Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05CANBERRA1253
2005-07-24 21:33:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Canberra
Cable title:  

AUSTRALIA'S LOST AND STOLEN PASSPORTS REPORTING

Tags:  CVIS CMGT KPAO AS EUN 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 001253 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR CA:JARTZ, CA/PPT:MHOLLY, AND CA/VO/F/P:DLOPESDAROSA
DHS FOR MICHAEL NIEFACHL, DANIEL E. SULLIVAN, AND MICHAEL
HARDIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CMGT KPAO AS EUN
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA'S LOST AND STOLEN PASSPORTS REPORTING
PROCEDURES AND LEGISLATION UPDATE

REF: STATE 125862

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 001253

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR CA:JARTZ, CA/PPT:MHOLLY, AND CA/VO/F/P:DLOPESDAROSA
DHS FOR MICHAEL NIEFACHL, DANIEL E. SULLIVAN, AND MICHAEL
HARDIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CMGT KPAO AS EUN
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA'S LOST AND STOLEN PASSPORTS REPORTING
PROCEDURES AND LEGISLATION UPDATE

REF: STATE 125862


1. (U) Action request for CA at para 3.


2. (U) At present post does not receive information on lost
and stolen passports (LASP) directly from the Australian
Government. Occasionally, post receives reports from other
embassies advising us of LASP and we usually forward this
information on to the U.S. Embassy in that country for action
in order to avoid duplication of entries. Conoff spoke to
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous
Affairs (DIMIA) International Border Initiatives Section
Officer Nikki Keirven on July 14 regarding Australia's
current procedures for reporting LASP information. Keirven,
who also works on the Regional Movement Alert List (RMAL),
informed conoff that, since a LASP MOU was signed with the
U.S. in March of this year, the GOA had given two CDs of
Australian LASP information to the U.S. One CD was passed to
Deputy Assistant Secretary Frank Moss in April when he was in
Australia for a conference; the other was passed to a DHS
delegation in Australia for RMAL meetings in late June,
according to Keirven. She also noted that Ian Russell in the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Passport Fraud
Section was responsible for compiling the LASP CDs for
distribution internally and externally.


3. (U) ACTION REQUEST: Keirven was interested to learn how
the U.S. had been using the Australian LASP CDs. She also
confirmed that, to date, no fixed process had been
established to transmit the LASP information. Keirven stated
that the GOA was open to suggestions and that DIMIA officials
could either pass the information through the Australian
Embassy in Washington or pass the CDs through post to forward
to the Department. CA, please advise.


4. (U) Australian Visa Waiver Program (VWP) DFAT POC John
Osborne has been out of the office and will not return until
the week of July 25. Conoff will discuss in-depth ref A
certification procedures with Osborne and report septel.

NEW AUSTRALIAN PASSPORT LEGISLATION
--------------

5. (U) According to a media release from Foreign Minister
Downer on June 24, the new "Australian Passport Act 2005"
came into force on July 1 in a move toward combating the
growing problem of lost and stolen passports. The Act boosts
penalties for passport fraud, introduces immediate and
permanent cancellation of missing passports, and imposes an
additional fee for replacing lost and stolen passports.


6. (U) The Act increases maximum jail terms for passport
fraud from two to ten years and increases the maximum fines
from A$5,000 to A$110,000. These penalties will apply across
all indictable offenses such as false statements in
applications and illegal use of passports. The new Act
explicitly allows for passport refusal or cancellation in
cases where Australian law enforcement agencies advise DFAT
that an Australian is likely to engage in, is charged with,
or has been sentenced for specified crimes including
terrorism, child sex tourism, child abduction, or people
smuggling. Procedures for resolving disputes between parents
about their children's international travel are also
clarified. The new Act allows for such disputes to be dealt
with by the courts and not by passport officers.


7. (U) The Act requires Australian citizens to report a lost
or stolen passport as soon as possible. The passport will be
immediately and permanently cancelled and international
border control authorities notified. To encourage
Australians to protect their passports, an additional fee
will be charged for replacing lost and stolen passports -
A$50 for the first passport lost or stolen, A$153 for the
second, and A$306 for the third or additional ones. The
validity of replacement passports will also be reduced once
three or more passports have been lost or stolen within five
years. The media release stated, "Of more than one million
passports issued each year (to Australians),over 30,000 are
reported lost or stolen by the bearers." Other provisions of
the Act accommodate passport technologies such as facial
biometrics and new forms for passport services.

STANTON