Australians will pay almost as much in passport fees as the government collects from taxing oil and gas exports by the end of the decade, a Senate hearing has been told. Senator David Pocock, who has long pressured the government over imbalances in the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT), questioned officials on Thursday about revenue from passport fees.
Passport fees vs gas tax revenue
Australia has some of the most expensive passport fees globally, with an adult renewal costing $422 for a 10-year passport and $213 for seniors or children for a five-year passport as of 2026. The hearing revealed the government expects over $1 billion in revenue from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, mainly from passport fees, in the next financial year, rising to $1.2 billion by 2029-30.
Senator Pocock blasted the government, stating: “It just seems like an extraordinary amount of money. If you look at 2029-30, passports and Australians paying for passports will bring in just a few hundred million dollars less than the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax, which is how we are meant to get a return from offshore LNG. As one of the biggest gas exporters in the world, those two things just don’t square ... that’s an absurd comparison.”
Government defends stance
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong defended the government’s position, saying: “We believe we found a better way to deal with national interest issues associated with gas.” She noted that Labor had improved the passport system, describing it as “a high-quality, sophisticated document” that provides visa-free access to over 120 countries. Wong added that no changes to passport costs were being considered beyond indexation.
Senator Pocock countered that Australians pay double for passports compared to similar countries. He cited costs: Canada $170, UK $195, New Zealand $225, and US $250. Senator Wong responded, “I’m not responsible for their passports.”
Long-running gas tax campaign
Pocock has long campaigned for a rethink of Australia’s gas tax. In an earlier hearing, he noted Australia made about $1.5 billion from PRRT according to the 2025-26 mid-year outlook, while beer taxes were expected to bring in $2.7 billion. “How do we live in a country that exports—one of the biggest gas exporters in the world—and we’re getting more tax from beer than PRRT?” he said.
The government has defended the PRRT and trade arrangements as part of a broader system, especially given the need to be a reliable energy partner amid the Middle East war, along with corporate tax revenues.
