EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
PASSPORTS ACT 1938
PASSPORTS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENTS)
Statutory Rules 1989 No. 39 issued by the authority of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Section 12 of the Passports Act 1938 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying cut or giving effect to the Act.
2. Developments in passport security in recent years have made it undesirable to continue the previous practice of renewing Australian passports - under Passports Regulations 7(2) and 7(3) - which were issued for periods less than the maximum periods of validity provided for in the Regulations.
3. There have been changes to Passport regulation 7, repealing subregulations (2) and (3) and consequential amendments which flow from the repeal of these subregulations have also been made.
4. “Fiji” has been removed from the list of countries in Schedule 1 as it is no longer a member of the Commonwealth.
5. The regulations enclosed herewith have been prepared to amend Statutory Rules 1939 No. 47 as previously amended by Statutory Rules 1988 No. 147.