The Albanese Labor Government has slashed the number of passports waiting to be processed by 80 per cent since coming to power in May 2022.

Under the former Liberal Government, 430,000 passport applications required processing, leaving thousands of Australians with uncertain travel arrangements and high levels of stress.

Federal Member for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid MP has welcomed the news that passport application times have fallen to manageable levels again.

“The former Liberal Government left our Passport Office in a state of despair, and did not plan appropriately, which has affected the travel arrangements of thousands of Australians across the nation”. Dr Reid said.

“Including in my electorate of Robertson, hundreds of residents were contacting me, after May 2022, requesting assistance”. Said Dr Reid.

“I applaud the Albanese Labor Government for having addressed the issue immediately since coming to power by training and employing more staff in the Passport Office to facilitate the enormous passport backlog”. Said Dr Reid.

“There are now shorter wait times for passports – now 14 business days on average, down from 50 days at its peak”. Dr Reid said.

Between July and December 2022, the Australian Passport Office also issued the most passports ever in a six-month period – at over 1.6 million passports. That was over half a million more than the same period in 2019 – which was the previous six-months record.

“I am still encouraging people across the Central Coast to either contact my office or Assistant Minister, Emma McBride MP, if they are experiencing unusually long wait times processing their passport application”. Dr Reid said.

“If you require a new passport or a renewal, I encourage residents to plan well in advance of their travel so to avoid instances where the passport may not arrive in time”. Said Dr Reid.

ENDS