It Now Takes Twice as Long to Order a New Passport, So Get in ASAP

The wait time is now up to six weeks.

We know you’re itching to finally get away from the Aussie winter and jet set across the globe, but don’t leave your passport arrangements ‘til the day before.

Get onto checking your passport expiration date and ordering a new one ASAP, because travel documents are taking up to double the time to process as they did pre-pandemic.

The Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told The Oz there is an “unprecedented high” demand for its passport services after two years of border closures.

Here’s just a few of the hard facts.

The Australian Passport Office is experiencing at least a four-week backlog in its processing queue. And you thought you were running behind on your school assignment.

A spokesperson from DFAT told The Oz “we normally receive between 7000-9000 applications per working day. Currently, we are receiving 10,000-12,000 applications per working day.” That’s a lot of paperwork.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has received 193 complains in regard to passport processing and communication just this financial year. In comparison, only one complaint was received over the same time period in 2020-21.

So, what’s the go if you need a new passport?

The Australian Passport Office advises that you allow six weeks to renew your passport. That’s up from three weeks prior to the pandemic.

They’ve also flagged that processing times take much longer for new applications and child passports in particular.

Don’t get yourself in a pickle—do yourself a favour and head to your post office ASAP.