Australian Passport
Australian Passport Pixabay

Allegations have emerged about a "back-to-back tax grab" due to the impending increase in passport fees for Australians. Since 2022, passport prices have risen by $104, and the cost of a standard 10-year passport will increase by another $14 to $412, effective Jan. 1.

For children under 16 and adults over 75, the price of a five-year passport will increase from $201 to $208. Additionally, emergency and replacement passports will increase from $250 to $259. Additionally, there will be an overseas processing fee for Australians applying for five- or 10-year passports from outside the nation.

The most recent price hike comes after a substantial 15% levy was imposed on new passports in July of last year, making Australian passports the priciest in the world. Mexico was in first place until this hike, with passports costing $346, 9 News reported.

Simon Birmingham, a spokesman for coalition foreign affairs, denounced the price increase as "over-the-top revenue raising" and claimed it will worsen the current cost-of-living issue by driving up the cost of international travel, Sky News reported.

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

"Many Australians scrimp and save to afford a special holiday to Bali or Fiji, only to find the cost of a passport is similar to the cost of an airfare," he said

"Under Labor, Australians are paying record sums for the privilege of a passport that should be a basic entitlement not an expensive luxury.

"What the Albanese Government labelled as a "modest" increase to passport fees can now clearly be seen for the backdoor tax grab that is it."

Tim Watts, the assistant foreign minister, justified the increase in the passport cost by pointing to the indexation requirements that have existed under previous administrations. According to Watts, this change is required to uphold Australia's strict passport requirements.

"The Albanese government understands Australians are doing it tough, and we are working every day to take pressure off families – all while Peter Dutton has opposed every one of our cost of living relief measures," he said.