Australian Passport Office - Officialdom Gone Mad.

[Obilix]

So I need to renew my passport by the end of the year. Done it before, easy peasy.

 

I go to the Passport Office. website.

 

Apparently, to renew online I have to open an account. Why do I need an account? Do they think I'm likely to order a truckload of passports ,on an ongoing basis? Nothing else for it though. 

 

So I press the link to open an account.

 

Before I can open an account however, I have to click an acceptance that they are free to do whatever they want with my personal particulars. What, am I now a greater risk than I was before, when I periodically applied for my last four or five passports over the past four decades?

 

No other option, click the acceptance or apply for a brand new passport (not just a renewal) with all the additional paperwork involved. And by the way, I'd still have to provide them with a click of acceptance. Otherwise I have to attend personally at a passport office, where no doubt I'd have to sign my acceptance anyway.

 

Nothing else for it. I click the bloody acceptance and pleasurably spend the next 20 minutes filling in the form with the same information that they already have on me. Only inexplicably, they require me to provide it twice on the same form.

 

Done. Now I am told to print out the form and take it to the Post Office, presumably for verification that I am who I say I am, and for them to take photos of me for the passport. Why Do I have to take my photographic requirements to Australia Post? Even our Prime Minister doesn't trust them! And why can't the verification required not be provided by some qualified professional, as it was in the past, and I can then post the documents to the Passport Office? Surely not to just make Australia Post more lucrative to a prospective purchaser when they privatise it? Surely?

 

Anyway, dutifully I trot off to Australia Post with my completed form, having abandoned forever my right to privacy.

 

I wait in line for 15 minutes enjoying the spats taking place between a harassed mum and her voluble offspring in front of me, until I arrive at the counter. There I'm told I'm in the wrong queue. and to go to the far queue.

 

Eventually, you'll all be pleased to know, I'm attended to by the far queue clerk.

 

She examines the form, glances at my still current passport, and tells me she cannot accept the form because the last line of the form must be no more than 2.5 cms above the bottom of the page upon which it is printed. Furthermore, I can't have my photo taken until I return with the form in correct format.

 

Now none of this was mentioned on the Application form or on the Passport Office webpage.

 

I Gather my documents, seething, go to the nearby chemist, and photocopy the printed form. making sure the last line was the beaurocratically desirable distance from the bottom of the page.

 

With a triumphant yet steely gleam in my eye I return to the post office, wait in the far queue, and finally slap my documentation on the counter.

 

"Oh no" she says, "I can't accept this, the first line has to be no less than 2.5 cm from the top of the paper."

 

I went home and wrote this. 

[MicCanberra]

I too went to the post office today but had much better luck than you. I hope you can get it sorted and also get to use your new passport. I have had my new one for over a year now and am yet to use it, and I think it will be 2022 before I get a chance.

[OzKiwiJJ]

You could try going to a different Australia Post office in case it is just that person.

[Aus Traveller]

to the OP, the 'far queue clerk' - are you sure it wasn't the 'f..k you clerk'?

[Obilix]

I chose my words carefully Aus Taveller!

[Docker123]

Sounds like the govt is just preparing for when WA secedes.

 

Anyway, l got a new passport about 18 months ago.  There was an application process called streamlined.  Made the account (or perhaps had 1 from 10 years ago) and got a pre-filled form with all necessary details. Just had to make sure it was all up to date.

 

If you miss the streamlined version, things can take forever.

 

[Porky55]

I would just go to a Post Office that does passports - you will probably need to go there eventually anyway for the photos required. I know other places do passport photos but Aus Post is the most easily accepted. Ours does everything at once - renewal paperwork, photos, and send. 

[ozziepost]

Hi I'm just wondering if your printer settings were out of wack? If your application was printed correctly there shouldn't have been any problems with your application. In another life I was involved in processing Passport applications with Post right from the time Post got involved in processing passports and that would have been back in the early 80's until I expired just a few years back. IME AP staff especially those in corporate retail offices are highly trained and know what they are doing.

We had our passports renewed only a couple of years ago printed out the application and got our photos done at the same time we lodged the applications at our local PO it was easy as and we got our passports back within a couple of weeks.

 

As Ozkiwi has mentioned if you weren't happy with the person you lodged your application with try another office.

 

Just a thought.

[Big Kev]

All done easily for us, just 2 weeks ago. We  qualified for and opted to  use the "streamlined renewal" option and had no problems.  We also chose to just take our on-line printed forms, and old Passports to P.O. and have them do the photos, so as to save any potential photo problems. Signed documents, paid our money and were out after 10 minutes.. New passports arrived and in our hands 8 days later...  

Only problem we have is the pain of not knowing when we will be able to use them, but at least we will be ready to jump..

O.P's  problem must be a W.A. thing...

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I had no problems over here doing my renewal on line .Got the photos from the pharmacy to make sure of size , background no smiles or teeth or glasses , or whatever else they decide they

want from time to time , sent it off in a return paid courier  bag and returned in a few , hassle free.

We did have major hassles when some bright spark decided to have 5 year passports instead of 10 year ones and he was told to go to the far queue very smartly.

[MicCanberra]

LOl, obviously not Australia post over there in NZ.

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

I had no problems over here doing my renewal on line .Got the photos from the pharmacy to make sure of size , background no smiles or teeth or glasses , or whatever else they decide they

want from time to time , sent it off in a return paid courier  bag and returned in a few , hassle free.

We did have major hassles when some bright spark decided to have 5 year passports instead of 10 year ones and he was told to go to the far queue very smartly.

NZ passport renewals are so much easier these days. I renewed mine a couple of years ago. All online, so easy. I just had to upload a new photo.

[getting older slowly]

I remember getting a passport at the PO....  I met the PO worker... who was the biggest pain in the a***....

 

He took joy in knocking back the application ... one thing at a time...

 

One the form I printed didn't have a dot show above some diamond

 

Two the photo done by the chemist  ( took 3 goes ) as their camera was broken

 

Three the photo was signed in blue ink not black....

 

All in all five trips to the PO.... thanks hevance only 2 km away

 

I  understand... but he could have told us some pointers at the beginning...

 

Also the system.... You have to fill it out online....

then you must print it out ..then you must get a photo

then you must take it to the OP...

 

I agree a bit of pain.... Don

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

We got our last passports in 2018. We filled out the application form and took it, with our expiring passports to an Australia Post office. They took the photos and it was done without fuss or bother. They even asked if we were happy with the photos before they proceeded with the application.🙂

[patch nine]

We had to renew ours last year.  The online application and the visit to the Post Office for photos etc. were the easy part.  The hardest part was receiving them via Australia Post.  More than 3 weeks after they were posted by registered post still no sign of them.  The Passport office gave us the tracking numbers which showed the passports had made it from Melbourne to Brisbane (via various other places) but they had been in the sorting office there for the past 7 days.  Over the next week many calls were made to Australia Post and we were finally told the passports were "officially lost".  So back to the Passport Office for them to re-issue (and us being very concerned about where our passports had ended up) only for them to turn up in the mail the following day in a special Australia Post envelope saying they had been damaged by their equipment!!  Luckily they were both intact, and we met the postman at the box to take delivery which was good as due to covid we were not required to sign for them, despite them being registered!  

[ilikeanswers]

I guess I was lucky. Renewed in 2018 I was able to submit first go. Got my photos done at a local photo printing shop, where they even gave me digital copies for no extra cost👍. Maybe trying a different post office isn't a bad idea 🤔

Edited January 28, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[Obilix]

Just an update on my passport application saga.

 

After calming down yesterday, I asked my better half (an office administrator in a previous life) to print out the form again for me. 

 

Same result. 1cm margin on top of page, 4 cm margin at the bottom. Our conclusion: probably a settings glitch in our computer, or possibly a formatting problem in the proforma which no far queue clerk has picked up on before.

 

After some skillful manipulations with the photocopier, my wonderful wife came up with a copy which had approximate margins of 2.5 cm top and bottom.

 

I returned today to visit my favourite clerk at my favourite Post office, who eyed me suspiciously (good memories these clerks), inspected the form minutely, especially the top and bottom  margins, and eventually broke out in  smile of approval. Or at least her pursed lips parted ever so slightly.

 

Within 5 minutes I was photographed (I suspect a copy was retained for the post office dark ops file), had signed the application, was given a receipt for payment and was on my way, with a promise that I would have the passport in 3 - 4 weeks.

 

I even thanked her, such was my sense of gratitude.

 

 

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

All's well .......🙂 Soon you will have your new passport. Now for somewhere to go with it ......

[OzKiwiJJ]

Obilix, check the paper size in your printer settings is A4, not Letter (the default US setting). That may have been the problem.

[bazzaw]

I don't understand what you are complaining about?/ You do realise that you are dealing with the Commonwealth Public Service ??? 🙂

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

6 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

I don't understand what you are complaining about?/ You do realise that you are dealing with the Commonwealth Public Service ??? 🙂

Actually Aus Post staff are not APS ....... they are a whole different level of unaccountable lethargy

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

I don't understand what you are complaining about?/ You do realise that you are dealing with the Commonwealth Public Service ??? 🙂

years ago yes, not anymore.

[NSWP]

Yes passport nazis at the post office. Far queue  love it.😂

[Aussieflyer]

Sounds like then problem was more Aust Post than the actual passport office. 

[getting older slowly]

11 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

Sounds like then problem was more Aust Post than the actual passport office. 

 I would go as far as saying   it is some of the staff at Aust Post,

who believe they are the chosen one....

 

Most of them are very good.... but there is always a few in any group.......