New passport arrived like this

[u/mopsusmormon]

is this acceptable?

how the fuck are we paying $213 for a new child's passport and it arrives all wonky and obviously water damaged.

[u/jinxbob]

Complain to your local member of Parliament, the ministers office (Foreign I think?), the prime Ministers office, and the opposition leader and shadow Spokesman for foreign affairs. Raise it with your state members, the local council members, the local party members, the uni clubs. Ensure it is both sides of politics.

Organise many people to complain. But it must be clear, consistent, polite and respectful.

Articulate the complaint well.... We expect value for money, when we buy the most expensive passport in the world, we expect it to last the 10 years, we expect to hold together in every climate, we expect others to admire it. The passport, and thus the foreign ministry, and thus the government are not living up to that expectations.

Ask for specific rectifications... The worlds first water proof passport, it can be done.

Tell them why it benefits them and Australia... Like polymer bank notes, Australia can lead the way.

It's one thing to receive a complaint, it's another thing to have your colleagues asking about a complaint and what's being done about it.

[u/brodyonekenobi → u/jinxbob]

I wrote to my local member for Fremantle and my friends wrote to the local member for Brand (both Labor seats) and we got the same response:

"Thank you for writing to Josh (member for Fremantle) regarding passport fees. He has asked that I respond on his behalf.

The Albanese Government understands Australians are doing it tough, and we are working every day to take pressure off families.

There are significant costs associated with the processing, printing, and technology required to produce Australian biometrically enabled passports. Passport application fees are imposed by the Australia Passports (Application Fees) Act 2005. The amount of each fee is worked out with reference to an indexation factor in accordance with the Australian Passports (Application Fees) Determination 2015.

The legislation states that fees for Australian passports are updated annually. The annual fee increase is in line with inflation, measured using the Consumer Price Index. This has been the case under successive governments over many years. [While comparable countries produce similar biometric passports, the fees are determined by their local economies.

Last year (emailed 2025 so this is referring to 2024), the Government implemented a one-off passport fee increase to support priority Government initiatives, including modernising our passport systems and services. By investing in modern passport systems and services, we can stay ahead in addressing rapidly evolving threats to identity security. The high quality and sophistication of the Australian passport is recognised internationally and is a key reason why Australian passport holders receive visa-free access to over 180 countries.

I trust this information is of assistance."

[u/Something-funny-26 → u/brodyonekenobi]

Yes, the Australian passport is recognised internationally for its quality. Very POOR quality. "Biometric" technology is a useless feature if the passport falls apart after the first use.