The government has said an extra 250 staff will be brought in to help with the backlog, but it's not just would-be holidaymakers who are facing problems.
Sreenith Kulangarath outside the Sydney passport office where hundreds of people queued up on Tuesday to collect their new passports.
The government has said an extra 250 staff will be brought in to help with the backlog, but it's not just would-be holidaymakers who are facing problems.Sreenith Kulangarath spent 10 hours in a queue for the passport office in Sydney on Tuesday, eager to join his wife in India after her father died on 1 June.While his wife took the first available flight on the same day to attend her father’s funeral, Mr Kulangarath could not accompany her.
As Australian borders started re-opening towards the end of 2021, the Australian Passport Office experienced a surge in the number of applications.But the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can expedite the process in emergency situations such as Mr Kulangarath’s. “I was told my son’s passport will be ready in two days. I was told I will receive an email about my passport and how to collect it on Monday,” Mr Kulangarath said.“But I didn’t receive anything on Monday so I had to come back and queue for it again, only to be told that my priority processing form has been misplaced.”
“She applied for a new passport at the post office a few weeks ago but then her father died in England. He added: "This problem was predictable and is the result of the previous government dropping the ball and failing to properly plan for the surge in passport applications when borders re-opened.
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