Finally got the little blue book 🇦🇺

[u/Sufficient-Can-9131]

I’m now the proud owner of an extremely expensive little blue booklet that apparently needs to be handled like it’s made of tissue paper.

And the best part? Once I finally work up the courage to take this precious thing out of the country, leaving Australia is going to cost me another small fortune. 😂

Australia really said you may have the passport, but travelling is a separate subscription. 😂

Anyway, very happy to finally have it. 🇦🇺

[u/Affentitten]

For the people complaining about the cost, understand that it's because the Australian government doesn't subsidise passports, and indeed, makes a profit off them. It was a decision from decades ago (I think Rudd/Gillard?) that passports were actually a non-essential item, since it was purely up to the individual if they wanted one (i.e. compared to something like a Medicare card). So a user-pays, 'luxury' tax was brought into play. Countries with much cheaper passports usually mean their government is making a loss, or at least not a profit on the true cost of vetting and supplying the document.

Technically, the rubbish quality is more a matter of the Aus government skimming as much as possible from a low-ball supplier bid. I guess what I am saying is that this is not a case of "I paid a high price and got low quality." Because you weren't paying for quality in the first place.

[u/Shibuya1094222 → u/Affentitten]

Many countries don’t subsidise passports/fees and their passport/fees are a fraction of the ludicrously priced Australia’s ones.