Most important thing to check before you book your holiday for 2026

The Australian passport is a beautiful thing. According to the latest Henley Passport Index, Australian citizens now enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 countries, making our passport the sixth most powerful in the world. 

It does, however, need to be both looked at and looked after, for make one of the following common passport mistakes and it's likely to turn your next holiday upside down. 

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You haven't checked you have the correct passport 

If you're cohabitating with your partner or have a young family, chances are that your passports are all stored together.

If one of you is heading to the airport, be sure to double-check that you have indeed thrown the correct passport into your bag.

Sound a little crazy? This happened to someone close to me recently, only realising she had picked up her husband's passport when she gave it to the lady at the check-in counter.

Prevented from boarding her flight, she had to rebook (at expense) and fly out to her holiday destination a day later. 

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You've stored the passport in a damp space 

We all know to avoid leaving our passports around liquids and keeping them free of rips and stains. Equally important is keeping them in a space free of damp.

The last thing you want is for mould to hone in on the photo page and Machine-Readable one, rendering it unusable.

Got a damp problem in your home? Use plenty of DampRids and/or a dehumidifier in your home and be sure to check its pages regularly. 

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You're emailing scans of your passport left, right and centre 

If the recent passport leaks have taught us anything, it's the importance of limiting how many third parties we send our passport details to.

Recently, I was asked for a scan of my passport in order to book a tour and I refused, asking if it was really necessary.

It turns out it wasn't and they were able to make the booking anyway. In some cases, it will be essential, so take care to only send the details using an encrypted file transfer service. 

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You haven't paid attention to its expiry date 

While wait times for passport renewals have come down in recent months, it's a good idea to always keep an eye on your passport's expiry date. Some countries will not let you enter if your passport has less than six months expiry on it, and the last thing you want is to be rushing through the application process when your holiday is mere weeks or days away.

Remember, what you need to look for is that you need to have six months available from the date of your departure from your destination. 

You've got next to no blank pages left 

Yes, it's annoying that even though we have one of the world's most expensive passports, we have to renew it before we use every page, but it's important that you do so.

Again, many countries will not let you enter unless you have between two to four blank pages in your passport. 

You don't apply through the official channels 

Passport scams are rife – particularly when it comes to submitting applications. Make sure you use the Australian Passport Office's official website –  passports.gov.au – whenever you're renewing your passport or applying for a new one. 

You don't make photocopies

It's common for hotels to ask to either see, or hold onto your passport, but provided you have photocopies in your bag, you can refuse and give them one of your copies instead.

The last thing you want is for your passport to disappear. 

You leave it lying around in hotel rooms 

You're racing to get to the hotel pool (or the buffet breakfast) in the mornings, we get it, but leaving your passport on an open suitcase or the bedside table is just inviting trouble.

Always use the hotel safe and leave one of your shoes in there with it. Why? You would never just one shoe when you're departing, you'd search for its pair - a move which means you'll never forget your passport or any other valuables. 

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