Australian passport office delays threaten travel plans

With international borders now reopening and travel back on the agenda, delays in processing passports have created a nightmare for Australians looking to escape.

Australians are renewing their expired passports in droves, with ballooning processing times threatening long-awaited travel plans.

Although the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading recommends applicants to allow up to six weeks to get a passport, delays have seen that time extend by weeks and in some cases months.

Footage from 9News showed lengthy lines outside the Sydney arm of the Australian Passport Office, with some complaining of wait times of up to five hours on social media.

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Dozens of applicants braved lengthy lines at the Sydney Passport Office. Picture: 9News

The queues snaked all around the building. Picture: 9News

Speaking to 7News, Western Australian couple Sharnyce Hudson and Ethan Hall said they had waited nine weeks for their passport application to process, however they were still left waiting the day before their holiday.

In a last-ditch attempt to make their Bali trip, the couple drove for five hours from Geraldton to Perth, in order to queue outside the passport office.

“We are supposed to be flying out tomorrow at 3.40am and at this point it doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere,” said Ms Hudson.

Another mother said her application for her five-month-old child has taken more than three months. With their UK travel date now under a week away, she said the support line was “completely dead” due to the volume of inquiries.

The couple feared they would have to cancel their holiday to Bali due to passport delays. Picture: 7News

Two-point-four million Australian passports have expired since January 2021, with DFAT struggling to keep up with people eager to travel, 9News reports. While Sydney’s passport office normally receives between 7000 to 9000 applications between Monday and Friday, that figure has since ballooned to 10,000 to 12,000.

Although Australian citizens can pay $225 to have their application expedited in two days via priority processing, it appears demand has seen these wait times soar as well.

On Twitter, one angry resident tweeted at DFAT, criticising the office for their lack of “care and compassion”.

@dfat@DFATNSW where did compassion go. I visited passport office Sydney to expedite my son's passport on 2nd June, because my father in law passed away and we needed to travel immediately.

— sreenith kulangarath (@sreenithk) June 4, 2022

“I visited passport office Sydney to expedite my son’s passport on 2nd June, because my father in law passed away and we needed to travel immediately,” they wrote.

“They said they can expedite the application after paying the priority fee, but cannot get it until 7th. Because there is 10 times normal load it seems. What should people do in case of emergencies? There is no support on phone. Absolutely no care or compassion.”

In October 2021, a DFAT spokeswoman warned that Australians with expired or expiring passports should get their application in as soon as possible to avoid delays. Speaking to The Australian, she said surging applications had been seen in other countries as a result of international borders reopening.

DFAT warned Aussies who want to travel to allow extra time if they require a new passport. Picture: iStock

“Recent experience in the US and the UK has shown that there was a significant increase in applications ahead of international travel restrictions being lifted in these countries, resulting in long wait times for passports,” she said.

“While the department is doing everything it possibly can to prepare for a similar eventuality, longer than usual processing times cannot be ruled out.”

However, it’s not just people with expired passports who may need to double check the expiry date on their travel documents.

Some nations like Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore also refuse entry to travellers with passports that are set to expire in less than six months. Others require travellers to have a passport with at least three-months of validity.

This includes countries in the European Union and New Zealand.