Frustrated Australian travelers have taken to social media over the persistently wavy covers of their expensive new passports.
Australia’s new R-series passport is now the second most expensive in the world, with its cost soaring to $398 after a 15 per cent price increase in July, second only to the small European country of Liechtenstein.
But despite the high price, some of those who have obtained the new model have expressed concern about its manufacturing quality.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) trumpeted the launch of the new passport last year along with the fact that it is made in Australia.
“Did you know Australia has an innovative new passport known as Series R?” the department said.
‘The next generation passport is packed with advanced security features designed to keep Australians’ identities safe.
“Your passport is designed, printed and assembled in Australia to rigorous security standards.”
Security features aside, Reddit users agreed that the curled covers made the passport look cheap.
Australian travelers have taken to social media to rant about a problem with their new R-series passports, their incessantly curved cover.
The Australian passport is now the most expensive in the world (file image)
A Reddit post titled “Australian Passport Owned?” provoked heated responses from Australians.
The original poster asked: “Something is really wrong with my passport, is someone else’s passport behaving like this?”
This was followed by a laughing or crying emoji.
The photo with the post showed the passport placed vertically, with the front and back covers extremely curved.
‘Mine was like this when I bought it. You have to crush the bunyips under some heavy books.
“Eventually everything calms down,” wrote one Reddit user.
Another had a pretty blunt response: “Mine does the same thing, the most expensive passport in the world, like the ***show.”
One user claimed to have inside knowledge and offered a suggestion.
“I did a job at the passport maker, they knew (sic) this was going to happen and (sic) they couldn’t do much to fix it because of the way the pages are joined together.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs last year announced the launch of the new R series passport. ‘Your passport is designed, printed and assembled in Australia to rigorous security standards’
“My recommendation to anyone getting one of the new passports (anything from 2023 until now) is that as soon as you get it, store it under some heavy books for about a week to avoid this.”
Another user offered some unusual but useful tips.
‘I keep mine in his condom. Also, I only used it for identification. Mine is behaving normally, sorry.’
Canadian passport holders are also experiencing similar problems with their new passports.
DFAT addressed the curling issue in its website.
‘You may notice a slight curl to the cover of your Series R passport. This occurs occasionally due to changes in humidity.’
‘It is not a manufacturing defect and does not affect the validity of your passport’
“Keeping your passport well secured will help prevent this from getting bent.”
“For example, you can use an envelope or passport holder to store and protect your passport between uses.”