What the specification means in practice
The Australian Passport Office accepts photos between 35 and 40 mm wide and between 45 and 50 mm high, with the face measuring 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown. Almost every other authority on this list gives a single exact size; Australia gives a window. 35 × 45 mm sits inside it, which is why a standard international passport photo works, but so does a slightly larger print.
What the Passport Office says about apps
The APO advises against using an online passport photo service or a mobile app, on the grounds that they may put you at risk of identity fraud. We would rather quote that than bury it. It is a statement about handing your identity documents and biometric-quality face image to a third party, and it is a reasonable concern.
It is also the reason this app processes everything on your device and requires no account: there is no third party to hand anything to. That does not override the Passport Office’s advice, and if you would rather use a professional passport photo provider, that is the route it recommends.
Framing and expression
The face must measure 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown. Within a 45 mm frame that is 71% to 80% of the image height, in line with the ICAO norm and noticeably larger than the UK or Canada.
Anyone over three years old must have a neutral expression, eyes open and mouth closed. Children under three are given latitude on the mouth. The photo must be less than six months old.
Background and print
A plain white or light background that contrasts with your face. As elsewhere, the operative word is contrast rather than colour — the point is that the outline of your head is unambiguous.
Printed photos must be on high-gloss, heavy-weight paper. A print on ordinary photo paper, or worse on plain paper, will be refused regardless of how well framed it is.
Glasses and head coverings
Australia is strict here: you must not wear glasses unless you cannot remove them for medical reasons, and the guidance states explicitly that vision impairment alone is not an acceptable reason. That is a narrower exception than Canada’s or China’s.
If you usually cover your head for religious reasons, you may wear the covering. It must be worn in a way that shows your entire face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, with both edges of the face visible.
Retouching is specifically prohibited
The APO names what it means: removing moles, wrinkles or scars. Filters, retouching, shadows, reflections and standing too close to the camera all change key facial features and prevent biometric systems from matching your face correctly. Any beauty mode on a phone camera counts as retouching and should be switched off before you shoot, not corrected afterwards.