I’ve heard that it’s around 420 AUD for an 10 year adult passport, like why? (Apparently, it’s the third most expensive globally) To put it into perspective: most European nations will price it for either less or within 50-100 EUR making it affordable to travel. It used to be cheaper but for some reason there is a price hike to the point it’s a rip off.
It boils down to production cost (made in aus), embedded security/anti-fraud features and that it gets you visa free access to ~180 countries. It’s pricey if left last minute but $42 per year is manageable imo. It increases in cost in line with consumer price index. It’s also “user funded” so travellers who can afford to travel are largely paying the cost, not the tax payer.