Summary
A damaged COI/CTD should be treated in accordance with the policy on damaged travel documents. A lost/stolen fee may be required to be paid where the COI/CTD is unidentifiable.
The Australian Passports Determination 2015, Subsection 6(4) and 7(2) respectively allow a replacement CTD or COI to be issued overseas only if the person to whom the original travel document was issued has a valid Australian visa with re-entry rights. This information is available in the MR database.
Overseas
When the holder of a COI/CTD reports their travel document as damaged and is overseas, the application is to be referred to CREC for consideration and approval by Director CREC in consultation with Passport Operations and Training Section (POS) if required. The Australian Passports Determination 2015, Subsection 6(4) and 7(2) respectively allow a replacement CTD or COI to be issued only if the person has a valid Australian visa with re-entry rights. This information is available in the MR database.
The application, photos, all attachments and payment receipt should be scanned and emailed to the CREC - overseas.support@dfat.gov.au. When a replacement is approved the post is to arrange for a completed PC5 to be couriered to the Manager, Canberra Passport Office who will arrange for a replacement document to be issued and couriered back to post.
The holder is required to pay the lost/stolen fee in addition to the normal application fee when seeking a replacement if the document is seriously damaged and unidentifiable. A replacement document can only be issued if the damaged COI/CTD has not expired.
It is an offence under Division two of the Australia Passports Act 2005 to make false or misleading statements or to provide documents that provide false or misleading information in relation to the application for a travel document. Where it is considered that a COI/CTD has been damaged prior to expiry for the purpose of obtaining a replacement COI/CTD while overseas, the application must be referred to POS and Passport Fraud Section (PFS) for consideration.
The validity of the replacement COI/CTD should be limited to the lesser of:
- the validity of the re-entry visa plus 6 months (to allow travel back to Australia); or
- the remaining validity of the COI/CTD.
In Australia
Where the holder of a damaged COI/CTD is in Australia, the application should proceed as normal. The client must still be eligible for the issue of a COI or CTD, pay the lost/stolen fee if there is serious damage and the document is unidentifiable in addition to the application fee and provide a B11 explaining the reason for loss. The application is deemed to be a new application and the normal validity period will apply.
The application is to be referred to Document and Examination Unit, Passport Identity Section where there is suspicion regarding the damage. Facial recognition comparison should also be conducted through eligibility processing and any issues referred to the Identity Resolution Unit.