OFFICIAL

Dear Lachlan,

Thank you for your email, received by the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade on 12 December 2021.

You made the following enquiry:

“Can you please provide an updated and specific timeline of when the new R
series passports are expected to be available and issued for new
applications? Given it has been recently approved for production this past
week.”

We have consulted with colleagues within the Australian Passport Office,
who have provided the information below in response to your query:

Although ministerial approval was granted for manufacturing of the R
Series passports,  due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the expected
release of the next generation of Australian passport series is still
delayed by 12 to 18 months. The R series passport is now planned for
release later in 2022 to mid-2023. The current P series passports are
still a highly secure, internationally renowned and trusted travel
document.

Please note that your email did not constitute a valid FOI request under
the requirements established at section 15 of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

The department has provided a response to your query, as above. In light
of this, the department will not take further action in relation to your
email to the FOI team.

Should you wish, you are able to make future FOI requests, by way of email
to [1][DFAT request email].

Kind regards,

DFAT FOI Team

Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section
Legal Division | Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
[2]DFAT.GOV.AU | [3]Twitter | [4]Facebook | [5]Flickr | [6]YouTube

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