Home Affairs publishes no field regexes for this form, so this guide carries none. What it does carry is the government's own wording: the machine-readable-zone rule for the passport number, the dd/mm/yy date format, and the verbatim lodgement errors. ETA 601 holders should skip to the App steps below.
Home Affairs says to enter the passport number exactly as it appears in the machine readable zone — the two dense lines at the bottom left of the photo page. Copy the characters only, not the chevrons that pad the line.
You must be a citizen of, and hold a valid passport from, one of the 36 eligible countries. Home Affairs excludes a non-citizen passport, a certificate of identity, a Titre de Voyage, and British National (Overseas), British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person and British Subject passports.
Enter the family name exactly as it is spelt on the passport. Home Affairs warns that a phone or tablet can silently auto-correct it, and asks you to list every name you have been known by.
Enter every given name shown on the passport, including a middle name. Home Affairs lists an omitted middle name and a device auto-correction as the two things to check before you submit.
The official eVisitor form asks for the date of birth in dd/mm/yy format, and Home Affairs names it as one of four things to check before submitting. This local checker uses YYYY-MM-DD.
Use an inbox you control and check the spelling. Home Affairs emails a confirmation within 12 hours of lodgement — if nothing arrives, check the application status in ImmiAccount rather than lodging again.
You must be outside Australia when you apply and also when Home Affairs decides. Both moments count, so a decision that lands while you are in transit inside Australia is a problem.
You cannot include family members in an eVisitor application. Each person needs a separate application, including any family member listed inside your passport.
If you have a criminal conviction in any country, Home Affairs directs you to apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) instead. If you still apply for an eVisitor, declare all criminal conduct and give the offences and any fines or sentences. Home Affairs may ask for a police certificate.
"Our records indicate that you are in Australia"You lodged from inside Australia. eVisitor requires you to be offshore when you apply and when we decide.
"Applicant [name] cannot be identified"Passport details do not match the record. Re-enter them from the MRZ; if it repeats, send Home Affairs a copy of the passport.
"not eligible … using this online service"The passport you entered is not eVisitor-eligible, or a character is wrong. Check it against the 36-country list.
"You are in a location that means you cannot use this service"Wrong application for where you are. eVisitor is offshore-only; check you picked the right visa and location.
"a member of the family unit cannot be included"You tried to add a dependant. eVisitor is one application per person, with no exceptions.
"System is currently unavailable"Browser session problem, not your data. Clear cookies and history a few times, then retry.
The official site shows a confirmation on screen. Screenshot it — that's your backup.
ETA results are usually immediate. For eVisitor, Home Affairs emails confirmation within 12 hours — if nothing arrives, check the status in ImmiAccount rather than lodging again.
Home Affairs sends the decision in writing. If granted, keep the visa grant number, start date, and conditions. Both the ETA and the eVisitor are linked electronically to the application passport; no passport label is issued.
Screenshot is fine. PDF is fine. Even the email app open on your phone is fine.
Rare. Officer looks you up by passport number — your record is already in the system.
The fields above belong to eVisitor 651, the free online route for eligible European passports. ETA 601 is a different process with no official website form, so none of those field cards apply to it.
A browser checker cannot pre-test the parts that make an ETA application official: the App reads the ePassport chip through NFC, captures a live face photo, checks device state, presents current Home Affairs questions, and sends the application for a government decision. Regular expressions cannot confirm a chip read, match a live face to the passport, or predict a request for more information. Use the six steps below as a sequence checklist, then follow the current prompts inside AustralianETA.
Use the store links published by Home Affairs:
Before opening it, check two exact labels: the App is AustralianETA and the developer is Department of Home Affairs. The download is free. A website offering its own ETA form is not the official ETA 601 application channel.
Prepare a camera-equipped phone with NFC and location services enabled, a valid email address, and a payment method. If someone helps you on their phone, you must be physically present.
Use the passport you will carry to Australia. The App first scans the photo page to pre-fill the name, birth date, passport number, and other details. Check every character against the passport.
Next, place the phone against the electronic passport while the App reads the chip through NFC. Remove a thick phone or passport cover if the read fails, keep the phone still, and follow the on-screen placement cue. A web form cannot replace this chip read.
The App asks for a live image of the applicant. This is not a saved portrait uploaded from the photo library. Use even light, keep the full face visible, and follow the framing prompts.
Every applicant must be present for this step, including when a family member, friend, or travel representative operates the device. Home Affairs says it will not grant an ETA without the required live facial image.
Complete the personal, contact, and ETA questions shown in the App. They include prior names, other passports, contact details in Australia, criminal convictions, and other eligibility declarations.
Answer truthfully and review the name and date of birth before submission. Home Affairs cannot simply edit an issued ETA when the application details do not match the passport. If you have a criminal conviction, the official guidance directs you to consider a Visitor visa 600 with supporting information instead.
Each submitted ETA application carries an AUD $20 application service fee. ETA 601 itself has no Visa Application Charge, so the correct description is “AUD $20 App service charge,” not “AUD $20 visa fee.”
Each person submits a separate application. A family using one phone may submit and pay together, but the AUD $20 charge still applies to each application.
Home Affairs says most applicants receive a result immediately. Some cases take longer because an answer is incomplete, information is hard to verify, or further documents are required. Do not submit repeated ETA applications if the Department asks for more information; follow the instructions in its letter.
Keep the written decision and check the grant number, start date, conditions, and passport details. The ETA is electronically linked to that passport. No passport label is issued.
An eligible European passport holder should also compare the free eVisitor 651 route before paying the App charge.
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