Coronavirus: Stranded Aussies now number nearly 37,000

The number of Australians trying to come home has doubled to nearly 37,000 in just three months.

Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally claims Scott Morrison is misleading Australians ‘about his failure to deliver on his promises’ to get nearly 27,000 Aussies home. Picture: Sean Davey

About 30,000 more Australians stranded overseas may be able to return by the end of the year, as the number of people trying to come home doubles to nearly 37,000 in just three months.

The federal and Northern Territory governments are also close to finalising a deal to expand­ the Howard Springs quarantine facility before Christmas, from 500 places per fortnight to 1000, after COVID-19 restrictions, border closures, travel disruptions and a virus surge in some parts of the world affect Australians abroad.

At the end of August there were 18,800 Australians registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as wanting to come home and 26,800 were on the list on ­September 18, but that had grown to 36,875 by Tuesday.

The number of vulnerable Australians has also doubled, from about 4000 in late September to 8070 this week.

Australia’s weekly hotel quarantine capacity is 5625 ­places, rising to 6745 with the resumption­ of international arrivals into Melbourne from Decembe­r 7.

Scott Morrison said in September that he wanted to get as many of the 26,800 people home by Christmas as possible, but only 14,000 have managed the trip so far. A total of 36,000 have flown home in that time, of which 22,000 were not registered with DFAT.

“I can assure you, Australia is moving everything we possibly can to get … Australians home, but there are obviously understandable constraints to that because of the quarantine cap­acity,” the Prime Minister said.

The Senate’s COVID-19 committee heard the government expected 2400 Australians home by Christmas on federal-assisted repatriation flights, rising­ to 2845 if the Northern Territory took on additional hotel quarantine capacity. And there would be about 29,000 seats available on commercial flights to January.

“We will do everything we can and we’re prioritising vulnerables both on facilitated commercial flights we organise and if we’re provided surge capacity or any additional capacity, last-minute seats that become available. We will always do everything we can to prioritise vulnerables,” Tony Sheehan, DFAT deputy secretary of the international security, humanitarian and consular group, said. “You’re going to see very significant numbers (of Australians) between now and Christmas join that 14,000 returned.”

India, Britain, The Philippines, Thailand and South Africa are the top five countries with Australians registered as wanting to come home.

Kylie Rendina, an Australian Border Force acting deputy commissioner, said 89 per cent of passengers who arrived in Australia were citizens or permanent residents while 11 per cent were foreign nationals with critical skills or compassionate and compelling circumstances.

Repatriation flights from New Delhi and London have been locked in before December, with the government set to announce “several more” flights arriving before Christmas.

Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally accused Mr Morrison of breaking his September promise to get “as many people home, if not all” of the 26,800 Australians before Christmas.

“Stranded Australians are looking for some honesty and some action from their Prime Minister today. Instead, all they get from Scott Morrison is excuses,” Senator Keneally said.

“Scott Morrison must stop passing the buck on quarantine to the States, just like he did with the Ruby Princess and aged care, and take responsibility for our national quarantine arrangements to safely bring more stranded Australians home.”

Almost 426,000 Australians have arrived in the country since the government recommended people do not travel overseas in mid-March. There has been a 1.3 per cent positive COVID-19 testing rate for those in hotel quarantine.