Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

I am contacting you in relation to your passport photo acceptance rates for those aged over 70 and if you could provide me with some information. We have received a number notices regarding photos not being accepted for passport renewal, as there was not a strong contrast between the subject and the background. This can be a number of days after being initially accepted. Individuals in contact with us are noting that, due to having grey hair and pale complexion, they cannot provide a strong contrast between themselves and a light-coloured background and therefore photos are not being accepted. A call to the passport office confirmed that this does happen; therefore, in order to get an idea of the scale of the issue can you provide me with the number of photos submitted by people 70+ that are rejected and the grounds for same?