Australian passport photo requirements
The Australian Passport Office asks for photos between 35 and 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high. Your face, measured from the chin to the crown of the head, must be 32 to 36 mm high. The photo must be less than six months old, in colour, sharp and evenly lit.
The background should be plain and light-coloured, with no shadows. Anyone over three years old must face the camera straight on, with eyes open and a neutral expression and mouth closed. Your head must not be tilted, hair must not cover the edges of the face, and there must be no shadows or reflections. Retouching – smoothing skin, removing moles or scars – is not allowed.
Printing requirements
Australia is stricter about prints than most countries. Photos must be produced using photographic dye sublimation on good-quality, heavy-weight glossy paper; inkjet prints from a home printer are rejected. That makes a photo lab the right place: download the 4 × 6 inch print sheet, order it as a standard glossy print without cropping or scaling, and cut out two photos along the grey lines. Ask the lab whether its prints are made by dye sublimation or as photographic prints if you are not sure.
The sheet is laid out at true size with the print resolution stored in the file, so it comes out at exactly 35 × 45 mm per photo when printed at 100%.
Before you take the photo
Use daylight from a window in front of you rather than a ceiling light, stand away from the wall to avoid shadows, and remove glasses if they reflect light. Wear something that contrasts with the light background. Have someone else take the picture at eye level from about 1.5 metres away, then frame it here so the head fills the space between the guides.