Australia Post passport sign shocks customers: 'No INDIAN photos'
An Adelaide Australia Post outlet has been criticised for its "poorly written" sign that excludes one group of people from getting a passport photo taken.
The photo of the sign in City Cross shopping centre in Adelaide's Rundle Mall was captured by two shocked locals shared on social media.
"Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we unfortunately CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!" the sign at the store reads. "We apologise for the inconvenience".
In the post to Just Adelaide Things the person sharing the photo said the sign was "poorly worded". "Ermmm… who at City X Australia Post thought that this sign was a good idea?" they said on the Instagram page.
Many locals were gobsmacked by the sign and shared their thoughts in the comments.
"Yikes wow. Just buy a ring light from Kmart," one person said.
"That’s insane. They can’t do that," said another.
It was later established in the comments that the sign was referring to specific passport and visa requirements in India.
"From someone that worked at a place that did passport photos 15 years ago, Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to the cut/print (of) Aussie passport shots," one person claimed. "They also prefer off-white background colour too instead of pure white like Australia."
Despite India being supposedly "finicky about their photo regulations," majority of people still thought there was a better way to communicate this in the sign.
"It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee to set up to do it properly and regularly. But at the end of the day — this sign is stupid," the same person continued.
"There’s literally a hundred suggestions for cheap ways to fix this without making people feel bad about their skin colour," said another. "Lawsuit incoming," another person said.
Australia Post apologises and takes sign down
Yahoo News Australia reached out to Australia Post for clarification, who "apologises unreservedly to the community for any offence" and have now instructed for the sign to be taken down.
"As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned," the Australia Post spokeswoman said. "While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office."
"We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently."
Australia Post said the sign was a "lapse in judgement" which falls "well below Australian Post's standards" and the issue will be further investigated.
"It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities," the spokeswoman continued.
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