Australian Passport Application checklists
Perform has been working with the Australian Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as part of the new passport application project, which went live in August 2017.
Working closely with project business analysts, digital capture developers, and DFAT’s scanning and other technical requirements, we have designed a number of fillable PDF application checklists that are automatically populated with data following online creation of a passport application.
The new process to apply for, or renew, a passport will be via an online application. Once the application data has been created electronically, information is populated into the fillable PDF application checklists Perform has developed. A QR two-dimensional barcode is applied and a PDF checklist is provided electronically to the applicant for printing and use at lodgement. The application checklist contains data, along with a list of the documents the applicant needs to gather and lodge at an Australia Post Office in order to finalise their passport application. The list of documents varies for each applicant depending on the answers they provide in their online application, and the QR barcode contains information about the pre-populated data on the application checklist. The QR barcode is used to trigger a lodgement transaction, providing significant process efficiencies.
Once the applicant has presented their application checklist, documents and photos, the completed application checklist is packaged and returned to the Australian Passport Office for processing. The application checklist and supporting documents are scanned, the data from the application checklists is extracted, and the online application information is consolidated, allowing further processing.
As well as providing design options, advice and recommendations regarding the design of the application checklists, we have been able to value add to this project by assisting to design the form to eliminate known user problems and technical constraints, supporting increased process automation and by making the instructions that form part of the checklist user-friendly, consistent and easy to understand. We have worked on many projects where scanning has been a requirement, and our knowledge in that area has been beneficial during this project, as well as our extensive knowledge of Adobe Acrobat Professional fillable PDF files.
At this stage, we have developed 9 documents to be used as part of the passport application project. These include application checklists and pre-populated forms. The design of these new forms has assisted the Australian Passport Office to achieve automation of a number of business processes, including reducing lodgement errors, reducing scanning time and data verification errors and simplifying the lodgement process.
For information about passport applications, go to www.passports.gov.au
For more information about the development of the checklists, or to find out how we can help you with a similar project, contact Perform on 02 6162 0618.