The official size
The Australian Passport Office asks for photos that are 35 to 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high, with the face measuring 32 to 36 mm from the chin to the crown. The tool makes 35 × 45 mm photos with the head inside that range: put the top of your head on the blue line and your chin in the green band.
The rest of the rules
- Taken in the last six months, in sharp focus and with even lighting.
- A plain white or light grey background, with no shadows behind you.
- Your face centred and looking straight at the camera, with a neutral expression and your mouth closed.
- Nothing covering your face, and no reflections or glare.
Printing: no inkjet prints
This is the rule that catches most people out. The Passport Office asks for good quality colour prints made by dye sublimation, not from an inkjet printer, on heavy glossy paper of at least 200 gsm. So you cannot print Australian passport photos at home on an ordinary printer.
What you can do is crop the photo here and print the 4 × 6 file on a photo printer or kiosk that uses dye sublimation; ask the shop before you print. If you are not sure, a photo shop that offers passport photos will print them to the right standard.
Full details: Australian Passport Office, passport photos.
Take a photo that gets accepted
Face a window in daylight, stand about 2 feet in front of a plain light wall and have someone take the photo from about 4 feet away, at eye level. The full checklist is in how to take a passport photo at home.