From today, Australians will be paying more for a new 10-year passport as indexation has pushed prices up by 3.5 per cent.

Australia’s passports are currently the most expensive in the world, followed by Mexico ($353.90) the USA ($252.72) and New Zealand ($193.72). 

Here’s what you need to know about the changes. 

How much will passports cost now?

A new passport for an adult will cost $412, up from $398. 

A five-year children’s passport will cost $208. 

Replacement passports now cost $259. 

Didn’t passport prices already go up recently?

Yes. 

Today’s price hikes follow a 15 per cent increase in July from $346 to $398. 

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the increase was expected to raise $349 million over the next three years, with the additional revenue used to cover the rising costs of producing passports.

Why has the government raised the price?

A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the passport fees are indexed annually on January 1 in line with the Consumer Price Index.

“The Australian passport is respected internationally as a high-quality travel document. It has a high level of technological sophistication, backed by rigorous anti-fraud measures, which ensures its integrity,” the spokesperson said in a statement. 

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

Speaking with reporters on Monday, Education Minister Jason Clare said the government is more focused on costs of “things that affect Australians every single day”.

“So making sure that the cost of medicine doesn’t go up is going to help millions of Australians, giving a pay rise to aged care workers is going to help hundreds of thousands of Australians, and rolling out free TAFE courses across the country is going to help an extra 100,000 Australians next year and every year after that,” he said.

“They’re the sorts of things we’re focused on to help Australians with the cost of living.”

In November, in response to the hikes, Opposition Senate Leader and former finance minister Simon Birmingham called the move a “backdoor tax grab”.

“Under Labor Australian passport fees have gone up 22.5 per cent,” he said. 

“What the Albanese government labelled as a ‘modest’ increase to passport fees is now seen for the backdoor tax grab that is it.”