Australian High Commission — Local services in London

There are only 3 possible explanations to explain why one can never get through on the phone to set up the passport interview demanded by the Australian passport authorities - incompetence, laziness or wilful obstruction. For a country as wealthy as Australia with high taxes, an opulent building in central London and an extremely heavily staffed bureaucracy, which clearly demonstrates otherwise, it is not plausible to cite 'a lack of resources' to account for this and so the only remaining explanations reflect very poorly on Australia's sense of duty to its passport holders. The message clearly being sent out is 'Go away'. The clear lack of taking responsibility for that situation or even publicly explaining why the service is so deficient betrays a disregard and disrespect for applicants which would seem reflective of a country that holds its citizens, such as this one, in contempt. Despite all this, the Australian passport is one of the most expensive and red-tape-heavy to apply for, which suggests, far from excellence, a deliberate effort to fleece applicants or an inability to regard best value for heavily taxpayer-subsidised government services. There is clearly something very, very wrong and the odour of bureaucratic arrogance and neglect hangs heavily over this service. It is not hard to see why Australia is not regarded as a serious country. EDIT - 1 YEAR LATER - Just remembered - when I asked at passport meeting exactly why the passport cost so much compared to equivalent documents from other countries, answer from young woman was, flatly, "The fee is so high because it's basically a tax". In effect, Australia disincentivises its citizens from leaving by demanding a premium for travel documents. Ask yourself what kind of mentality thinks that way. Or, as I say, perhaps it just prefers to rip them off any opportunity it can to support public sector bloat for its sneery...

As an Australian, I thought I’d call into Australia House, just for a look at how Australia presents itself overseas. The exterior was worth a photo as a memory of having called in. I wondered if I might have a look at the foyer to see how it looked. I walked in and thought it looked OK although maybe a bit austere. I could see through glass doors into a nice looking area and I thought that was probably a better picture to take. I looked at the fellow sitting behind a glass screen and asked if it was OK to take a picture. He was gruff in his reply referring my to a sign that said no photographs. I asked him why it said that. He replied that it was because the sign said so. I smiled and said that I was disappointed that an Australian couldn’t take a picture of Australia House. He said that he was an Australian and that I wasn’t permitted to take a photo. Considering I was proposing to take a photo through large glass doors, at what was clearly visible, it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. It’s hard to imagine that this fellow was really an Australian. However, he was there, representing Australia. If anyone else visits Australia House, be assured, Australians are generally good humoured and welcoming, and we are not usually very tolerant of slavish observance of rules that are completely nonsensical. I’m...

Happy and helpful staff, impressive location. I needed to renew my passport, and staff were efficient and happy in all interactions. For passport appointments you have to you use the side entrance which is not as glamorous or exciting as the main entrance (side entrance is to the right when facing the front entrance) and be prepared for the high security. I arrived slightly early for my appointment and was pleasantly surprised to be finished and out of the building before my actual appointment time. Booking the appointment over the phone was very straightforward and the staff were also able to recommend a local photo printers to help me out with ID photos that would meet the Australian requirements. I did have a slight problem where I was unable to access my online application a while after having completed it (which was kind of essential for my appointment), I may have missed something but apparently there are 2 separate systems which made it a little confusing. Re-did it from scratch but it didn't take as long...