Australians will be paying more for a new passport from January 1, as application prices rise by 3.5 per cent in line with standard indexation.

A new 10-year adult passport will cost $412 after the changes are applied in the new year, up from $398.

A five-year children’s passport will cost $208 from January 1, while a replacement passport will set Australians back $259. 

The changes come after a 15 per cent tax was added to the price of new passports in July last year, which made Australian passports the most expensive in the world.

Before the July hike, Mexico’s passports were the most expensive at $346.

The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham said the extra costs were a “backdoor tax grab”.

“It’s unsurprising the Albanese government is ringing in the new year with another tax grab from Australians,” Birmingham said.

“Labor are on track to be raking in nearly $1 billion annually from taxpayers just through their past three blatant price rises on Australian passports.

“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.”

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said the cost of passports was indexed annually in line with the Consumer Price Index.

“The Australian passport is respected internationally as a high-quality travel document,” the department said.

“It has a high level of technological sophistication, backed by rigorous anti-fraud measures, which ensures its integrity.

“This is a key reason why Australian passport holders receive visa-free access to over 180 countries.”