Which of the two photographs gets signed?

One only. The guarantor writes the endorsement on the reverse of a single print and signs it; the second photograph is submitted unmarked. Both must be the same image.

Why is smiling forbidden?

Because the photograph is matched by SmartGate against your face at the airport for the life of the passport. A smile moves the mouth and cheek landmarks the comparison relies on, which makes automated clearance less reliable every time you travel.

Can I wear my glasses?

The Passport Office prefers you do not, and prohibits tinted lenses and heavy frames outright. If you wear them, the eyes must be fully visible with no reflection anywhere on the lenses — which is harder to achieve than it sounds under indoor lighting.

Is this the same specification as a New Zealand passport?

The dimensions and head range match, but the background guidance and the endorsement process differ, and New Zealand has its own page here. Use the page for the country issuing the document.

Australia Passport Photo — 35 × 45 mm

35 × 45 mm at 300 dpi (413 × 531 px), plain white or light grey.

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Drop your files here

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Options

Country and document

Sets the millimetre size, the head-height range and the background colour.

Background

Anything but 'keep' cuts you out with a model that runs on this device and puts you on a plain colour. 'Keep' skips the model entirely, so it is instant.

Cutout tightness0%

Only used when the background is being replaced. Raise it to trim a halo, lower it to rescue hair that was cut into.

Print sheet

A sheet tiles as many copies as the paper takes, with a cut line around each. Any print shop can run it.

Also save a framing guide

A second file with the crown and chin bands drawn on, so you can check the head is the right size. Never submit that one.

Show exact numbers

Frame measured in

The frame is written as a percentage so it means the same thing whatever the photograph's resolution.

Frame from the left

Frame from the top

Frame width

Frame height

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Ask about Australia Passport Photo — 35 × 45 mm

Questions about what this tool does, which option to pick, or what it can and cannot handle.

The question you type here is sent to an AI provider to be answered — your files and whatever you put in the tool above are not, and the assistant cannot see them. Answers are generated and can be wrong. The tool itself is not guessing: it runs deterministic code on your device.

About the Australia Passport Photo — 35 × 45 mm

An Australian passport application asks for two photographs, and only one of them is endorsed. On the back of that one a guarantor writes that it is a true likeness of the applicant, and signs it. The other stays blank. Getting this the wrong way round — endorsing both, or endorsing the wrong one — is a small administrative delay that is entirely avoidable.

Each measures 35 millimetres across and 45 down, with the face sized to the international standard: no less than 32 millimetres of head, no more than 36. The background is plain white or very light grey with no shadow, no pattern and no objects.

The Australian Passport Office is specific about expression in a way that reads oddly until you understand why: a neutral face, mouth closed, no smile. The document is checked by automated gates at Australian airports through SmartGate, and the comparison is made against the stored image. A smile shifts the landmarks the comparison uses, so a cheerful photograph produces a passport that works less reliably at the border for ten years.

Nothing older than six months is accepted, and a physical copy should come off photographic paper rather than an office printer. Digital lodgement through the app has its own capture flow and different rules again.

Hats are out. A religious or medical covering is allowed, and even then every feature must read clearly, chin through brow.

The Australian Passport Office publishes the current requirement — check it before lodging, because the endorsement wording has changed before.

How to use it

1Add a photograph taken within the last six months, facing the camera with a relaxed, closed-mouth expression.
2Keep Australia selected for the 35 × 45 size and the 32–36 mm head range it shares with the ICAO standard.
3Have the background replaced with white or light grey unless yours is already plain and shadow-free.
4Use the guide copy to check the head size before you commit — the range is only four millimetres wide.
5Print a pair, and have your guarantor endorse the back of one of them and leave the other clean.

Questions

Which of the two photographs gets signed?: One only. The guarantor writes the endorsement on the reverse of a single print and signs it; the second photograph is submitted unmarked. Both must be the same image.
Why is smiling forbidden?: Because the photograph is matched by SmartGate against your face at the airport for the life of the passport. A smile moves the mouth and cheek landmarks the comparison relies on, which makes automated clearance less reliable every time you travel.
Can I wear my glasses?: The Passport Office prefers you do not, and prohibits tinted lenses and heavy frames outright. If you wear them, the eyes must be fully visible with no reflection anywhere on the lenses — which is harder to achieve than it sounds under indoor lighting.
Is this the same specification as a New Zealand passport?: The dimensions and head range match, but the background guidance and the endorsement process differ, and New Zealand has its own page here. Use the page for the country issuing the document.