In good news for those who love to travel, Australians will soon be able to renew their passport online.
The federal government is in the process of drawing up legislation to enable digital statutory declarations and deeds in all states. This means all Aussies will soon be able to renew their passport online.
The process of renewing your passport at the moment can be a real hassle. Applications, visits to the post office with stacks of paperwork, and the usual in-person identity confirmations all make for a time-consuming and tedious process. Hopefully, that will all become a thing of the past and the passport process will be simplified. The electoral roll registration process will also be streamlined with the new system.
Instead of having to visit a post office or a Justice of the Peace, Aussies will be able to confirm their identity through the Australian Taxation Office’s myGovID app.
The system will also incorporate digital e-signatures to countersign all electronic documents via the myGov website and app, allowing individuals to easily enter their own personal and relevant identity details.
This is great news, as it will save you time and money. More than 4.5 million deeds and around 3.8 million statutory declarations are completed each year by small and medium enterprises and consumers. Modelling conducted by Accenture shows that it takes about six million and nine million hours respectively to print, fill out, sign and physically witness their execution.
The modelling also found that $400 million in direct costs and wasted time could be saved each year through the creation and implementation of a streamlined digital system.
The new system should also make passport renewals uniform across the entire country, removing the slight discrepancies in regulations between each state.
Currently, in NSW, Victoria and Queensland deeds and agreements may be executed electronically but in the ACT, South Australia and the Northern Territory individuals may not execute deeds electronically but they may execute agreements electronically.
A deregulation task force set up by the federal government says the move will dramatically expand the myGov portal, which currently only offers 15 services.
The flashy new Australian passport announced in February this year has come under scrutiny for its cost though.
It may feature all sorts of high-security features, special tributes to the late Queen and some stunning images of our beloved Aussie animals, but it costs a whopping $325. The cost is up from $308 last year and $301 in 2021 and is now among the world’s most expensive.
A Canadian passport, for example, comes out much cheaper at $177, while New Zealanders pay around $180, the British pay only $140 and the Portuguese can renew a passport for a mere $100.
Are you excited to be able to renew your passport online? When is your passport due to expire? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: What type of damage will void your passport?
I am always shocked at the cost of the Australian passport, and it keeps getting more expensive. When I get mine I always look for the hidden gold thread.
When I first heard that stat-decs and applying for passports could be done online I thought that is great, but then reading that the ATO will be involved to some extent, leaves with me concerns, a finger in so many pies.
And many retirees have no contact with the ATO any more.
Must agree Nobby
Nobby, there is no gold thread, not even a brass one. lol
Read my post – the ATO doesn’t own the myGov app, it’s just one of the agencies that you can have available on the app.
Why can’t drivers licenses be digital in Western Australia.
If passports can be fine online.
Digital drivers licenses should be available now
That is good news for Australians living overseas. My last renewal cost me well over $1,000 due to travel, hotel and PP costs. (I will miss seeing the lovely and helpful embassy staff). However, MyGov ID is a problem for me as I do not have an Aus driver’s licence nor a Medicare card. I have not yet worked out how to overcome that problem.
For a new Medicare card you’ll need to return to Australia and re-apply. You can’t do it when outside of Australia. Drivers licence is state issued. You’ll most likely have to resit a test. Again you’ll need to be in Australia. The Medicare card would be the priority as a lot of people don’t have a license for one reason or another.
Renewing Aust. passport. Sure it would be easier online but of course with an approprite good security process.
The articls doesn’t mention Australian citizens who for many reasons live overseas. Would they be ble to renew their expiring passports on line?
Also the article vguely mentions the Aust. Taxation office being involved. Doest mean the Australins whose personal tax returns are not fully up to date will be barred from renewing their passports?
In the past there was always a quite strong attitude/policy that taxation records were quite private and other government agences/departments were not allowed to see/examine personal tax records. Is that all changing?
Why can’t the WA seniors’ card and the WA Driver’s license come under the Service WA app?
There’s one mistake screaming out for clarification – The ATO DOESN’T OWN myGov, it’s a whole of the Australian government services app/website, where you can access Centrelink, Medicare, the ATO, My Health Record, etc. None of the services can see what’s going on between each other.
As for digital licences, it’s up to the individual State government and their app for your phone to negotiate when they make them available. Just one warning, though, you can’t use your digital licence to hire a vehicle at all, so the plastic cards will still need to be in your wallet for some time to come, and most overseas companies won’t accept them, either.
On another subject all together, don’t try to hire a car anywhere with prepaid debit cards – they won’t be accepted, either. Tried that, and they rejected the card in the UK in 2013.