‘You are running a clown show’: Inside Australia’s airport chaos

Border Force has been inundated with complaints about the SmartGate system that has plagued Australia’s airports, as cabinet submissions show the department is urging the Albanese government to inject more funding for an overhaul of the customs network.

The SmartGate system is the front door to Australia for residents returning home and for millions of tourists who funnel $31 billion into the Australian economy each year.

Border Force has urged the Albanese government to invest more in the passport processing system. Credit: Stephen Kiprillis/Eddie Jim

But airports, experts and travellers warn the outdated and inadequate passport processing system is damaging Australia’s reputation.

Despite the network being crippled by technical failure, taxpayer-funded contracts for the system with French giant Idemia and Portuguese operator Vision-Box have surged by more than $120 million since 2015.

Documents released under freedom of information laws reveal Border Force received more than 100 pages of complaints – some containing multiple entries – between November 2023 and November 2024 about Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports, for “unacceptable” delays in processing passengers arriving from international flights.

“The immigration process at Sydney is a disgrace,” one complainant wrote after spending 2½ hours attempting to clear immigration in May last year. “You are running a clown show.”

“The entire experience of coming to Melbourne makes this city look like the poorest city in Australia,” wrote another after landing there in October. “There are not nearly enough kiosks to scan passports, the airport is old, dirty and looks disgusting.”

The situation has become so dire the federal government is increasingly pushing for airports to step in and buy their own border-processing facilities to be operated by Border Force.

Cabinet submissions released under FOI also reveal Border Force has been lobbying Labor to deliver more for the ailing system, which has failed to meet any of the targets set by then-Border Force commissioner Michael Outram in 2017.

“Investment is needed,” Border Force said in its submission to former home affairs minister Clare O’Neil in July last year. “Traveller movements will continue to increase in the lead-up to and beyond the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. The pressure on infrastructure will continue to increase.”

Melbourne Airport chief of aviation Jim Parashos said the situation had become untenable. He said the airport had the same number of kiosks to process passengers as it had a decade ago.

“During that time, our passenger numbers have increased by more than 50 per cent,” he said.

“The lack of processing capability often leads to unacceptable congestion, crowding and delays for arriving passengers at peak times. The local Border Force team continue to do what they can with the lack of kiosks, but ultimately, we need significantly more kiosks to deliver an appropriate experience for arriving travellers.”

Sydney Airport said it was supporting Border Force to improve passport processing by directly buying additional kiosks, which the ABF will operate. The airport has bought an extra 40 kiosks that are set to be installed this year.

The SmartGates system has been beset by delays and technical faults.Credit: Eddie Jim

In February, this masthead revealed only 57 per cent of inbound travellers have been using SmartGates, falling far short of the 90 per cent target set by Outram in 2017. The shortfall has exacerbated delays at airports that have reduced manual processing at the counter.

Border Force said the average clearance time for travellers arriving in Australia last year was 72 seconds. But the actual clearance times for all travellers are likely to be much higher.

According to the footnotes in the Home Affairs annual report, more than 2 million travellers who used SmartGates and 2.6 million who used manual passport processing were removed from the figure after being classified as “outliers” because their clearance took more than three minutes.

One of the world’s busiest airports, Singapore’s Changi, has reduced its clearance times to 10 seconds.

Travellers and Australians returning home have labelled the SmartGate system an embarrassment, with complaints about hour-long delays, scanners failing to read passport chips, poor signage and inadequate facilities.

“This is the first glimpse of Australia for many travellers, and I am not surprised if they think arriving in Australia is like joining a herd of sheep,” said one complainant in the dossier of grievances received by the department.

“The queues around the scanners were a disorganised bunfight,” said another.

In one instance in July, a Qantas captain complained about being herded by Border Force staff. “I’ve never seen this behaviour anywhere in the world in 31 years with my airline,” they said.

“It’s an utter disgrace and Australia is becoming the laughing stock of the world with huge entry queues,” another traveller said in December 2023.

The complaints span almost all of Australia’s major international airports, and each month between November 2023 and November 2024.

“The length of time it takes to get through passport control at Brisbane Airport is egregious,” said one traveller in March last year. “International travellers were discussing in the line how Brisbane Airport was the worst they had experienced across the world, which is just embarrassing.”

“This morning at Sydney airport early, it was just pandemonium! Nobody knew what was going on,” said a resident returning home in May. “There were Border Force people, shouting at people like animals, trying to get them in some sort of order.”

One passenger arriving from Santiago in August described the passport processing system as “a shambles”.

“A lone 40-something lady was attempting to direct traffic at Stage 1. I feared for her safety,” they said.

“This has been without a doubt the worst immigration experience of my life,” said another traveller in September. “Last Friday morning, the mess was so horrendous that people were going crazy.”

Another passenger who arrived in November said they had “the great misfortune of arriving at Sydney airport”.

“Never in my history have I seen such long and poorly managed queues for the SmartGates. It is an embarrassment for visitors that this is their first experience of Australia. I don’t know what you’ve done, but maybe you should undo it. Because it’s clearly not up to the task.”

Australian Airports Association chief executive Simon Westaway. Credit: James Brickwood

Australian Airports Association chief executive Simon Westaway warned Australia was falling behind the rest of the world as international traveller numbers surge to record highs.

“International passengers are understandably frustrated when they face delays at major gateways due to outdated or inadequate border facilities,” he said. “These experiences risk undermining Australia’s competitiveness as a global destination.”

Australia is one of the few advanced economies that still requires passengers to fill out a paper customs declaration, described as “ridiculous and inefficient” by travellers.

Travellers fill out the paper form distributed on the plane, then on landing go to a kiosk to digitally submit some of the same details, before proceeding to a SmartGate to scan their passport, further increasing confusion and delays in tightly packed arrival areas.

The government has been trialling a digital Australian travel declaration on Qantas flights between Australia and New Zealand and at Brisbane Airport that would allow passengers to submit all their customs details online before or after take-off, but it has yet to be implemented across the network.

“The Department of Home Affairs, including Australian Border Force, remain committed to modernising border clearance processes and will work with the incoming government on initiatives to modernise our border,” a Home Affairs spokesperson said.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke declined to comment.

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