Australian travelers are encountering frustrating obstacles as their plans to head abroad are being delayed by unexpectedly lengthy passport processing times.
Individuals looking to renew or obtain an Australian passport are now facing wait times stretching up to three months.
For the millions who were unable to travel over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these delays mean some might have to reschedule or even cancel their long-awaited vacations.
Sharnyce Hudson and Ethan Hall from Western Australia were eagerly anticipating a getaway to Bali, but after nine weeks, they are still waiting for their passports.
Travellers hoping to get away may have to wait a while before their passport renewal or application is processed, as DFAT experience ‘unprecedented’ demand for the documents
For millions who were unable to book a trip in two years due to Covid, the passport delays have meant some will have to postpone or cancel their holidays altogether (pictured a very busy Sydney airport)
The couple made a desperate overnight drive, spanning five hours from Geraldton to Perth, in hopes of reaching the Australian passport office a day before their scheduled departure.
“We arrived at 3 a.m. just to make our case. It might not change anything, but we’d rather fight for it,” Mr. Hall shared with 7News.
One mother said she wants to go to the UK with her five-month-old baby, but has had to wait months for her child’s passport to be approved.
‘I’ve been waiting three months for his passport and we travel a week on Monday. I’ve tried to email, the phone line is completely dead,’ she said on Friday.
Another mother said she lined up at the passport office for two hours everyday hoping to get answers about her daughter’s application.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its workload has resulted in longer-than-usual call centre wait times, and huge queues at passport offices (pictured queue at Sydney airport)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its workload has resulted in longer-than-usual call centre wait times, and huge queues at passport offices.
On the flip side, overseas Aussies who were not allowed back into the country because of the border closures are also experiencing long waiting queues for passport renewals.
The unprecedented demand for the travel documents has caused the extended wait times.
DFAT said it had been going through mounds of applications, with more than 1.2 million passports issued since June last year – working out to be almost double the 2020-21 financial year.
DFAT apologised for the delays and said customers should start seeing less wait times ‘over the coming weeks’.
‘Whether applying in Australia or overseas, customers should allow up to six weeks to get a new passport or renew one,’ a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said.
‘We currently have around four weeks of work in the processing queue.
‘This is resulting in longer-than-usual call centre wait times, as well as an increased number of customers queuing at our passport offices.’
Most Australians were denied travel to other countries from the start of the pandemic in March 2020, with the strict travel ban lifted in February this year.
Aussies have been waiting more than two years to travel overseas (pictured Australian woman Nicole Shiraz in Bali)
