Australian passport holders who were born overseas or whose parents were born overseas were asked to prove their citizen identity again when they renewed their new passports.
Radio (ABC) has spoken to people who have had to apply for citizen identification, although they have held multiple Australian passports in the past and are easy to update.
The extra time required to apply for citizen identification means that some people have to cancel their holiday because they don't have time to renew their passports.
"the long-standing law requires DFAT to verify a person's citizen identity before issuing a passport, including issuing a new passport every time a passport or passport expires," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DAFT) said.
Australia and Guangzhou are trying to clarify when the policy was implemented or whether enforcement has recently been stepped up.
Victoria resident Alice (Alice Mayor) was born in Mumbai in 1969. Her parents were citizen, Australia, while working in India.
Her parents registered her birth with the Australian Embassy in India and added her name to her mother's passport.
Alice returned to Australia when she was five months old and lived here for 48 years.
During that time, she held three Australian passports and never had problems traveling abroad, but this year, when she tried to update her nearly expired passport, she was told to provide citizen identification.
Her old father, Chris, who is about to turn 90, told Australia and Guangzhou that they were told they had used to have an Australian passport and were not enough to prove it.
The delay meant the family had to cancel the expensive and long-awaited trip to Europe.
"they managed to spare time from their busy lives, my two daughters, who invited me to Europe. I was very moved, "he said," but we had to cancel everything because when Alice tried to change her passport, they said you had to prove your citizenship. Both of her parents are Australian citizens, but they say it will take two to four months to get rid of it. "
Alice's story is not uncommon, with many people in Sydney and Melbourne sharing their frustration when they are forced to prove citizenship again, although it was easy to renew their passports in the past.
Geelong resident Rose (Rose) was scheduled to leave the country in August, but may not be able to do so. She emigrated to Australia with her parents when she was 10 months old, and her name was also listed on her parents' naturalization documents, which allowed her to obtain her original Australian passport.
But this time she was told that the documents were "no longer working." She had to show her Australian citizen identification, and Rose, who only applied four months ago, is still waiting.
Another listener said she had adopted two children from abroad and that her adopted son was now serving in the Army. "he applied for a civilian passport to travel abroad, but was refused because he had no citizen identification, and I waited until March to get their proof. But my children can vote, have medical insurance cards, also have old passports. They are all taxpayers. My son may be sent to defend our country, but they won't even give him a passport. "