement functions.
Personal information has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988 (s 6(1)), which imports the full regulatory framework for handling personal data into the operation of the Act.
Document Verification Service and Face Verification Service are defined by reference to the Identity Verification Services Act 2023, reflecting modern identity‑checking technologies used in the passport application process (s 6(1) and ss 46, 46A).