Post Office Passport Photos

Australia Post branches photograph you and print the result, which is why they are most people's default. Going means opening hours, waiting your turn, and whatever lighting the counter has that day. Most branches will not photograph an infant who cannot sit unsupported.

Most branches decline infants who cannot sit up on their own. Getting a compliant shot means positioning a baby's head, and that is a handling risk their staff are not insured to take, so parents are usually turned away at the counter. At home there is no queue and no limit on attempts.

Yes. Nothing requires a Post Office or any other counter — the requirement is that the photograph meets the published specification. Measuring it against that specification, before you are asked to pay anything, is exactly what this page does.

Any photo can be rejected. What separates services is what that costs you. A refund — even a double refund — hands back your money and leaves you without a passport and at the end of the queue, weeks later. We measure every rule before asking for payment, so a photo that cannot pass never reaches the checkout at all. In the rare case the office still disagrees, you are refunded in full, without argument.

No. The required expression is neutral, and the passport office lists smiling among its own examples of unacceptable photos. A relaxed face is fine; anything that raises the cheeks, narrows the eyes or shows teeth is not. Australia makes one exception, and it is not for adults: a child under 3 may have their mouth open.

32–36 mm, measured from the chin to the crown. The crown is the top of the skull rather than the top of the hair, so a tall or voluminous hairstyle does not raise the figure — measuring to the hair produces a crop that falls outside the permitted range.

An Australian passport photo is 35–40 mm wide by 45–50 mm high. Australia publishes a range rather than a single dimension, so a print anywhere inside it is acceptable — which is why two shops can give you visibly different photos and both be right.

No. Glasses are not permitted, and the passport office is explicit that poor vision on its own is not a reason to keep them on. The one exception is medical, where they cannot be removed; the frames must then not obscure the eyes and the lenses must not reflect.

Yes. If you usually cover your head for religious reasons you may wear the covering in your photo. Two conditions apply: it must be plain, with no pattern at all — not even a small one — and your whole face must be visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, with the edges of your face showing on both sides.

Yes. Facial hair is your ordinary appearance and there is no rule against it. What the rules do reach is anything obscuring the face or the eyes — so hair falling across the eyes, or a fringe long enough to cover them, is a reason for rejection where a beard is not.

Glossy. The passport office asks for heavy-weight glossy paper of at least 200 gsm, printed by dye sublimation rather than an inkjet. It is why a photo run off at home on an office printer can be refused even when the image itself is perfect.

Officeworks, Kmart, Big W and Australia Post will all print photos you bring in, and their machines are the right kind. Printing at home usually is not — an inkjet does not meet the standard. Or skip the errand: we print yours and post them, eight photos with free express delivery and tracking, anywhere in Australia.

Yes. No rule requires a professional photographer or a shop — only that the finished photo meets the specification. A phone camera has been more than sharp enough for years; what a counter provides is framing and a plain wall, and both are reproducible in a hallway.

No. Retouching is explicitly not permitted — the passport office names removing moles, wrinkles or scars, and lists skin smoothing among its examples of unacceptable photos. Editing the background is on that list too. We correct exposure and crop to the required dimensions; we never alter a background, a face, or clothing.

Less than six months. The point is that the photo shows how you look now, so a good photograph from last year is not usable however well it meets every other rule.

Ten years for an adult. Passports issued to children under 16, and to applicants aged 75 or over, run for five years instead.

Yes. Hearing aids may be worn, and the passport office says so for adults and children alike. Wireless earbuds are not hearing aids and have to come out before the photo is taken.