Australian passports ‘taking six months’ to be renewed in huge backlog
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Furious Australians claim they are waiting SIX MONTHS to have their passports renewed as the system is flooded with applications
- Many Australians are still affected by long waits for passports
- Some Aussies who want to travel have been waiting for over three months
- Wait times are longer for adults and children getting their first passport
- Australian passport office experiences six weeks of work in the queue
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Waiting times for passports cause huge headaches for Aussies looking to travel abroad for the upcoming school holidays.
Delays have been unprecedented since the reopening of international borders, with some citizens waiting more than three months, and some even claiming six months, to get their first passport or have their passport renewed.
The Australian Passport Office has been working overtime trying to keep up with the ‘unprecedented demand’.
Australians looking to travel abroad have to wait more than three months for their passports due to ‘unprecedented demand’ (photo, passengers queuing at Sydney airport)
The APO receives more than 15,000 requests per day and experiences about six weeks of work in the processing queue, reports the guard.
More than 160,000 applications were submitted in September alone.
The delays are longer for adults and children applying for their first passport due to additional security checks and the supporting documents to be verified.
Australia Post has a $225 priority service to process a passport within two days with priority, but those unable to pay the priority fee have expressed concern that they will be pushed further in line if they don’t pay it.
Some attempted to contact the Australian Passport Office directly about the matter, and others took to social media to vent.
One user wrote: ’23 weeks and 2 days, still nothing. Called the passport office countless times, no problem with the passport, just in a huge line.’
Why does it take longer than 10 weeks to renew an Australian passport? Maybe we miss our trip because we don’t have time to get all visas. This is a bad show Australia!’ another commented.
‘Really bad experience at the APO. 3 months waiting for my daughter’s passport and it was a real cliffhanger!’ added a third.
“We’ve been calling the hotline for a month, but were told the passport is still pending.”
One complained that they got their passports after ’10 weeks of applying, and called the APO every day for the past two weeks. Two emails to my local MP. An earlier trip to the NSW APO last Wednesday’.
More than 160,000 passport applications have been submitted to the Australian Passport Office this month alone. The APO experiences about six weeks of work in the processing queue
Potential travelers have contacted the APO directly, while others have taken to social media to share their concerns about passport wait times (photo, passengers waiting in line at Sydney airport)
Over the past year, numerous complaints have been made to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about the matter.
The Ombudsman received 649 complaints about passport delays from July 2021 to June 2022.
They received 42 complaints in August alone.
With 2.4 million passports expiring over the course of the pandemic, processing times have doubled since October 2021.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised holidaymakers to wait six weeks for their new passports in a statement released last week.
Travelers with concerns are advised to call the Australian Passport Office for a status check (photo, police greet passengers at Perth airport)
“If you’re thinking about traveling abroad during the summer holidays, plan ahead,” DFAT said.
“Like many other countries, Australia is experiencing an unprecedented demand for passports.
‘If you need a new passport, you must apply now. Whenever possible, do not book flights without a valid passport.’
DFAT advised potential travelers who couldn’t wait “at least six weeks” to take advantage of the priority passport processing service, which costs an additional $225 on top of the $308 application fee.
Travelers with concerns are advised to call the Australian Passport Office for a status check.