Western Australia state office

Passports

Applications for Australian passports may be lodged at most Australian Post Offices. If you intend to lodge a passport application directly with an Australian Passport Office, you must call 131 232 first to make an appointment. The appointment system is designed to improve the delivery of passport client services to the general public.

The Passports office is located at Level 17 Exchange Plaza, Perth. Office hours are 8.30 am - 4.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Adult applicants must apply in person, whilst childrens’ applications (under 18 years old) must be lodged by a parent. Children's applications must include the consent of any person who has a caring responsibility for the child.

Any change of name that occurs must be registered with the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages and the original registration document, together with a photocopy, must be provided when you are interviewed.

The standard service commitment for passports processing is 10 working days. A priority processing service of 2 working days is also available. An additional fee is payable for the priority processing service.

For further information about Australian Passports please ring the Australian Passports Information Service on 131 232, 8am-8pm Monday-Friday and 8.30am-5pm Saturday and Sunday. (NB: times for APIS are Eastern Standard Time and they are not Passports Office business hours), or visit the passports website. Email enquiries to passports.australia@dfat.gov.au

Outreach activities

The Western Australian State Office aims to promote understanding of Australia’s foreign and trade policy throughout the community. Please contact us on (08) 9231 4471 if you would like someone from the Department to speak to your school, business or community group on:

• foreign policy issues
• the Government’s trade negotiations and objectives
• the benefits that trade brings to Australia
• the Department’s consular role

For more information about Australia’s trade policies visit our trade information page and Austrade.

Consultations

Working towards lower barriers for Australian exporters is an important objective for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Department’s ability to advance the interests of Australian exporters depends in large part on the information provided to it by the business community.

The Western Australian State Office runs seminars and consultations in Perth and regional areas on trade issues, including developments in negotiations in the World Trade Organisation and in negotiations towards bilateral free trade agreements. If you would like to be notified of future events, or would like to participate in government-business consultations on specific trade negotiations, please register your interest at (08) 9231 4471.

Certification of signatures

Overseas governments sometimes need proof that a signature, stamp or seal on a document is genuine before they will accept them. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will certify to the authenticity of signatures, stamps and seals by checking them against specimens held on file and stamping the document with an authentication or apostille.

Assisting Australians overseas

Foreign Affairs and Trade helps and protects Australians overseas. The Department will assist in cases of accident or illness, but cannot override the laws of host countries. Within Australia, call the Consular Operations Centre toll-free on 1300 555 135 (24 hours). When overseas, Australian citizens may call the nearest Embassy, High Commission or consulate. If you are planning to reside overseas for extended periods, or are intending to travel to locations where there are security risks, we encourage use of this Online Registration for Australians Overseas.

Travel overseas

A wide range of brochures providing information to Australians travelling overseas is available from the Department's Western Australian Office.

Travel advisories for particular countries are also available.

The Western Australian State Office can also assist Members of Parliament intending to travel to access services provided by Australian diplomatic missions. Please contact us on (08) 9231 4472 for further information.

Employment

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recruits both graduates and non-graduates for a range of positions. The Department offers a varied and challenging career advancing Australia's international political, economic, consular and security interests.

The Western Australian State Office does not recruit employees directly, and there are no opportunities for work experience within the Office.

Authentications and Apostilles

Overseas governments sometimes need proof that Australian documents, or the signatures of Australian officials on documents, are genuine before they will accept them. We are able to certify that a signature, stamp or seal on a document is genuine by checking it against a specimen held on file, and then stamping the document with an Authentication or Apostille.

This is a legal process. We will only issue stamps once we are satisfied the signature, stamp or seal on a document is not fraudulent. Instances of attempted fraud in the past mean that we need to be cautious about issuing an Authentication or Apostille.

Which stamp do I need, an Authentication or an Apostille?

That depends on the country you are dealing with.

• As a general rule, countries that are party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents require an Apostille on documents which qualify as Australian public documents. A full list of countries that are party to this convention can be found at the Hague Conference on Private International Law website.
• Documents going to countries that are not party to the Hague Convention generally require an Authentication. These countries include China, Vietnam and most of the Middle East.

Please check with the government of the country concerned to find out which stamp you need, and which documents (if any) you need to have stamped. This advice can only be provided by the overseas government you are dealing with, or with those countries that have embassies and/or consulates in Australia.

How do I get an Authentication or Apostille?

You need to give us a document with an original signature, seal or stamp on it. That means either the original document or a notarised copy. We can stamp any official Australian Government document with an original signature, stamp or seal on it.

If the document is not an official Australian Government document (such as legal documents or medical certificates) the document (or a copy of it) must be notarised by an Australian Notary Public (Notaries are senior legal practitioners who authenticate, prepare, attest, witness and certify original and copy legal documents for use overseas.) before you bring it to us.

• Find your nearest Notary Public - Additional Notaries in WA

In Western Australia, documents to be authenticated can be certified by Australian Public Notaries, Western Australian Justices of the Peace and Federal, State or Local Government officials if the document is issued by their agency.

• Translated documents must either be notarised by an Australian Notary Public, or have been translated and signed/stamped by the accredited translating service - the National Authority for Accredited Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). If you are dealing with a private translation company, please ensure the translator signs the document and that they include their NAATI details.
• All business documents must be notarised or certified by the relevant chamber of commerce/industry or notarised by an Australian Notary Public.
• Marriage Certificates must be issued by the Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages.
• All tertiary education documents must be signed by an Australian Notary Public or signed and stamped by the central Student Administration area of the issuing institution. Please note that some universities will not sign and stamp their documents, in which case the document must be notarised by an Australian Notary Public.

Binding

If you need your document bound with a ribbon and seal, the document must be signed on every page by the person whose signature we are authenticating (ie. a bound document must carry the same signature of the same Australian Notary Public or Government Official on every page). Binding costs $20.00 extra.

You may wish to have your document bound by an Australian Notary Public instead before you bring it to us for the Apostille or Authentication. Please check with the receiving country if they will accept a Notary Public's binding.

How much does it cost?

• Apostille: AUD $60 per single-sided one page document
• Authentication: AUD $20 per single-sided one page document
• Binding: AUD $20 per document in addition to the above charge (for double sided one page documents and documents of two or more pages)

Where to obtain an authentication or apostille

Documents can be lodged and collected at Level 17, Exchange Plaza, Sherwood Court, Perth. Our counter hours are 9am – 4pm Monday to Friday. No appointment is required.

In most cases, documents can be processed in 24 hours (available the next working day). There may be a delay if we do not have a specimen signature on file of the person who has signed your document (this means we will need to verify their signature).

Documents can also be sent via post. Please include your contact details, return postal address and an indication of which country the documents are intended for. You will also need to include a bank cheque or money order made payable to the "Collector of Public Monies" or your credit card details (we take Visa, MasterCard and American Express).

Credit Card charge form [PDF 69 KB] | [DOC 102 KB]

Our address is:
Notarials
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
GPO Box D196
PERTH WA 6001

The cost of returning your document by ordinary post is included in the fee. Please include a self-addressed Registered or Express Post envelope if you wish your document to be returned to you via either of these methods.

If you are overseas and wish to have your document returned by Express Courier International (ECI) (Australia Post) please include additional payment of:

• AU$41.60 - USA/Canada/Middle East
• AU$44.30 - Europe/rest of the world

Please note all payment must be in Australian dollars

For further information please call us on (08) 9231 4499 or e-mail notarials.wa@dfat.gov.au

Visitors program

Ambassadors and High Commissioners from our posts overseas regularly visit Western Australia to meet with senior business and government officials. During mid-term consultations, they conduct seminars on issues topical to the bilateral relationships they manage.

The Department also operates a special visits program (SVP), which brings influential foreign officials, academics and business people to Australia. It is targeted at individuals who can contribute to a greater understanding of Australia's policies and institutions, and who are likely to be in positions which deal with issues of direct relevance to Australia's foreign and trade policy interests.

If you would like any information on the listed events or to register for a seminar, please contact us by email: dfat.wa@dfat.gov.au

Please check back regularly for updates/additions. We suggest you bookmark this page now for easy future reference.

Register your interest

Please complete the form below to receive an e-mail notification of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade events in Western Australia.

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Western Australia State Director, Mr Michael Wood

Mr Wood is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He took up the position of Director of the Western Australia State Office of DFAT on 7 February 2012.

Mr Wood has worked at Australian diplomatic missions in Mexico City, New Delhi, Hong Kong and Singapore where he was Deputy Head of Mission. In Canberra he has worked in many areas of the foreign affairs and trade portfolio, including trade (bilateral, APEC, WTO and Free Trade Agreements), economic issues (as Director, International Economic Section) and bilateral country relations (most recently as Director, Japan Section).

While accompanying his wife on her posting to New Delhi in 2009-12 Mr Wood started up and ran a local branch of an Australian theatre company which presents festivals of ten minute plays.

Mr Wood grew up and was educated in WA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours in Philosophy (UWA) and a Graduate Diploma in Finance and Investment (Australian Securities Institute).

He is married and has two sons.