Passport wait times back to pre-COVID normal

The Albanese Government is helping more Australians get travelling again, with passport wait times now back to pre-COVID normal.

Australians faced excessive delays from early 2022, waiting an average of 50 days to receive their passports at the peak of demand, due to the poor planning by the previous government.

We can now say, these delays have been rectified.

Newly released data from the Australian Passport Office (APO) reveals routine adult passport applications are now being processed within an average of seven business days.

This is a result of the investment by the Albanese Government in additional APO processing and call centre staff, and the tireless, high-quality work of APO staff in producing passports for those who applied.

The reduction in processing times has occurred even as demand for Australian passports has remained high, with APO data showing approximately 25 per cent more passport applications submitted to date in 2023 compared with pre-pandemic levels for this time of year.

Australians love to go overseas, and the Albanese Government is proud to have been able to fix the mistakes of the previous government which caused needless uncertainty and anxiety for those wishing to travel.

Australians should continue to plan ahead and allow at least six weeks to apply for or renew their passport, and longer if they are applying for a child passport, just in case.

The APO data show that, in February 2023:

• 96 per cent of routine passports were issued within 10 business days
• 99 per cent of routine passports were issued within six weeks
• 99 per cent of priority passport applications were processed within two business days
• 10 per cent of passports processed were priority passports.

This compares with data from February 2022:

• 46 per cent of routine passports were issued within 10 business days
• 70 per cent of routine passports were issued within six weeks
• 99 per cent of priority passport applications were processed within two business days
• 13 per cent of passports processed were priority passports.