A non-English birth certificate required for an Australian passport application needs a complete English translation stamped by an accredited translator.
In Australia, use a NAATI-certified translator. For an overseas application, use a translation service approved by the Australian mission handling your application.
View birth certificate translation options
When does a passport application need a birth certificate?
Children applying for an Australian passport in Australia need a full original birth certificate. An overseas-born child whose certificate cannot be obtained has a B6 declaration and supporting-evidence pathway. Adults born overseas can establish gender and place of birth with a citizenship certificate showing both; an accepted document must supply any missing detail.
A birth certificate is therefore not required for every adult application. Bring the required originals and their translations to the passport interview; a translation PDF does not replace an original birth certificate.
Sources: Australian Passport Office — identity documents you need and child passport applications.
| Application situation | What to check before ordering a translation |
|---|---|
| Adult born overseas: citizenship certificate shows gender and place of birth | The citizenship certificate can provide both details. A birth certificate is not automatically needed to prove them. |
| Adult born overseas: either detail is missing | The Passport Office lists a foreign birth certificate with an English translation, a foreign passport or another official document showing the missing information as evidence options. |
| Child passport application in Australia | Prepare a full original birth certificate showing the child’s full name at birth and the parents’ names, plus the required citizenship evidence. Translate the certificate if it is not in English. |
Who can translate the certificate in Australia or overseas?
For an Australian passport application lodged in Australia, use a NAATI-certified translator for the non-English birth certificate. The Passport Office requires a complete English translation bearing an accredited translator’s stamp. For an application lodged overseas, arrange the translation through a service approved by the Australian diplomatic or consular mission handling the application.
A translation already checked by the Australian Passport Office can be used again for a future passport application.
Before ordering, check the translator’s NAATI Certified Practitioner Number and language direction.
Source: Australian Passport Office — interpreting and translation.
What original documents and translation details should you prepare?
A birth certificate translation for an Australian passport must cover the whole document. Send every relevant page with readable names, dates, places, parents’ details, issuing information, stamps, seals and notes. Keep the original certificate ready for the passport interview, even when the translator works from a clear scan or photograph.
For a child’s passport application, both parents’ documents do not need translation simply because they are the parents. Translate each non-English document the application actually requires, including a marriage or name-change document when it is needed to connect names or establish the required family details.
Sources: Australian Passport Office — full-translation requirements and child passport documents.
What if the birth certificate and passport evidence show different names?
A birth certificate translation must faithfully represent the name on the source document. A translator should not silently replace that name with a later name or preferred passport spelling. Give the translator the relevant spelling information and prepare the marriage, change-of-name or other linking evidence required for the passport application.
Translation and name-linking evidence have different roles: the translation explains what the birth certificate says; the linking documents explain why the applicant’s records use different names.
Source for passport identity and name evidence: Australian Passport Office — identity documents you need.
Does the same rule apply to an Australian visa?
An Australian passport application follows Australian Passport Office requirements. An Australian visa application follows Home Affairs requirements, including its own rules about translator details and document submission. For a visa, use our separate birth certificate translation guide for Australian visa applications.
Arrange your birth certificate translation
ABC Translation Australia provides NAATI-certified English translations of non-English birth certificates. Send every relevant page and tell us the issuing country, source language, passport spelling, intended use and deadline. We confirm the price and delivery before work starts.
Our birth certificate translation service starts from AUD $39, with PDF delivery within 12 hours of payment.
For a Taiwan birth certificate written in Chinese, see our Taiwan birth certificate NAATI translation service for its document-specific price and ordering options.