Media Release
FA82 - 4 July 2003
New Measures to Enhance Security of Passport Issuing Process
I am announcing today the introduction of new measures to enhance the integrity of Australia’s passport issuing system. The measures are a response to possible abuse of the passport issuing process in a climate of heightened concerns about terrorism and the threat of identity fraud.
Identity fraud, like terrorism, is a worldwide problem. In Australia it is estimated to cost the community around $4 billion annually. It is vital therefore that Australian passports - an invaluable means of establishing individual identity – are issued only to persons entitled to them.
For this reason, from 1 September 2003 a person who wishes to obtain a passport in a new name will need to produce an amended Australian citizenship or birth certificate, a change of name certificate issued by the appropriate State Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages (RBDM), a RBDM-issued marriage certificate, or a divorce or death certificate issued by the relevant authority. Marriage certificates issued by a marriage celebrate will need to be registered with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages before the married name is accepted for inclusion into an Australian passport.
For passport issuing purposes changes of name by deed poll or ‘by reputation’ will no longer be acceptable as this has been found to be susceptible to identity abuse.
Australia’s passport issuing system ranks among the world’s best in delivering an innovative, efficient and courteous service to its many customers. These measures will help to ensure that only those applicants who clearly establish their identity will be able to obtain a passport. This will help to protect the interests of all bone fide applicants.
I should note that the number of lost and stolen passports continues to be of real concern. In the five months until the end of May this year over 14,000 Australians reported their passports lost or stolen, the majority of them in Australia. Only 11 per cent have so far been recovered.
Lost and stolen passports not only inconvenience individual travellers but offer worrying opportunities for criminal activity under assumed identities. Every Australian passport holder should ensure the safe-keeping of their passport at all times and, in so doing, reduce the risk that their identity might be stolen.
Media enquiries: Chris Kenny (Ministerial) 02 6277 7500, Julie McDonald (Departmental) 02 6261 1555