//Preface//
Australia border has been opened,
Australia people can enter and exit freely,
The long-lost international travel
can finally start again.
However, many Australians are queuing up to do something in order to be able to travel overseas
in order to do something...
#01:
#01:
Passport processing center is long queues,
0 weeks can't wait for a new passport
The basic condition for international travel is to have a valid passport.
Although a large number of Australians can't wait to travel abroad, many people did not think about updating their passports in time due to the long-term closure of their country. They found that their passports had expired after they were about to use them!
and The only way for
(Picture source: News.au)
Since the border has opened, the number of people planning international travel has soared, coupled with Australia's "certificate application efficiency".
So, Recently, thousands of Australians' passports are in a state of "indefinite waiting for approval".
It is understood that some of them have been waiting for renewal for more than 10 weeks, and there are also a long queues for applying for documents.
Government staff are also working hard to deal with it, but it seems that the effect is not very ideal... Judging from the photos on site, the people in the queue of have already lined up outside the door.
passport update fee exceeds AUD 300, and the additional fee for priority procedures is AUD 225.
But this time, it doesn’t seem to be of much use to increase the money. Many Australians still have to wait months to get their new passports, which has left their travel plans in chaos.
52-year-old Julie, in an interview with the Australian Passport Office in Melbourne , said she has not received the emails that the documents have been prepared, although she has been waiting for more than 10 weeks now.
Her original travel plan was to hope to go to Hawaii with her husband for vacation in August, but it has not been finalized due to her passport.
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I've been calling from morning to night. I checked it online, but it was still waiting and still being evaluated. I think it might be faster if I go directly to the passport office. But unless there is an email, I can't go.
Another 23-year-old travel enthusiast, paid an additional passport expedited fee to speed up the update of the passport, and then lined up in the passport office.
When he finally lined up in front of the line, he was told:
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We will not handle it today, come again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
"
For such a situation, the staff of the passport office did not respond.
However, according to Julie, staff quietly admitted that they could not cope with such a large number of passport renewal applications.
She pointed to one of the staff and said,
"
Thousands of people come here every day, they just can't handle it, that's what he (the staff) said. I'm not the only one, there are thousands of people like me.
"
#02:
renewal application has increased by more than 40%.
will send additional personnel to resolve the backlog
A spokesperson for the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said that after the international borders of are reopened, the demand level of passport renewal services is "unprecedented".
(Image source: ABC News)
Data shows that the number of renewal applications increased by more than 40% each working day.
A spokesperson pointed out:
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"hmmm"hmmm"website pages are currently on the website page of the passport office," we have now left at least 6 weeks for passport updates.
However, according to the applicant's feedback, the waiting time of has exceeded 6 weeks.
(Image source: APO)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has stated that it is increasing passport processing personnel to handle the backlog of applications, and the waiting time is expected to decrease in the next few weeks.
It is worth noting that So far this fiscal year, the federal ombudsman has received 193 complaints about the processing time and communication of APO passports.
In contrast, during the same period (July 1 to May 24), 1 complaint was received in 2020-21, 7 complaints were received in 2019-20, and 7 complaints were received in 2018-2019.
It seems that the surge in application volume has really put a lot of pressure on the passport office...
Finally
Such waiting is really bad,
, especially there are plans waiting for finalization, but
, but because of this link, the plan cannot be promoted.
However, since the government has decided to increase the number of personnel,
is to solve the problem of backlog of applications, and
believes that the processing speed will be improved in the future.
here also reminds everyone to change their passports in time when they expire.
Otherwise, if you encounter this situation when you are about to use it, you will encounter this situation
, which will be too delayed.
