18Circumstances in which Australian travel documents cease to be valid—damage

18 Circumstances in which Australian travel documents cease to be valid—damage

(1) For subsection 20(2) of the Act, an Australian travel document ceases to be valid if: (a) it is damaged; and (b) the Minister is satisfied that it is no longer usable as evidence of the identity and citizenship of its holder or to facilitate international travel. (2) For paragraph (1)(b), the Minister must take into account any evidence of the following: (a) that any of the visible information (including a photograph or machine readable zone) on the data page of the travel document has been altered or tampered with, is faulty or cannot be read reliably; (b) that the data page (including the laminate) of the travel document has been tampered with, altered, damaged or dislodged, or has been degraded; (c) that any page is missing, substantially damaged or damaged to the extent that it cannot be read reliably; (d) that any other part of the binding or structure of the travel document has been tampered with or substantially damaged; (e) that any part of the travel document’s contactless integrated circuit is damaged or has been tampered or interfered with, or removed; (f) any other circumstances that the Minister could consider make the travel document unusable as evidence of the identity and citizenship of its holder.

Note 1: For paragraph (c), an example of substantial damage is cutting a corner of the travel document, cutting a machine readable zone or cancellation of a page or pages by perforation or stamping.

Note 2: For paragraph (d), an example of substantial damage is damage by water, solvents or any other substance.