People in Western Australia have been waiting for their passports for more than four months, which is a sign that the backlog is unlikely to get any less soon.
The scenario made things more difficult for Alysha Singh because she hoped to travel to India in December.
Her holiday plans, along with thousands of other people’s vacation plans, are currently uncertain.
Singh submitted an application for a passport for her son in May, but she has not yet been issued the document.
“I was happy to wait for six weeks, but any longer than that, it’s just becoming a joke,” she added. “I was happy to wait for six weeks.”
According to the update request made by the 27-year-old individual three months later, the passport had not yet been completed being processed.
During the course of the previous year, the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman was in receipt of hundreds of complaints.
From July 2017 to June 2022, the Ombudsman received a total of 649 complaints regarding passport processing times.
In July, the agency got 81 complaints, and thus far, in the month of August, they have received 42.
Since the reopening of Australian borders to international travellers in November of the previous year, the Australian Passport Office has been inundated with requests.
It has been stated that the office processes over 15,000 passport applications each and every working day.
Calling the Australian Passport Office is recommended for any travellers who have concerns regarding their passport status.
