‘It’s chaos’: Passport office delays throw travel plans into disarray

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says processing times have doubled since October and now advises applicants to allow at least six weeks to get their passport. But some hopeful travellers say they have waited eight weeks or more and still have no idea when their documents will arrive.

“I’ve had no communication and I’ve been ringing for two weeks, so eight weeks in I just want to see what they say,” Handley said while waiting in the blistering cold outside the Melbourne passport office.Amanda Handley said she was worried whether her son’s passport would arrive before her family’s trip to Denmark in two weeks.

Long queues starting in the Australian Passport Office at Collins Square, Docklands snake outside onto the footpath and around the block.Most applicants received their passports within six weeks but some would take longer, she said, particularly first-time applications for which each document needed to be verified.

Travel agent Peter Alysandratos said there had been some close calls among his clients at Prahran Travel, which was “crazy busy” as many Australians prepared for their first overseas holidays since the start of the pandemic.One family received their passports on the day of their flight out, he said, and another still had not received their son’s passport after applying three months ago.

pwhatch Yet another government department left in tatters, trashed and neglected by the former tenants. The Libs kept telling us how great they were but the evidence doesn’t bear it out. No planning ahead. Again. auspol

pwhatch I had to cancel my trip. I'd applied for my passport in Feb for a 1st of June overseas trip. It arrived on the 1st June after much demanding + constant pushing. Morrison cut back drastically the staff & outsourced to unqualified people who can't cope. That's the bottom line!

pwhatch Again another unmitigated disaster from previous Morrison government, absolutely no idea about risk management

pwhatch How do you explain that Canada has the same problem? Sounds like another cabal made up problem

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