Can a hotel make and keep a copy of my passport or driver’s licence?

Yes, but only temporarily. It is reasonable that hotels check the person on the reservation is the same person who is staying there.

There is also no explicit rule in the Privacy Act against making and retaining copies of passports or driver’s licences but there is usually no reason for a hotel to keep copies once they have been able to confirm a person’s identity (information principle 9).

Updated November 2025